iew

Took my Z51 out last Saturday for a ride while the weather was nice. The weather warmed up to 80 and my tire pressures came up to 33 lbs. My question is: what is the desired optimal pressure when the tires are warmed up?

felkebg

The variable you have not stated is the kind of driving you will be doing. I can tell which side of my drive the sun is on by the pressure variance. I can control the pressure readouts by the distance, speed and aggressiveness of my driving. I would adjust your cold start pressures and forget about the rest unless you are putting it on the track. If you select the pressure display you can then observe how they change by how you are driving them.

Here are a few quotes from reviewers: Tire temps are split into three categories: cold (below 45 degrees), warm (45-115 degrees) and hot (above 115 degrees). Leveraging the existing Tire Pressure Monitoring System, this patented system informs the driver as the tires warm up from cold to warm to hot, with hot being the optimal temperature for peak grip and track performance. Hope this helps and I have hopefully now put more meat on the bone for our true experts to chew on.....

iew

Thanks for the reply.

meyerweb

The sticker by the driver's door specifies 30 psi with the tires cold. The manual explains that means at ambient temperature, with the car not having been driven for at least 3 hours. And, preferably, with the tires not sitting in direct sunlight. If one side of the car is in the sun, and the other in the shade, you could see a difference of several psi due to the sunny side tires getting heated up by the sun.

Yes, this means you need to adjust tire pressures as the weather changes. Set them to 30 psi when it's 80 outside, then go somewhere where the temps are in the 30s, and your tire pressure will be too low. The rule of thumb for car-sized tires is a 1 psi change for every 10 degree temp change.

JerryU

If you're referring to the tire pressure increasing from "set cold" at say 70 degrees by 3 psi when driving, that's normal as the tires heat up.
The ambient temp is also a factor when cold vs warm. I set cold before I drive in the morning and in the winter increase to 30 psi when it's ~50 Fin the garage since it drops from typical summer temps.

JoesC5

I set the pressure at 30 psi cold in the summer and they increase to 34-35 when at operating temp.

I set the pressure at 32 psi cold during the early spring and late fall and they increase to 34-35 when at operating temp.

I set the pressure at 40 psi in the winter when the car is hibernating.

nmvettec7

There is really no way to tell how accurate the TPM Sensor really are. The TPMS readings can vary from car to car even when tires are set at the same cold temps within the same size tires.

Air condenses in colder weather temps, so it is not unusual to have the temps in the tires vary from day to day. Warmer temps increase PSI in tires as the air expands.

I am not that **** over tire temps because they are constantly fluctuating day to day, dawn to dark.

I simply inflate all my sports cars 2 to 3 pounds over the recommended PSI. So for the Corvette C7 I inflate cold to 32 degrees.

Works for me, but maybe not for others. If you inflate to 30 one day, the next day after sitting in a cold garage, when you start the car, don't be surprised to see 28 pounds on the dash when cold.

wgood

Well my trip in October it was 34 degrees in Rainier National Park and one week later it was 100 degrees in Nebraska and again 2 days later it was 34 degrees in Butte Montana !!! So the tire pressure can very 2-4 degrees but no big deal !!! Wayne

Steve_R

Correct tire pressure has nothing to do with whether the car has the Z51 option or not.

meyerweb

Well......

For 2016, GM's recommendation is 30 psi for the Z51, and 35 psi for the base car. I think 35 is way too hard, though, and would still run 30 even in a 2016.

felkebg

Our TPMS on the C7 is a direct measurement system and is designed to be accurate to within 1 PSI. I looked this up from several sources because my tire guy said it was more accurate than any gauge I own. I need to go out and add one lb to my right front.

DAFFYDRUNK

I've played with different pressures and with the run flats it doesn't seem to make a huge difference when it comes to gas mileage or ride. I tend to run em a little low in back for a little better ride and perhaps a little traction advantage. 28R and 32F to be exact. In the average summer day, it seems to warm up about 4 PSI so you get 32R 36F.