What's Ur Tyre Pressure Psi?

[nokia]

hey motoring folks,

The tyre pressure for my Vigo 4X4 double cab is about 35 psi, front & rear

as i use it for light usage only. WHat's yours?

Cheers!

[Farma]

The same for my Nissan 4 x 4. I keep them at 35 psi for general high speed no load driving. I find the tyres squeal on corners if they drop below 32.

For soft sand I drop the pressures to 15 psi. I carry a dive cylinder with modified regulator and inflation hose to pump the tyres up once back on hard ground.

[luckyboy]

hey motoring folks,

The tyre pressure for my Vigo 4X4 double cab is about 35 psi, front & rear

as i use it for light usage only. WHat's yours?

Cheers!

Hi Nokia,

How exactly did you get to measure 35 psi, first thing in the morning or after an hour's drive in the afternoon?I'll continue after your answer.Thanks for any inconvenience.

[nokia]

Luckyboy,

It's a rough estimate. Anyway, I measured it in the evening after the sun set or at the petrol station. I think the pressure may be 1 or 2 psi higher on a hot afternoon?

Farma,

i noticed my front tyres have a little bulge compared to the rear tyres, maybe the front is heavier(engine) and do you think the psi should be increased?

Motoring folks,

When i received the Vigo from the Toyota dealer, the front tyres were 50psi! and rear 35psi,

but the manual recommended 29psi for front & rear.

And on the 265/70 R16 tyres indicated "do not exceed 44psi".

Any tyre experts care to comment?

Cheers!

[neverdie]

hey motoring folks,

The tyre pressure for my Vigo 4X4 double cab is about 35 psi, front & rear

as i use it for light usage only. WHat's yours?

Cheers!

Hi Nokia,

How exactly did you get to measure 35 psi, first thing in the morning or after an hour's drive in the afternoon?I'll continue after your answer.Thanks for any inconvenience.

Luckyboy,

It's a rough estimate. Anyway, I measured it in the evening after the sun set or at the petrol station. I think the pressure may be 1 or 2 psi higher on a hot afternoon?

Farma,

i noticed my front tyres have a little bulge compared to the rear tyres, maybe the front is heavier(engine) and do you think the psi should be increased?

Motoring folks,

When i received the Vigo from the Toyota dealer, the front tyres were 50psi! and rear 35psi,

but the manual recommended 29psi for front & rear.

And on the 265/70 R16 tyres indicated "do not exceed 44psi".

Any tyre experts care to comment?

Cheers!

Nokia,

I completed a tyre technology course a number of years ago, during my employment. I am very fussy about tyre pressures and many people underestimate the importance of correct tyre pressures. Both overinflated and underinflated tyres can effect the handling and safety of your vehicle, irregardless of its make and model. Not all tyres are made to the same high standards, especially in these parts of the world.

As you might imagine, I almost have a baby everytime I see someone inflating tyres in Thailand and then using their thumb or foot to check its pressure.

Nokia, as a 'general' guide, tyres of a motor vehicle increase their tyre pressure by about 10% after normal driving. The best time to check you tyre pressure is when 'cold', perhaps in the morning prior to the vehicle being driven.

It doesnt surprise me that you picked up a new car with 50psi in the tyres....that is too much.

As every tyre is different, you should follow or stick closely with the particular manufactures details on the tyre. There is a range in which a tyre should be inflated to as a guide & as the user of any one particular vehicle, you can adjust those pressures to suit your particular driving style, preference and or vehicle load etc. For example, if the tyre indicates maxium pressure of 44psi (that will be a cold temp) and the vehicles manual suggest the original tyre should be inflated to a certain pressure, start there & slowly adjust the pressure from there.

There will be many opinions on exactly what is right for the varying types, styles and models of vehicles, tyres are a very personal choice.

