sorry guys, i know we have talked about this whole tire pressure and inflation thing to death but im getting frustrated.
i was browsing around the j-body club of ontario website today ( nullJCO) and i found a thread about tire pressure.
i thought i would post my response here aswell, seeing as this is a topic that comes up frequently here too, expecially in the spring and summer when everyone is getting the nice aftermarket wheels ready to go on. seeing as it is almost that time of the year i thought it was appropriate.
here is the original link too.
link to JCO thread
Quote:
if you dont know what you are doing with tires, please dont say anything at all...
on all of the third gen cavaliers, and as far as i remember the 2nd gens too (except one i believe called for 35 psi) they all have a manufacturers recomended tire pressure of 30 psi.
the tire pressure is bassed on a very thought out proccess, and is not just done for the hell of it.
there are very serious reprocussions to running the wrong tire pressure, some can even reult in death or serious injury.
in your stock tires, 30 psi is where GM engineers decided the car rides and handles optimally. under inflating your tires will cause a few things to happen, 1 being uneven tire wear (outside edges will wear away faster). 2, the vehicle will understeer, giving you the feeling the car is riding on ballons or handling very sloppy. 3, if the tire is underinflated enough, the tire could be damaged or even potentially blow out.
the tire damage can occur by hitting a pothole for example. this can cause damage to the tire, usually leading to a outward bulge in the sidewall. tire failure can also occur by having a tire blowout. the tire can heat up more with less than addequate pressure by not letting the heat escape faster and actually lead to tire failure.
now, what happens if your tire is over inflated?
if your tire is over inflated, for one your tires centre tread will wear down faster.
2, you will have a car that has moved farther away from understeering and now closer to over steering. an overseer condition is similar to drifting, but usually doesnt happen on purpose. an oversteer can be very hard to control and even harder to correct. the oversteer is caused by less of the tires tread face comming in contact with the road as now more of the treads shoulder is not in contact with the road surface due to the increased pressure. this is also why the centre of the tie wears out faster.
3, tire failure can occur. just like with underinfaltion, overinflation can lead to tire failure. the pressure on the tire can exceed the tire maufacturers maximum pressure as indicated on the tire. if more than the max pressure marked on the tire is used, same principal of the underinfaltion can occur. the tire may not release heat fast enough and can blow.
so...
here's what you should take from this... inflate your tires to the proper pressure as either indicated by the manufacturer or the load inflation index.
the load inflation index is used to determine what pressure aftermarket tires should be inflated to to maintain the same load as the OEM size. any well trained tire professional or even competent shop lacky for that matter should know how to use the load index or atleast know what the hell it is.
sorry about my rant and i know its been like a month and a half since anyone has posted on here, but it makes me mad to see people giving out the wrong information that could lead to some one being hurt or killed.
unfortunatley, i cant seem to find the proper load inflation tables online at the moment, thought i do have them on my work and home computer. if anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask.
if you have something to add to this, please go ahead and do so as it may benefit eveyone else.
if you have no idea what your talking about, try to refrain from blurting out bull@!#$, as these are guidelines that are set by the TIA and are an industry standard.
1997 RedR - ZedR
Alot of that is complete BS. You can go by the manufacturer ratings all you want, but the tire itself has a maximum pressure, which is what SHOULD be gone by. Now, the max pressure on the tire isn't ALWAYS right, safest guess is usually 35.
P metric tire (standard load)- usually 44 psi max, I run 35 in a P metric tire.
Load Range C (6 ply tire) usually 50 psi max. Can run 35 if wanted, to provide a smoother ride, but have the extra plies for a more durable tire.
Load Range D (8 ply tire) 65 psi max. Not recommended to run 35 in these, 50 is usually better. These tires are generally used for heavier duty trucks.
Load Range E (10 ply tire) 80 psi max. Usually 70 psi in these is best, these are used for heavy duty trucks that haul alot of weight.
Manufacturer rated pressures are recommendations for what pressure should be ran, the tire itself knows what the tire needs for air pressure, so that is what should be gone by.
Now for low profile tires, some people say 32 lbs is best for those, it's not too over inflated so the center does not wear, and it's not under inflated causing possible tire failure. Some people like to run 40 in them to have more pressure to use the tire to their full potential.
And, going by the manufacturer recommended pressure would not be a good idea for drag slicks and trying to get optimal traction, now would it?
