Gas Mileage - Alaska Trip

[graysquirrel]

You would tend to get higher mpg with your tires inflated to 39psi.

Normally I keep mine at 35psi and am since on mine the recommended psi is 32, why would you keep them that high at 39? Would make for a rough ride?

 

[Double Dubya]

You would tend to get higher mpg with your tires inflated to 39psi.

Normally I keep mine at 35psi and am since on mine the recommended psi is 32, why would you keep them that high at 39? Would make for a rough ride?

Like you, I normally keep mine at 3-4psi over the recommended 32. For this trip I thought I would try a little higher. The ride was fine.

I would like to believe that a higher pressure leads to less rolling resistance and higher gas mileage. I can't say that it does and I haven't seen any reliable tests to show that it does. Low tire pressure leads to more wear on the outside edges of the tire and high pressure leads to higher wear in the center. My tires are wearing evenly so I may not have crossed into the "too high" region.

I would love to see some empirical data on the effect of tire pressure on gas mileage.