WOW...'Toobroke' is a REAL LIFE MacGyver. WHO KNEW!

OOOPS....I guess I am going to get 'schooled' on how NOT to use my welders...because they are expensive pieces of equipment that is not needed any longer....BUT....

With that...I do not know if I can get ALL of the insurance companies I deal with to 'buy into' this battery/jumper cable/pennies welding method. Something tells me that I am at least going to still have to have my welders in the shop to give the appearance that I am compliant. I seriously doubt he can tell me how this penny/battery welding method works on aluminum frames for the current Corvettes.

For right now...I am keeping things like I have them...

DUB

 

I will do my best to answer your questions with my feeble mind. Under inflated is a fancy way to say flat. And I would, first, use air to fill the tire to the guesstimated pressure, then get a gauge as soon as possible and adjust the pressure to my liking.

I hope this helps clear up any confusion you may be having.

I do have a question though. Do you fill your tires with hot air also?

 

I don't know if he does. I think he drives them and get the air hot that way.

*****JOKING*****

I myself.... have done countless tests on the aerosol can 'fix-a-flat'. And I have found the number of cans it takes to get to a perfect air pressure where no gauge is needed. Sorry. I can not give this information out. And the air pressure will change to whatever I want it to be in my mind at eh time. That I call the "Art of wishful thinking". Because it is an art that takes decades to perfect.

****NOT JOKING******

I guess bringing up filling the tires with Nitrogen is completely beyond this person. because that gets into CHEMISTRY.

DUB

 

Don't you just hate it when you don't understand how things work?

As far as wheels and tires go the old wood-spoked wagon wheels supported the load by compression (actually shear) whereas a wire-spoked motorcycle wheel supports the load by tension. Same goes with rubber tires as the tension applied by the top (and sides) of the tire holds the wheel up. So things are a lot more complicated than you can ever imagine. I understand these forces involved but you guys don't and that's where our problem is.

 

Now you're going to tell us you know that because you were there?

 

I'll give you guys a little hint how a tire supports the load. As you may know the upper steel spokes of a motorcycle wheel supports the load by tension while the bottom spokes have no load bearing whatsoever. Your rubber tire operates much the same as the sidewalls above the wheel support the load by tension while the sidewalls below the wheel don't play any role in supporting the load. The inflation pressure tries to keep the tire round while the downward pull of the wheel on the upper sidewalls tries to make the tire egg-shaped (oval). In the end the load bears on the bottom of the tread because its in contact with the pavement. Does that help you understand the forces involved?

 

How the car is held up by the tire is not at issue. In that, you are correct.

At issue is where the tire interacts with the ground.

I concede that all references to a "properly inflated tire" refer to the tread wear being even across the tire face.

THAT SAID, I will firmly voice the opinion that this is true TO A POINT. The point at which this SINGLE MEASURE OF TIRE INFLATION is flawed is when the flex of the sidewall is so great that it greatly increases the tire's Coefficient of Rolling Friction (CRF).

When a tire is not correctly supported by the air within the tire and the tire's shape is compromised at the point of contact with the ground, the CRF increases. This results in lower gas mileage, heat buildup in the tire carcass (through internal friction), and potential/eventual delamination of the tire plies.

This also results in a decrease in the structural relationship between the contact patch and the rim. With the sidewall 'slack' at this critical area, the contact patch can more easily move LATERALLY RELATIVE TO THE RIM. This is what creates the 'wallowing' effect when the tires are underinflated. YOU YOURSELF have MEASURED the 'bulge'. You KNOW there's more with less air. Take that small amount of 'bulge' and imagine giving the contact patch FULL LICENSE to slide left and right the exact amount of the additional 'bulge' you measure. That's exactly what's happening. And that's why it feels so crappy!

Sir, you are using one single measure to ascertain what the 'correct' tire pressure to run is. You are NEGLECTING the other factors such as the 'softness' you like so much as well as the 'wallowing' that you have already acknowledged.

As I said, I've done the experiment. Even if we set the tire wear aside, the dramatic increase in the Coefficient of Rolling Resistance as well as the 'wallowing' that results from a 20/20 pressurization scheme are two HUGE indicators that the tires are underinflated.

There are no further spears to throw or jabs to make about how others are not as educated as you in the physics of tire inflation. The above statement is a fact.

Of the three stated points relative to "correct" tire inflation, you are hitting one of them. 33%.

Lets say my tires wear the centers like a fiend (they don't), but I'm good by the other two measures. I'm hitting 2 of 3. 66%.

And since I haven't noticed an issues with how my tires wear (other than the epic burnouts I do), I'll give myself 2/3 of the final point back. So I'm hitting 89%. And I'm still giving you 1/3 of that point for all the millions of miles you've put on your Corvettes.

Me: 89% correct in tire inflation.
You: 33% correct in tire inflation.

I win.

 

Is that why they only go flat on the bottom?

 

Its a perfectly acceptable pressure as long as you don't let it drop much below that. With all of the product liability lawsuits now days the manufacturers have been forced to recommend pressures that are a lot higher to avoid being sued.

 

This is true, no argument. But it doesn't explain why my tires don't exhibit any abnormal wear when inflated to 32 PSI. So why don't they?

 

Thank you for acknowledging this fact. your statement reinforces the BFG premise that 26psi is considered minimum and therefore safe. I am happy you finally agree with us.

 

When your car sits idle all week and then gets driven 20 miles on a weekend your tires won't show any abnormal wear for a very long time.

My '71 is driven 365 days a year so it'll go thru a set of tires in about 2-1/2 years.

 

The OP was asking why his door sticker said 20 psi; not 26 psi so I'm not agreeing with any of you in any way. The only reason I'm running the high 24 psi in my front tires is because of the additional weight of the 454" and factory A/C.

 

I didn't even specify a car I only drive 20 miles per week. If you don't know,..... you don't know. You don't know what you don't know, and I know you don't know. You know?

 

I know.

 

Me too!

 

Then perhaps you should run for public office. You will fit right in.

 

Who's on first?

 

An old adage:

If you were half as smart as you think you are, you'd be twice as smart as you really are.

 

Seeing how you are also a 'WINNER'...does that mean that you get a set of tires and wheels also???

DUB