Don't judge a tyre based on its little bulge at the front >>>> Put an accurate pressure guage on it. On that point, I never trust any guages from Service Stations, you will nearly always see them being dropped & its very common that they are not accurate. Get a good guage & keep it inside the vehicle. If you drop it from any height higher than your ankle - throw it in the bin. If you check your tyres at the service station & they come in at 38psi (warm temp), then they will be close to the 35psi mark, cold.

If you are driving off road, with a heavily laden vehicle at speed, on corrigations (such as in outback areas) then the tyre will heat up more than the 10% (Its not the sort of driving done here in Thailand.

Be mindful that incorrectly inflated tyres will adversly effect, steering, braking and general handling. Underinflated tyres heat up significantly quicker & may cause the tyre to suffer from what is known as 'Delamination' where the tread of the tyre seperates from the tyre carcase.....not very nice thing to happen at highway speeds, especially on the steering end of the vehicle. Over inflated tyres can also affect the handling of the car, it does this by reducing the 'contact area' of the tyre on the road surface, will make the tyres harder & therefore less comfortable & really high pressures may cause a bouncing type affect & in extreem cases a sudden and unexpected deflation (Blowout).

You havent asked for half the information supplied but if you have any other questions I can try to answer them, the sidewall of your tyre contains alot of information which can determine many things about the individual tyre.

Good luck & take care of your tyres & tyre guage. I also bought a cheap tyre pump here in thailand, so i can do the pressures at home instead of wrestling some young thai guy at the service station, you can get them as cheap as a few hundred baht and they simply plug into the cigarette lighter....that way you can always pump up at home before setting off. I have found the guage supplied with it is inaccurate. VDO supply good tyre guages.

Edited January 6, 2009 by neverdie

[nokia]

Nokia,

I completed a tyre technology course a number of years ago, during my employment. I am very fussy about tyre pressures and many people underestimate the importance of correct tyre pressures. Both overinflated and underinflated tyres can effect the handling and safety of your vehicle, irregardless of its make and model. Not all tyres are made to the same high standards, especially in these parts of the world.

As you might imagine, I almost have a baby everytime I see someone inflating tyres in Thailand and then using their thumb or foot to check its pressure.

Nokia, as a 'general' guide, tyres of a motor vehicle increase their tyre pressure by about 10% after normal driving. The best time to check you tyre pressure is when 'cold', perhaps in the morning prior to the vehicle being driven.

It doesnt surprise me that you picked up a new car with 50psi in the tyres....that is too much.

As every tyre is different, you should follow or stick closely with the particular manufactures details on the tyre. There is a range in which a tyre should be inflated to as a guide & as the user of any one particular vehicle, you can adjust those pressures to suit your particular driving style, preference and or vehicle load etc. For example, if the tyre indicates maxium pressure of 44psi (that will be a cold temp) and the vehicles manual suggest the original tyre should be inflated to a certain pressure, start there & slowly adjust the pressure from there.

There will be many opinions on exactly what is right for the varying types, styles and models of vehicles, tyres are a very personal choice.

Don't judge a tyre based on its little bulge at the front >>>> Put an accurate pressure guage on it. On that point, I never trust any guages from Service Stations, you will nearly always see them being dropped & its very common that they are not accurate. Get a good guage & keep it inside the vehicle. If you drop it from any height higher than your ankle - throw it in the bin. If you check your tyres at the service station & they come in at 38psi (warm temp), then they will be close to the 35psi mark, cold.

If you are driving off road, with a heavily laden vehicle at speed, on corrigations (such as in outback areas) then the tyre will heat up more than the 10% (Its not the sort of driving done here in Thailand.

Be mindful that incorrectly inflated tyres will adversly effect, steering, braking and general handling. Underinflated tyres heat up significantly quicker & may cause the tyre to suffer from what is known as 'Delamination' where the tread of the tyre seperates from the tyre carcase.....not very nice thing to happen at highway speeds, especially on the steering end of the vehicle. Over inflated tyres can also affect the handling of the car, it does this by reducing the 'contact area' of the tyre on the road surface, will make the tyres harder & therefore less comfortable & really high pressures may cause a bouncing type affect & in extreem cases a sudden and unexpected deflation (Blowout).