1983 Camaro Z28
your trying to tell me that you know better than the TIA?
well why dont i just toss out their manuals at work and print off your post....
1997 RedR - ZedR
if I'm not mistaken, ling427ttvette works for a major tire install shop. He was just trying to help so being sarcastic really isn't going to make anyone want to post useful information for your benifit.
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whitegoose( RedR-ZedR) wrote:your trying to tell me that you know better than the TIA?
well why dont i just toss out their manuals at work and print off your post....
The sarcasm is not necessary, I was putting in my opinion, and my insight as to tire pressures because I infact do work in in a major tire shop, Goodyear to be exact.
If you don't want to believe me, go ahead. Go get a truck, put some 10 ply tires on the back, go by the tire pressure rating on the door which is probably 40lbs, and then throw alot of weight in the back of that thing.. see how long those tires last with all of that weight on the small amount of air pressure in those tires.
The ratings in the manual and on the door are not always correct for the specific application.
1983 Camaro Z28
ling427ttvette wrote:whitegoose( RedR-ZedR) wrote:your trying to tell me that you know better than the TIA?
well why dont i just toss out their manuals at work and print off your post....
The sarcasm is not necessary, I was putting in my opinion, and my insight as to tire pressures because I infact do work in in a major tire shop, Goodyear to be exact.
If you don't want to believe me, go ahead. Go get a truck, put some 10 ply tires on the back, go by the tire pressure rating on the door which is probably 40lbs, and then throw alot of weight in the back of that thing.. see how long those tires last with all of that weight on the small amount of air pressure in those tires.
The ratings in the manual and on the door are not always correct for the specific application.
your right i was sarcastic and it was not needed.
the main part of my post was about putting in the correct tire pressure in your tires. when upgrading the tire size that is on your vehicle, such as going to a ten ply tire in this case from something like a p-metric 4 ply, the correct tire inflation pressure needs to be put into the tire in order to maintain the weight. that correct tire pressure should be done by using the load inflation charts, not just by gessing at what you think should be in there.
i also work at a major tire shop. costco to be exact. im sure if you looked in your manuals and sizzing books that good year gives you there will be inflation tables. they will probably stress that those need to be used in order to maintain the load of the vehicle and to have it handle properly as was designed by the vehicle manufacturer.
i take back the sarcastic remarks, they were uncalled for. im just trying to make people aware that serious consequences can occur by inflating your tires to the wrong pressure.
1997 RedR - ZedR
whitegoose( RedR-ZedR) wrote:
your right i was sarcastic and it was not needed.
the main part of my post was about putting in the correct tire pressure in your tires. when upgrading the tire size that is on your vehicle, such as going to a ten ply tire in this case from something like a p-metric 4 ply, the correct tire inflation pressure needs to be put into the tire in order to maintain the weight. that correct tire pressure should be done by using the load inflation charts, not just by gessing at what you think should be in there.
i also work at a major tire shop. costco to be exact. im sure if you looked in your manuals and sizzing books that good year gives you there will be inflation tables. they will probably stress that those need to be used in order to maintain the load of the vehicle and to have it handle properly as was designed by the vehicle manufacturer.
i take back the sarcastic remarks, they were uncalled for. im just trying to make people aware that serious consequences can occur by inflating your tires to the wrong pressure.
Hey, it's all good about the sarcastic remarks, it's JBO.
Correct tire pressure is always necessary, but I just kind of felt that the original post didn't cover alot of the variables that regularly happen with tires, like the higher ply tires on a 1/2 ton truck. That would be like someone putting 10 ply tires on a Chevy half ton with a 4.3 and inflating them to 70 psi and driving around, that is obviously going to cause alot of problems. I actually have not seen any inflation tables at Goodyear, I have no idea why they have not given them to me. I'll ask them about that when I go back for lunch, some of the guys there are older and set in the older ways, I like to do my job as professional and correct as I can with todays standards. Like it's a standard now to plug and patch a tire because it's the law, well... the older guys still just patch the tire.
I don't plan on staying much longer anyway.
1983 Camaro Z28
lol its all good man. if you want i can try can copy them for you and email them.
ive searched alot on google to no avail. all i can find on there is stuff for trailers/RV's, 18-wheelers, buses, and farm equipment. the inflation charts are very helpful. let me know what you find and if you need anything.
1997 RedR - ZedR
