Spot on diagnosis.

 

Here is the deal on tire pressure and the side wall...andf what max pressure means.. Its so simple a cave man can understand. And why would any mechanic not know this simple thing..
the tire show two specific things its. shows max pressure( eg. 44 psi max ) and it shows load (eg 1100 lbs. ).. the load number show how much the tire will support safely ( max carry weight ) the max pressure shows the pressure the tire requires to carry the max load... eg. tire load 1100 lbs. X 4 ( amount of tires) means these tires can carry safely a max load of 4400 lbs @ 44 psi. The reason tire pressure varies from car to car is because the tires go on many different types of cars...
your corvette weighs in at 3200 lbs, add passengers and cargo and fuel, and you get the load thats why the tire pressure is different on different cars..
EG. A pick up truck is a perfect eg. Truck weight is 2600 lbs, now throw in 1000 lbs of cargo, now the truck weights 3600 lbs... the tires should appear to be underinflated because of the extra weight, then add the max pressure and the tires will look and be correct.

 

40psi if you want to do some drifting

 

your mechanic's an idiot

 

Glenn. I think that statement will embarrass most idiots...
A couple of weeks ago I tried to explain to some folk, including a young lady who was taking me to task and says give us a break... I told the members many times that GM calls this sticker the idiot proof sticker.. But as you can see by the Op's mechanic , that he is just a better class of idiot.. and cant even follow a simple directive.. So for that young lady and those who just dint get it...there are lots of idiots out there.. unfortunately many call themselves a mechanic. The door sticker should keep even the cave man out of trouble... but there are many things a person can do to insure that they are getting the best braking, traction, tire longevity and gas mileage. far beyond that 30 psi cold sticker.But as you can see even the simplest of directives can get all blown out.

 

Take your car to an Corvette specialty shop that can do alignments, or to a dealer. Make sure they have fairly new sophisticated electronic alignment tools/machines. There is a bit of an art to setting up their alignment properly but with an up to date alignment system experienced Corvette mechanics can get it set right on the mark.

..rickko..

 

I've found that my tires are wearing better with 31 psi in the front, and 29 psi in the rears. That's with eleven years of driving C5's.

 

A corvette has to have a 4 wheel alighnment.. and the rear has to be done first. anything less than that, you are throwing your money away. the front alighnment is based on the rear being done first.,

 

My mechanic agrees with yours--35 PSI cold all the way around. Hmmm.

 

Don't you mean your ex-mechanic?

 

Never heard anyone suggest that tire pressure could cause a tire to wear out only on one side.
For street driving, the camber needs to be close to zero or you will get inside tire wear. Toe in should also be close to zero.

 

After a pro-alignment, it was recommended to run 32 all around.

 

is a pro alignment one that you pay for??? are there places you can go and pay for an alignment and they tell you up front that they are nt pro's?
Did you ask, what they based their tire pressure on? did you ask why not 31 or 30 or 29.. Did you ask if it made any difference if the tires got up to 38 psi when they were actually rolling on the road ? is it different if its 38 psi cold or hot... isnt 38 psi actually 38 psi? and isnt that the pressure found inside the tire?
if you put 40 psi in the tire and when hot it expands to 45 psi... wont that set off the high pressure alrm? whether its 45 cold or 45 hot?

In the summer when you put in 30 psi cold and it winds up being 38 psi does that mean that 38 psi is a good tire pressure?
And when its cold outside and you put 30 cold in them and later in the day they get down to 27 psi, does that mean that 27 psi is ok?

So what this all means is that anything between 27 psi and 38 psi means absolutly nothing to the drivability or the performance of the tires, internally 27 psi means Nothing? And 38 is good? 11 psi difference means nothing??? Some how I dont think so...I dont follow any of that thinking and consistently get 45,000 miles out of a set of tires... OK Im done Thank you very much
The End
Bill aka ET


the pro said 32 huh? did he show you his Pro card? and where do you get a pro card... Photoshop? I have a degree in autoimotive engineering, mechanical engineering and 45 years of automotive experience, and I do not have a pro card...But I would not recommend one specific tire pressure for an individual car.

 

I just had my vert aligned, new front rubbers, and handles great. It was done in a Hunter machine. It seemed like a competant machine and the tech sized it up quickly and made the adjustments. The back rear/passanger was out of spec, fixed, and then the front was aligned. I like it!!

 

as well as sometimes the middle of the rears, its not that they are overinflated, its just the way they wear if you accelerate hard often (wide tire expands in the middle).

 

30 psi.

 

A Hunter or John Bean alignment system makes this job easier and very precise BUT still needs a person that understands how to use it and what they are trying to accomplish...

Don't forget while getting aligned to have them add ballast weight in the drivers seat equal to YOUR (the drivers) weight..

ET, it's good to see you here in your good old form.

IF there were PRO cards available, I'd certainly say you are deserving of one...
Many of the simplest things around this forum from time to time are blown way out of proportion and hashed over with 50 different ways to do the same thing. At times it makes my head spin...

The door sticker for tire PSI's for instance is really all that's needed but there are 50 other thoughts on PSI's.... It is pretty entertainning. I do love this forum for many reasons, learning, helping, and entertainment to name my top 3.

Everyone, Have a GREAT weekend! Happy Spring.