Correct Tire Pressure???
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,310
Likes: 1
Correct Tire Pressure???
I posted this in the "Wheels & Tires" forum (http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=162083), but haven't had any response yet, so I was hoping someone here could provide info.
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OK, I was watching Car & Driver (I think) on TNN recently and they stated that you should inflate your tires to the pressure as stated on the door plate.
If I'm reading it right, that's 20 lbs for the front and 26 lbs for the rear :eek:
I've always inflated my tires to either 32 or 35 lbs on all of my vehicles. I've been satisfied with traction & wear.
Is anyone out there using the door numbers? Doesn't 20 lbs sound really really low?
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-----------------------
OK, I was watching Car & Driver (I think) on TNN recently and they stated that you should inflate your tires to the pressure as stated on the door plate.
If I'm reading it right, that's 20 lbs for the front and 26 lbs for the rear :eek:
I've always inflated my tires to either 32 or 35 lbs on all of my vehicles. I've been satisfied with traction & wear.
Is anyone out there using the door numbers? Doesn't 20 lbs sound really really low?
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Safety Car
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 4,930
Likes: 11
From: AnyTown NJ
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15
Re: Correct Tire Pressure??? (jerryp58)
20 lbs does sound very low. My tire decal on the door calls for 35 psi front and rear (cold tire pressure). I found that to be too hard a ride so I run with 30 psi on BFG Radial T/A's P255/60 R15.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 3,399
Likes: 278
From: Olmsted Falls, Ohio
Re: Correct Tire Pressure??? (gq82)
If you buy new tires, then the door decal will probably not be correct (it was based on tires made 25+ years ago). You can find out from the dealer what the recommended pressure is based on your car weight - or you can guess it and live with incorrect tire wear.... I normally run about 20lbs in each of my 255-60VR15 Goodyear Eagles and have gotten good wear patterns.
BTW: my door decal does read 20/20 front and rear.
[Modified by KenSny, 4:32 PM 10/6/2001]
BTW: my door decal does read 20/20 front and rear.
[Modified by KenSny, 4:32 PM 10/6/2001]
Pro
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 749
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From: Gabriola BC
Re: Correct Tire Pressure??? (jerryp58)
tire pressure requirement change as the load and driving change. When I establish my required tire pressure, I take the car with cold tires and take the pressure, drive it for enough miles for them to come up to temp. Then take the pressure again. It should have come up 4 pounds with proper inflation. If it is more, you have too little air and if it is less you have too much air. You can modify that a little if you are trying to change under and oversteer.
bob
bob
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Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,310
Likes: 1
Re: Correct Tire Pressure??? (KenSny)
Ken, wow, that's interesting.
Do you know if it's coincidental that you show 20/20 on your door plate and they recommended 20 for you?
I wonder if they'd recommend 20/26 for me?
Maybe the door plate is valid today even with the "newer" tires.
I don't have any info on weight distribution for the different year Corvettes.
I wonder if weight distribution is different and maybe that accounts for your 20 rear versus my 26 :confused:
I have one reference that shows my Curb Weight at 1690 for the front and 1844 for the rear. That seems like that would give me a 20/22 if it was strictly by weight.
I guess I'm still confused, but I like the idea of asking the manufacturer of the tire. Who exactly did you talk to? I'm not sure if I'd trust my local tire store.
[Modified by jerryp58, 2:39 PM 10/7/2001]
Do you know if it's coincidental that you show 20/20 on your door plate and they recommended 20 for you?
I wonder if they'd recommend 20/26 for me?
Maybe the door plate is valid today even with the "newer" tires.
I don't have any info on weight distribution for the different year Corvettes.
I wonder if weight distribution is different and maybe that accounts for your 20 rear versus my 26 :confused:
I have one reference that shows my Curb Weight at 1690 for the front and 1844 for the rear. That seems like that would give me a 20/22 if it was strictly by weight.
I guess I'm still confused, but I like the idea of asking the manufacturer of the tire. Who exactly did you talk to? I'm not sure if I'd trust my local tire store.
[Modified by jerryp58, 2:39 PM 10/7/2001]
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 3,399
Likes: 278
From: Olmsted Falls, Ohio
Re: Correct Tire Pressure??? (jerryp58)
Interesting thought on the front/rear weight ratio. I don't know what mine is, but I'm going to look it up, just for info. I rotate my tires (they are uni-directional) same-side front-to-rear about every 7kmi or so. Like I said, I get good wear patterns "so that's my plan and I'm sticking to it" (to paraphrase a country western song). I'm not concerned with who's running 35lbs or why, I just look at wear patterns and adjust from there.
To answer you question, the dealer put 35lbs in the tires when I bought them and they rode like they were made out of solid rock. It felt like - if you ran over a dime you could tell if it was heads up or tails up (well almost anyway). I called Goodyear hot-line, tech line, whatever it's called and told them what car I had and what tires I bought.....
[Modified by KenSny, 3:33 PM 10/7/2001]
To answer you question, the dealer put 35lbs in the tires when I bought them and they rode like they were made out of solid rock. It felt like - if you ran over a dime you could tell if it was heads up or tails up (well almost anyway). I called Goodyear hot-line, tech line, whatever it's called and told them what car I had and what tires I bought.....
[Modified by KenSny, 3:33 PM 10/7/2001]
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 26,545
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From: Huntersville NC
Re: Correct Tire Pressure??? (KenSny)
I spoke to a tire rep a while back with the same question. The answer I got was for today's radial tires a good place to start was 30. The car manufacturers' recommendations are biased on the low side to give you a better feeling ride. Many on this forum run a higher pressure to give them a stiffer sidewall and better performance. MJ