You havent asked for half the information supplied but if you have any other questions I can try to answer them, the sidewall of your tyre contains alot of information which can determine many things about the individual tyre.

Good luck & take care of your tyres & tyre guage. I also bought a cheap tyre pump here in thailand, so i can do the pressures at home instead of wrestling some young thai guy at the service station, you can get them as cheap as a few hundred baht and they simply plug into the cigarette lighter....that way you can always pump up at home before setting off. I have found the guage supplied with it is inaccurate. VDO supply good tyre guages.

Thank you for sharing your expertise & essential info on tyre maintenance.

So what's your tyre pressure for your pickup/car?

I also have a air compressor pump but

1. the radial meter guage shows increments of 10 psi which is difficult to estimate.

The pump at the service station is in increment of 1psi.(usually out of order due to over usage)

2. it states that "after 10 minutes of continuous usage, it should rest 10 minutes"

3. Do i need to start/keep the car engine going, or will the car battery be flat if i use the pump for too long???

Cheers!

[jcon]

35 all around for me for every car except one with low profile tyres, which I bump up to 38-40 because I don't want potholes to damage my wheels

On my old E38, I had 20" Alpina Softlines with low profile Yoko AVSs and I kept those at 40-42... I would cry when I hit potholes.

Nitrogen in my Triton at 35 and I haven't checked in ages... Have oversized Bridgestone Deulers on it so it's still nice and marshmallowy and I'd guess it's around 33 by now. I sat in a Navarra at 35psi and I mentioned in another post that that was a brutal ride, I attribute it less to the tyre pressure than to the horrid suspension on that vehicle.

I haven't yet found a good tire pressure gauge in Thailand.... where do you guys get them?

[dotcom]

hey motoring folks,

The tyre pressure for my Vigo 4X4 double cab is about 35 psi, front & rear

as i use it for light usage only. WHat's yours?

Yep the shop I bought the last set said 35 psi front & rear. Cold.

[torrenova]

Err, is it just me but don't all cars and trucks have the correct pressures on a plate inside the driver's door ?

My D-Max says 29 all around but I initially thought that too low. I had them at 33 or so but put them down to 31 and it handles better. At 29 it does seems a little soft but these guys spend the bucks to know what they are doing don't they ?

I have a gauge I bought in Carrefour for about Bt300 or so. Circular with a stick on it. Had the same type in Europe for years as well.

I check tyres for stones all the time and use a little soup spoon to remove them, kept in the glove compartment. I check pressures about once every 2 weeks or before a trip. The drive to the garage is about 3km and I take it very easy.

Driving at 35+ seems like the truck is dancing on the road and is much more stable at the lower pressures.

[dotcom]

Depends on the brand of tire & how much weight you are carrying. My Cameo is a heavy SOB & I know why they want me to run the absolute max psi.

When in doubt - ask a tire dealer who stocks your brand.

[torrenova]

Depends on the brand of tire & how much weight you are carrying. My Cameo is a heavy SOB & I know why they want me to run the absolute max psi.

When in doubt - ask a tire dealer who stocks your brand.

Agreed but I have the same tyres on as when new though I have replaced two. As for asking Somchai ? Show me one who will do the job properly ? They all want to run them way too high from my experience.

I did increase the pressures when hauling loads but for town driving, I think they are better nearer 30.

[Bung]

The information sticker inside the drivers side door on my 4x4 4 door Vigo says 29 psi. Wouldn'tthis be the correct pressure to run them at seeing how the built the car? I put 30 in cold at home with my own compressor and tyre guage I keep in the glove box. Thais love to put crazy pressures in, I had a guy put 45 in for my wife the other day when she came to pick me up. I went down their and showed him the sticker-just so he knew and my mrs gave me a hard time for "causing problem"!

