Winter Tire Safety and Gearhead Question
Question for you smart Gearheads out there. What is the proper inflation for tires? I know there are differences, but main qualifiers are Tire wear vs. Gas Mileage vs. Traction vs. Ride Quality. Our tires are rated maximum 50 psi. What pressure is best to actually run with on the three scenarios above and why? Should we run them at max pressure or slightly lower (how much lower)?
I went out to check our car tires this week with the sudden cold snap and pressure in them was only 30 psi. I aired them up to 50 psi, but is that too much?
Don't forget to check your tires!
On the inside of the driver's door of the vehicle should have a sticker that has the appropriate tire size(s) and tire pressure specs for that particular vehicle.
Thanks! Great info for new cars or stock tires, but these are replacement tires. They are different brand and type than the stock tires. On the tire it says they are rated for 50 psi max, but the door label for the stock tires was I think only 38 or 40 psi. I was hoping there were some mechanic folks out there that could give good feedback on those other variables. I've heard that overfilling can cause excessive wear, but how much is overfilling? Also that underfilling can cause wear in wrong places? I'm not much of a mechanic at all and trust the folks here more than the ones selling me the tires!