Something nobody ever mentions.. tire pressure

[Eddie Sessum]

So I just randomly decided to check since Ive seen some places saying to up the pressure for better MPG.

 

Well my car is 31 31.5 32 31.5

 

Its about 78*f outside right now so its not because of cold.. Maybe thats why im not getting that great MPG compared to everyone else. Gonna bump em up to like 38 today and see what i get as far as ride quality and all.

[Eddie Sessum]

Decided on 39.5psi. Will try to remember to post results when this tank runs dry. Was debating going a little higher maybe 42 or 43 since its gonna start to cool off soon but the ride is hard enough as it is in comfort mode lol.

 

My car was rated for 34psi all the way around. Dont know if the fusion is different since they come with LRR tires.

[jeff_h]

Search is your friend... BTW I run 40 all around.

 

http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/6969-opinions-on-tire-pressure/

Edited September 23, 2013 by jeff_h

[JATR4]

So I just randomly decided to check since Ive seen some places saying to up the pressure for better MPG.

 

Well my car is 31 31.5 32 31.5

 

Its about 78*f outside right now so its not because of cold.. Maybe thats why im not getting that great MPG compared to everyone else. Gonna bump em up to like 38 today and see what i get as far as ride quality and all.

44 psi here, 45.5 mpg for 1750 miles.

[Waldo]

The higher the pressure, the longer it takes to stop in an emergency...

[dalesky]

The higher the pressure, the longer it takes to stop in an emergency...

Inflating significantly over the manufacturer's recommendation will make the car less safe. Also, if in an accident the pressure may be checked and made a part of the accident data.

[acdii]

A properly inflated tire will wear evenly across its tread. To find out just exactly where your tires inflation point is for this, its a simple procedure. Take sidewalk chalk and rub a good healthy stripe across the tread, then roll the car over that stripe twice. You will see where its worn off, Higher in the center, too much, higher on the sides, too little, just right all the way across.

 

I have done this with every car, and right now, 42 PSI on the HyTi is even all across.

[dkegel]

42 cold or 42 hot? It makes a big difference? If you test at 42 cold, that means nothing really. Assuming for the moment that it is a valid test, you would need to test at the hot pressure.

 

Dave

Edited September 23, 2013 by dkegel

[Sleddog]

35 psi. Just like the door sticker says.

[Eddie Sessum]

Tire pressures are ment to be tested when cold. Even the max pressure listed on all tires sidewall if you read about it that is based on cold tires.

[tbranca]

i'm running 46 the tire says 49psi

[dkegel]

i'm running 46 the tire says 49psi

The 49 is the maximum pressure the tire is capable of and goes along with the maximum load rating, and to some extent, the maximum speed rating. So, if you have a fully loaded car (passengers and luggage) and will be traveling at high speed, then you'd want to run close to the sidewall pressure. But under normal conditions you generally want to run what it says on the sticker inside the door. Running 10 lbs over the recommended pressure all the time is a lot. Others disagree but I think you'll wear the center of the tire early, not to mention the ride quality really suffers. All four tires on our 2014 were very overinflated from the factory/dealer and the car road like a truck. Both my wife and I noticed. It's much better now that I set them to 36psi cold.

 

Dave

[acdii]

The door sticker is the compromise settings, where the car will ride the best with low impact on FE. Higher tire pressures where you reduce the contact on the road, yet still maintain good traction, but affects ride quality is what they avoid by doing it this way. With radial tires, you have to REALLY overinflate them to get uneven wear. They are much more prone to uneven wear by underinflation, than overinflation. In fact if you have more than 2 people and luggage, its always a good idea to raise tire pressures a bit mainly so the added weight is better distributed across the tire tread.

 

On my 2010 I had 40K on those tires, set at 42 PSI year round, and they all wore evenly, traction started to suffer in the end, but that is quite normal when the tread depth is nearly down to the wear indicators. I run 42 on the HyTi Goodyears, and have not had any traction issues in the rain, and in the snow last year, they were probably the best tires I eve had on a car, which shocked the hell out of me. I had expected just the opposite. The ride is a bit stiffer, but I happen to like it that way, it improves handling, and gives me what I greatly missed in the 10, Sportiness!

[SteveB_TX]

The ride is a bit stiffer, but I happen to like it that way, it improves handling, and gives me what I greatly missed in the 10, Sportiness!

 

Now there's a term you don't often see associated with a hybrid! :)