[nokia]

Err, is it just me but don't all cars and trucks have the correct pressures on a plate inside the driver's door ?

My D-Max says 29 all around but I initially thought that too low. I had them at 33 or so but put them down to 31 and it handles better. At 29 it does seems a little soft but these guys spend the bucks to know what they are doing don't they ?

I have a gauge I bought in Carrefour for about Bt300 or so. Circular with a stick on it. Had the same type in Europe for years as well.

I check tyres for stones all the time and use a little soup spoon to remove them, kept in the glove compartment. I check pressures about once every 2 weeks or before a trip. The drive to the garage is about 3km and I take it very easy.

Driving at 35+ seems like the truck is dancing on the road and is much more stable at the lower pressures.

WOw, you are very meticulous, few drivers i know check & remove small stones from their tyres.

Yes i think 29psi seems to be the benchmark for a comfortable ride. At 35psi, it gets a bit hard especially going over humps & potholes.

I have a similar guage but after dropping it, it's useless.

The information sticker inside the drivers side door on my 4x4 4 door Vigo says 29 psi. Wouldn'tthis be the correct pressure to run them at seeing how the built the car? I put 30 in cold at home with my own compressor and tyre guage I keep in the glove box. Thais love to put crazy pressures in, I had a guy put 45 in for my wife the other day when she came to pick me up. I went down their and showed him the sticker-just so he knew and my mrs gave me a hard time for "causing problem"!

I think at 45-50 psi, there is a high risk of tyre blowout, esp on a hot day & sharp stones.

At 30+psi, the ride gets harsher but the mileage improves. It's really up to you.

[neverdie]

Thank you for sharing your expertise & essential info on tyre maintenance.

So what's your tyre pressure for your pickup/car?

I also have a air compressor pump but

1. the radial meter guage shows increments of 10 psi which is difficult to estimate.

The pump at the service station is in increment of 1psi.(usually out of order due to over usage)

2. it states that "after 10 minutes of continuous usage, it should rest 10 minutes"

3. Do i need to start/keep the car engine going, or will the car battery be flat if i use the pump for too long???

Cheers!

Nokia,

The guage on your pump is probably useless irregardless of what increments it runs in. I take it you are talking about running your pump for 10 minutes at a time, then resting it for the same (to let its little motor cool). I actually have a bigger one with an auto cut off switch, it automatically stops if it get too hot. I would imagine if you only need to pump a few psi into your tyres at a time, that 10 minutes will roughly be enough. Most batteries will handle a few minutes of the pump going without causing a problem, but I personally let the motor run for the few minutes when my pump is cranking as it causes the battery stress. If you run the pump with the engine off & then start the motor & the pump seems to pick up pace, then i would run it with the engine on. I HATE Flat batteries .

As for my vehicle I have an oversized tyres & run them at varying pressures depending on what the vehicle is doing or how it is loaded. I have when its heavy run them at 40-42psi, on the other end of the scale in deep sand had them as low as 16psi. Not all tyres on cars are created equal, they vary from LT (Light Truck) tyres to sports (Low profile) tyres, they all have different load ratings & speed ratings - all this info is printed on the sidewall of the tyre.

Someone before mentioned that most vehicles have a tyre placard on the vehicle, sometimes its in the drivers door area, sometimes in the glove box...its a pressure recommended by the cars manufacturer, its a great place to start if you don't know where to inflate your tyres to. Having said that the tyre manufacturer will either print a range or a limit to which their tyre should be inflated to because they know that its appropriate to change the pressure in your tyres depending on what is happening with the vehicle, ie: speeds & loads. You will find all the info you need on the side of your tyre.

