mythbusters tests tyre / tire pressure

[BHarvey]

Funny thing is that it HAS to be on TV for some to believe it!

[pounsfos]

well i reckon everyone should, inflat their tyres to the recomended pressure or more if possible,

you just aren't an ecomodder without doing this.
im going to start my front grill block now ,

mythbusted

[mnwcsult]

I upgraded to Toyo Proxes low roll resistance tires 3 years ago. Added a good tire pressure monitoring system. The tires are inflated to 45 PSI and for tires only rated to 45,000 miles wear I have not seen any abnormal wear. From a fuel consumption stand point I do a variety of things and have dropped my utilization from 11.4 gallons / week to 8.3 gallons. I have a 18 gallon tank. So I really only replace 12-13 gallons every 11-12 days. I keep all of my receipts so I can better track my utilization. My ride is a 1997 VW Passat VR6 rated at 19 mpg city. I avg 25-27 mpg in city driving.

Lots of tips here on Ecomodders and they work without going to extremes.

[fidalgoman]

Originally Posted by BHarvey

Funny thing is that it HAS to be on TV for some to believe it!

That's because if it's on TV it must be true. Seriously the last set of michelin snow tires I had were rated at 50 PSI max. I set them from the stations 32 up to 50 and got a 3MPG increase just like that. It was on my wife's car and I didn't tell her what I was doing so for all intents it was a blind test. By looking at the MB data perhaps 45 would have been just as good. The thing you have to live with higher PSI is a harsher ride on small road imperfections.

[hu_man]

The high tire pressure will increase the stiffness of the ride increase the chance of the car to push a little more and it will most of all increase the wear on the center of the tire... Watch your tires closely the cost saved at the pump could be less then a new set of tires or a fender.....

[jakobnev]

Originally Posted by hu_man

.....

You're supposed to spread those out so that you have one at the end of every sentence.

[gone-ot]

...ellipses are just a period with hiccups!

[Enginator]

Running tire pressure at 45 psi or higher increases danger of loss of control, bouncing and the suspension is NOT tuned for it. It can affect stopping distance. Plus the tires will not last as long.

Last time I checked last fall, about the cheapest tires out there for a GEO for instance were around $50 each and rising. Saving $75 dollars over a year on fuel you would probably burn more than that off the overinflated tires.

Different story for engineered, lowered rolling resistance tires. You will save approximately as much in fuel as the extra cost of the tires. So it is a break even.

Enginator

[Angmaar]

It's good to see some MPG "myths" put to the test. Maybe more of the public will understand the importance of tire PSI.

Originally Posted by Enginator

Running tire pressure at 45 psi or higher increases danger of loss of control, bouncing and the suspension is NOT tuned for it. It can affect stopping distance. Plus the tires will not last as long.

Last time I checked last fall, about the cheapest tires out there for a GEO for instance were around $50 each and rising. Saving $75 dollars over a year on fuel you would probably burn more than that off the overinflated tires.

Different story for engineered, lowered rolling resistance tires. You will save approximately as much in fuel as the extra cost of the tires. So it is a break even.

Enginator

Actually running your tires at their max PSI will make them last longer. This is because the tread wear is more consistent.

[p38fln]

First thing I do is bump the tire pressure up to whatever it says on the sidewall after any service - they always lower it back down to the door sticker.

I've got a pickup truck, I really don't care if the ride is slightly more truck like at max PSI

Definitely gets better MPG - and there's no tire whine