Ok, call me an idiot! I bought my 08 last year and have enjoyed it so far with little maintenance needed. It has the Michelin run flats on it. When I got a low tire pressure notification recently, I did what I've always done. I read the max tire pressure on the side of the tire (51 lbs), so I put 45 in the tire. I did the same with the other tires, thinking the car had sat for a while before I bought it and the tires had lost pressure. Then, the tire pressure notification for ALL FOUR TIRES popped up, so I figured there was a problem elsewhere. Tonight, when I started reading about this, I was shocked! I went out to the car and read the tag at the door and saw that the front and rear tires are to have 30 lbs! Knock me over with a feather. Then, I read here that some guys go as high as 35 lbs. Am I on target with what I am reading? Really?

 

30 cold for street legal speeds

 

^^^This

 

The max pressure on the tire is just that. the maximum amount of air you can put in the tire. It has nothing to do with the normal pressure that should be in the tires for the car that they are on. The pressure listed on the door tag on any car is what the car manufacturer recommends and what should be in the tire under normal driving conditions.

 

Yes 30 pounds... and if you run 35 they will wear in the center....you run 27 and they will wear on the edges....

 

24 lbs or less or 42 lbs or more will illuminate TPMS light

 

Who was the one who told you to use the tire sidewall pressure...ever???

 

I made that mistake once. I was 12 and trying to be helpful.

 

OK, so I put 30 psi in my tires, as measured at the valves with an electronic gauge. Once you start driving though, and the tires warm up, the readings available INSIDE on the dash, begin to climb (pretty sure this data is available on all packages? ( I have an '11 GS 3LT) Anyway, it's a bit misleading because as you're looking at these readings, they almost always seem high when you're out driving since the tires are warmed up. Really only accurate once you fill them up and read them cold.
Am I also missing something?

 

That is why the sticker on the door jamb says "cold tire pressure". All tire pressures will increase as the tire heats up. Like noted above, the pressure marked on the tire is a max pressure and rarely, if ever, is even close to the pressure you actually want in your tires. By the way, this is not just a Corvette thing. All cars have this sticker on the drivers door jamb with the tire pressure the manufacturer says you should set the tires. The tire manufacturer has no idea what car their tires are going on so all they can provide is a max pressure the tire can safely handle

 

FWIW - This is why race teams fill their tires with nitrogen. With nitrogen the temperature fluctuation between hot and cold is not nearly as severe. Not that it's a big deal on street tires but thought you might want to store that in your Gee-Whiz file. All tire pressures should be set cold. When the season's change you should check your tire pressures because 20 or 30 degree difference in outside temperature can make a couple pounds difference in cold pressures depending on the tire.

 

If ("I did what I've always done"), I wonder how many times you've had to replace tires in the past on whatever you're driving due to over-inflation & excessive tire wear? Duh,,,,,,

 

it's really not that hard, 30 lbs cold. When they heat up mine go to 33 or 34 this is normal. My shop teacher told me this in 1970.

 

drag radials 27cold on street

 

You are not an idiot Rev Ron. I've been a law enforcement driving instructor for many years and we teach to max tire pressures out or even 5 psi over max. The reason for this is to keep from having so much flex in the sidewalls that the tire rolls onto the sidewall and you loose traction. Having the extra pressure keeps the sidewall from flexing so you have more traction and the tire is less likely to break the seal on the rim in a hard turn or when the vehicle would spin off of the road. If you look at your sidewalls and they are scraped from overflexing put more air in until the tire stays on the tread. I can hear the screaming now about what an idiot I am, but myself many experts have tested this on Crown Vics, a Durango, Chargers, and pickups, In my Vette I can't max them out due to there TPMS, but I get the tires as high as I can and go with that pressure. Keep in mind that I have also worked many vehicles crashes and if a tire comes off the rim we have found the tire pressure is usually low in the other tires. It allows the sidewall to flex so much that it comes off the rim, digs into whatever surface you are on and over it goes. Yes I know that tires are built differently, they have different compounds, width, sidewall height, and many other factors that effect all of this. Find what works for you best and go with that. Let the attacks begin.

 

I forgot one thing. Tire wear has never been a problem in any way. The tires have always worn evenly with the higher pressures. This has been true in hundreds of patrol units that I have driven and looked at for 20 years. Doesn't matter what type of vehicle. Feel free to attack on this also.

 

Your comparing apples to watermelons.The 35 series runflat tire with its super stiff sidewall will not roll over with stock air pressure setting(30 psi)

 

The temperature variation between air and nitrogen is EXACTLY the same. Boyle's Law!!
The reason race teams and jets use nitrogen in the tires is that it does not promote combustion in a crash.

 

Its actually because the nitrogen that dealerships pump into your tires has the moisture removed. The higher the humidity of air the greater pressure fluctuation.

 

^^^ This ^^^