If you cars wheel alignment is very good (& its probably very hard to get a good alignment done here in thailand) then it is wise to keep an eye on the tread wear of the tyres - if you are running them a bit soft for the way in the vehicle is being used, you will find the tyres will wear on both the inner & outer edges. If you are running the tyres too hard the centre of the tyre will wear out faster. (I'm talking about the width of the tyre here). Of course most vehicles I see here in thailand have an alignment problem where either the inner edge or the outer edge of the tyre wears out & the other end of the tyre still has great tread depths.

If the guage in the pump at the service station is in the handpiece of the pump, then i would be cautious about its readings, if its one of those new wizbang electronic ones - its probably accurate.

I have always found the tyres you get with your standard hilux or whatever are generally crap, I hate em with vengance & personally prefer to upgrade to higher market end tyres, afterall they are the thing that keeps your vehicle on the road. I replace my tyres before they reach the 'tyre wear indicators' on the tyres.

Anyway, tyres they are black and round (nearly round) & they need to be taken care of & inspected often....take care of them & they will take care of you. Have you noticed when they go flat its only the bottom that seems to have a problem?

[nokia]

The guage on your pump is probably useless irregardless of what increments it runs in. I take it you are talking about running your pump for 10 minutes at a time, then resting it for the same (to let its little motor cool). I actually have a bigger one with an auto cut off switch, it automatically stops if it get too hot. I would imagine if you only need to pump a few psi into your tyres at a time, that 10 minutes will roughly be enough. Most batteries will handle a few minutes of the pump going without causing a problem, but I personally let the motor run for the few minutes when my pump is cranking as it causes the battery stress. If you run the pump with the engine off & then start the motor & the pump seems to pick up pace, then i would run it with the engine on. I HATE Flat batteries .

As for my vehicle I have an oversized tyres & run them at varying pressures depending on what the vehicle is doing or how it is loaded. I have when its heavy run them at 40-42psi, on the other end of the scale in deep sand had them as low as 16psi. Not all tyres on cars are created equal, they vary from LT (Light Truck) tyres to sports (Low profile) tyres, they all have different load ratings & speed ratings - all this info is printed on the sidewall of the tyre.

Someone before mentioned that most vehicles have a tyre placard on the vehicle, sometimes its in the drivers door area, sometimes in the glove box...its a pressure recommended by the cars manufacturer, its a great place to start if you don't know where to inflate your tyres to. Having said that the tyre manufacturer will either print a range or a limit to which their tyre should be inflated to because they know that its appropriate to change the pressure in your tyres depending on what is happening with the vehicle, ie: speeds & loads. You will find all the info you need on the side of your tyre.

If you cars wheel alignment is very good (& its probably very hard to get a good alignment done here in thailand) then it is wise to keep an eye on the tread wear of the tyres - if you are running them a bit soft for the way in the vehicle is being used, you will find the tyres will wear on both the inner & outer edges. If you are running the tyres too hard the centre of the tyre will wear out faster. (I'm talking about the width of the tyre here). Of course most vehicles I see here in thailand have an alignment problem where either the inner edge or the outer edge of the tyre wears out & the other end of the tyre still has great tread depths.

If the guage in the pump at the service station is in the handpiece of the pump, then i would be cautious about its readings, if its one of those new wizbang electronic ones - its probably accurate.

I have always found the tyres you get with your standard hilux or whatever are generally crap, I hate em with vengance & personally prefer to upgrade to higher market end tyres, afterall they are the thing that keeps your vehicle on the road. I replace my tyres before they reach the 'tyre wear indicators' on the tyres.

Anyway, tyres they are black and round (nearly round) & they need to be taken care of & inspected often....take care of them & they will take care of you. Have you noticed when they go flat its only the bottom that seems to have a problem?

Gd advice. The pump at the service station is the digital one, it's quite accurate although the rubber tube is occasionally broken & needs to be repaired.

It seems that most drivers are nonchalant about their tyres, rarely checking on it, & pumping them once in a blue moon?

[Gary A]

For my pickup, 32 PSI in the front and 28 PSI in the back. If you are going to load the pickup, up to 40 PSI in the back. This give a good ride. More than 28 PSI in the back will cause the rear end to dance on rough roads.

