Tire Pressure ?

[dpnut2]

'05 tahoe here...I know the guide by the driver side door has the recommended tire pressure to be at 35 psi per tire.

My question is does it matter if the side wall on the tire itself has a max psi of 44?
I'm a little confused...:confused2:

 

[Sepiroth]

No it doesn't matter. Go ahead and keep your air pressures as they should be.

 

[oneradride]

Actually, it kind of depends if you are still on the same set of tires that the truck came from the factory with…..

I’m not, I run 285 BFG KO’s in the winter and they are also rated for a higher pressure. This is because they run a higher ply sidewall. When I run them at the psi on the door the truck feels sloppy. All tires are different, I’d run what the tire says.

 

[FergHoe]

I run 44 psi in my 22's .....more firm than stock but not a dumptruck ride...

 

[Sepiroth]

Yes you can run the max air pressure but you will see that the tire will wear uneven, just like it would if there was too little air pressure.

 

[dpnut2]

cool, thank you for all the replies...I keep all 4 tires at 44psi, but the door guide threw me off a little...

 

[radkon]

The guide on the door is GM's recommendation for the best compromise between:
Fuel economy
Ride quality
Handling
Noise
Load
Safety

The number on the tire is the MAXIMUM recommended pressure for the tire.

For those of you that are unaware of the whole Firestone/Ford Explorer debacle a few years ago, this topic was one of the issues that Firestone and Ford argued over.

I go with the GM number as they have data to support their recommendation. Think about when a tire is made, the manufacturer has no idea what vehicle it will end up on. That is why there is a MAX pressure rating not a recommended pressure.

 

[Stargazer]

^^^ I totally agree. I would never run a tire at maximum psi because what the manufacturer is saying is anything higher than maximum is not safe. I don't want to riding right on the limit.

I normally run just a couple of psi above the vehicle's recommendation.

 

[JDWX]

What a dilema...

I always go with just under the tire company's rating. Say 40 pounds if max is 44. I'd sorta figure they should know what their product performs with best as opposed to the Vehicle. Tire technology changes, and the door sticker doesn't Let alone, as mentioned, the door sticker refers to OEM provided tire.

Especially after the Ford/Firestone thing, I always look to the tire manufacturer's opinion.

 

[992door]

You could try this I found it on another forum.
the absolute BEST thing to do is to is find a flat dry surface that you can drive your truck on (nice flat parking lot, long driveway), color the tread of your tires with chalk, and drive it. if the chalk wears away in the middle, your pressure is too high. if it wears on the outside, pressure is too low.

 

[JDWX]

Sounds pretty logical to me.... Tedious, but logical.