Tire pressure: 32psi or 44psi??? HELP!!

[paquitox]

So my 4runners specs says, manual and frame door specs, that I should run them at 32psi, but my tires specs, Bridgestone Dueler H/T a max of 44psi. For I run 100% road, no off road what so ever, until I get new tires and spacers lift.

What should I do? Its a V6 btw, no hauling....

 

[Javelin]

If its 100 % on road I would run like 42 PSI. I never run the max. The door guard tells you 32 cause Its assuming you still have the stock tire. Run whats written on the tire and you'll be fine.

 

[paquitox]

I think this might be the factory tires, truck only has 49K miles on it and the tires are pretty beat up....

 

[Javelin]

Still, I would Go by what the tires say. Its written on there for a reason. I Personally wouldn't run the absolute max but im sure it would be ok if you did.

 

[cgarrett5119]

If you put in the max the psi will become greater when you drive and your tires warm up. I keep mine at about 35psi.

 

[jdkilroy]

The "max PSI" written on the sidewall of the tire is the maximum cold inflation pressure for that tire. It has nothing to do with what the recommended inflation pressure is for your vehicle. The tire should be compatible with the type of vehicle it is mounted on.

Officially, you would inflate per vehicle specs. That said, I normally run mine high (42 ~ 45 psi) for the improved handling and improved mileage for on road travel. I watch the tread for wear and rotate regularly. I also run a higher load rated tire that has a max cold inflation pressure of 80 psi.

Jon

 

[mrpanic7]

So my 4runners specs says, manual and frame door specs, that I should run them at 32psi, but my tires specs, Bridgestone Dueler H/T a max of 44psi. For I run 100% road, no off road what so ever, until I get new tires and spacers lift.

What should I do? Its a V6 btw, no hauling....

Go by tire. a few pounds less than max is fine. Just keep checking your tread wear and check to make sure you are not balding the outsides of the tire (under inflated) or the center of the tire (over inflation).

 

[MikeInNH]

44psi is for a vehicle that weighs about 8000lbs. If you read the tire it'll say something like 44psi @ 2000lbs. You do NOT want to come even close to that.

The recommended pressure is 32psi. I recommend 34-35psi MAX....Anything more and you run the risk of decreased performance and uneven wear.

 

[Gerdo]

There are two threads on this subject going on now.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/general-discussions/110299-lt-tires-need-more-air-pressure.html
and
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/general-discussions/110300-ask-tire-engineer.html

The quick summery is that LTs need more psi than a P series tire of the same size and larger than stock need less psi to carry the same weight.

What does it say in the manual/door jam?
For what size tires?
And what size and type tire are you running now?

 

[Gerdo]

Go by tire. a few pounds less than max is fine. Just keep checking your tread wear and check to make sure you are not balding the outsides of the tire (under inflated) or the center of the tire (over inflation).

You can't go by the tire max pressure. This is to carry the max weight that the tire can carry. A lot of people run an E rated tire and there is ZERO reason to run anywhere near the max pressure.

 

[JB.]

So my 4runners specs says, manual and frame door specs, that I should run them at 32psi, but my tires specs, Bridgestone Dueler H/T a max of 44psi. For I run 100% road, no off road what so ever, until I get new tires and spacers lift.

What should I do? Its a V6 btw, no hauling....

Forget what the tire says unless there's an LT instead of P in front of the size on the sidewall (which it doesn't sound like there is). Use the door sticker pressure unless you feel like adding a little more..

If you want an expert opinion, ask a tire engineer (see Gerdos link). Better yet, read a few of the questions and answers there and you'll almost certainly see your question -- and then you'll have your answer.

 

[Nuke]

Wow, another kid with his first car...

What jdkilroy said. NEVER run the stated max pressure on the tire for road use.

That said, every tire will feel different to every driver. Start out at the recommended pressure on the placard on the drivers door jamb and then increase or decrease by 2 PSI after each "test drive" until you find the one that feels the best. At 40+ PSI, your contact patch will be minimal at highway speeds so keep that in mind as you go a good bit above the recommended pressure. Most folks seem to settle on about 2-4PSI above what's recommended on the placard.

 

[paquitox]

Wow, another kid with his first car...

