Getting away from the controversy over what constitutes ideal tire inflation pressure, and back to the original post's intent:
Quote:
Originally Posted by eco30BMW
I'd asked the webmaster twice to take down this misleading information from the "65+ efficiency mods" section of the site and nothing has been done...
Quote:
Increase tire pressure to max sidewall
Reduces rolling resistance which decreases the amount of power your car needs to move. It also increase steering response, increases wet traction, and decreases tire wear.
|
|
I think there is merit in considering rewording that recommendation, regardless of where one stands in terms of ideal PSI.
Increases in steering response and wet traction with higher PSI may be generally true, but by no means universally so. Just one example would be two brands of tire in the same size, one with a max sidewall of 44PSI and the other with a max sidewall of 51PSI; is anyone here completely confident in stating that max sidewall is the ideal wet traction pressure for both?* And tire wear is such a wide open issue, with so many variables, that simply increasing inflation pressure beyond manufacturer recommendations is by no means a guarantee of longer tire life.
I'll toss out an alternative wording:
Quote:
Increase tire pressure (but do not exceed max sidewall!)
Tire pressures above manufacturer's (doorjamb) recommendations reduce rolling resistance which decreases the amount of power your car needs to move. They also tend to improve steering response and increase wet traction, up to a point. Higher pressures may also decrease tire wear.
|
*(Putting this down here to try to keep topics separated.) My own experience is that max sidewall
lowers traction, wet or dry, when compared to some value
in between max sidewall and doorjamb pressures; exactly where depends on the car, the tire, moon phase, and a bunch of other stuff.