What jdkilroy said. NEVER run the stated max pressure on the tire for road use.

That said, every tire will feel different to every driver. Start out at the recommended pressure on the placard on the drivers door jamb and then increase or decrease by 2 PSI after each "test drive" until you find the one that feels the best. At 40+ PSI, your contact patch will be minimal at highway speeds so keep that in mind as you go a good bit above the recommended pressure. Most folks seem to settle on about 2-4PSI above what's recommended on the placard.

Not a kid (30) and also not my first car, just my first truck. I've never dealt with tires this big....:

Anyway I ran them at 40psi yesterday and felt great on the hway. Probably will take it down to about 37-38psi since the thread its pretty bad, old tire.

 

[MikeInNH]

Not a kid (30) and also not my first car, just my first truck. I've never dealt with tires this big...

Doesn't matter if you're driving a Prius...or a Hummer...you use 2-4lbs over what is on the sticker on the door.

 

[03_4x4Runner]

Why do most people think they are smarter than Toyota engineers? With stock tires stay with the recommended pressure. You can add a little so that as the tire naturally looses air it will still not go below 32.

 

[paquitox]

That's why I will go down to 35.

Thanks to all for the help.

 

[Flyer]

Don't go by the tire max, as many have stated. I belive the T4R says 32 psi. I keep it at 34 on the road. I never go over 35 and try to never let it drop below 32. It rides pretty well and I still get 18 mpg. I tried 38 psi once it it felt pretty harsh and abrupt...not going to do that again.

The tire max is simply the max air the tire can handle based on max load. Usually, one does that when towing something heavy or driving a heavily loaded vehicle. At least, that is what I was told.

 

[djj1973]

Wow...so many different answers. The specs are on the door jam and owners manual for a reason. I run 32 psi. I check them each week and adjust accordingly. The 44 psi on the tire is what never to exceed per the tire, not the vehicle. My tires are wearing perfectly.

 

[MikeInNH]

You may find the same tire/size on a range of vehicles that vary in size and weight. Most people look at the tire and read ONLY the first part...MAX Tire Pressure 44psi...and completely ignore the second part @2000lbs (or some other number...depending on the tire). That means that for a vehicle that weighs 8000lbs (2000 * 4) you want the pressure to be 44psi. Since our 4runners don't even come close to 8000lbs you don't want the tire pressure anywhere near 44psi.

Auto Manufacturers tend to like a softer ride. But if you want a little firmer ride a little margin of error...then increasing the pressure by 2-3lbs is a good idea. I usually set mine to 35psi. With this extremely warm weather it was reading 37psi so I reduced the pressure back to 35psi. When the temps drop again I'll probably have to add a couple lbs of pressure.

 

[Gecko123]

You may find the same tire/size on a range of vehicles that vary in size and weight. Most people look at the tire and read ONLY the first part...MAX Tire Pressure 44psi...and completely ignore the second part @2000lbs (or some other number...depending on the tire). That means that for a vehicle that weighs 8000lbs (2000 * 4) you want the pressure to be 44psi. Since our 4runners don't even come close to 8000lbs you don't want the tire pressure anywhere near 44psi.

Auto Manufacturers tend to like a softer ride. But if you want a little firmer ride a little margin of error...then increasing the pressure by 2-3lbs is a good idea. I usually set mine to 35psi. With this extremely warm weather it was reading 37psi so I reduced the pressure back to 35psi. When the temps drop again I'll probably have to add a couple lbs of pressure.

Yes, I agree with you. Basically whatever the door jam says but you canadd 2-3 lbs more. I can't believe some people go by the tire's max pressure. That has nothing to do with how much you inflate it when it's mounted on a 4runner in this case. For example, the exact same tire on a jeep may call for 33 lb, but on a toyota it is 32lbs. Someone said the 32 is because it's based on the original tire. This is not true at all because on my 4runner the original were michlines and the max was 40 something. I think the easiest way to think of this is, tire manufactures have no idea in what car you are going to mount the tires on so they just tellls you the maximum pressure the tire can handle and nothing more

Toyota engineers go through various testing with different tires mounted on the 4runner and 32 is the happy balance for comfort and performance.