[luckyboy]

hey motoring folks,

The tyre pressure for my Vigo 4X4 double cab is about 35 psi, front & rear

as i use it for light usage only. WHat's yours?

Cheers!

My Hilux vigo 4x4 manual 35 psi cold both front/rear, rolls well.

Tyre pressure is not a permanent problem, just need to adjust to your liking. It's all about the suspension that couldn't deal with potholes and street humps properly, shaking over irregular surface. I find the Dmax suspension to be better than my Hilux I also find the clutch too hard, anyone out there or it is just me? I had the pedal adjusted lower but still very hard, a real pain in slow traffic never had this problem with all previous manual. Is there anyway to make it feel better? I had a habit of driving with the shoes off. I also notice the engine vibrates slightly just before I could drop a gear in slow traffic. Not that I'm slow to downshift it just vibrate with a funny noise. The body material is very tinny, I drive through a rubber estate and some dry twigs hit the side rear door leaves a deep mark. If it's my older Mighty X Hilux worse will just be a scratch.

[billd766]

I just bought 4 new Michelin tyres for my Ford Ranger and they came with a pressure of 35 psi. Ford recommend 26 all round when no load which is what it is most of the time.

I dropped the presures to about 29 all around and my wife cannot understand why. She tells me the guys at the depot know what they are doing but I am not so sure.

On the other hand they did set up the tracking using European equipment and I did check them as they were doing it. The car now seems to be fine when I let the steering go at 80 kmh and not pull left as it used to.

These are only the 3rd set of tyres in 183,000 km and some of the tyres I replaced still had 10,000 km roughly left on them.

My wife will sell them to the local tok tok guys for 2 or 300 baht each.

Each tyre 235/80/15 etc cost 3,800 baht. New valves, balancing and alignment came free.

[torrenova]

I get the tracking done periodically at a place here in Buriram with all manner of things in the huge auto shop. NO charge usually or perhaps a couple of hundred baht. The truck goes there for everything except service.

[JetsetBkk]

Err, is it just me but don't all cars and trucks have the correct pressures on a plate inside the driver's door ?

My D-Max says 29 all around but I initially thought that too low...

Yes, my pick-up has a sticker there that says 29 all round, but I usually pump up to 30.

...I check tyres for stones all the time and use a little soup spoon to remove them, kept in the glove compartment...

Me too - small flat ended screwdriver wrapped up with a pressure gauge. (I hate that ticking noise when a stuck stone hits the road).

...I also bought a cheap tyre pump here in thailand, so i can do the pressures at home ... and they simply plug into the cigarette lighter....that way you can always pump up at home before setting off....

Me too. Mine is made by "MyCarr" (?) - noisy little thing, vibrates like buggery but does the job.

... I keep them at 35 psi for general high speed no load driving. I find the tyres squeal on corners if they drop below 32...

That irritating squealing noise is probably your tyres doing what they are supposed to do - grip the road. If you pump them up so that they don't sit flat on the road, then they won't squeal because the edges won't be in contact with the road.

Up to you!

PS. My tyres squeal incredibly loudly and people turn to look whenever I do a U-turn at a particular junction - even at 5 kph. I can only presume that everyone else is driving on tyres inflated like balloons, because I rarely hear other vehicles make so much noise.

PPS. My tyres are 5 years old and still have plenty of tread. (Crap for stopping, but still have plenty of tread.)

[marshbags]

Err, is it just me but don't all cars and trucks have the correct pressures on a plate inside the driver's door ?

My D-Max says 29 all around but I initially thought that too low...

Yes, my pick-up has a sticker there that says 29 all round, but I usually pump up to 30.

Mine are on kept at 32 ( with my tyre gauge reading )

Within the range going on the pressures posted for a DMax and added to this the weight of a very sturdy / heavish back cover, makes it about right.

I,m interested in getting one of those plug in pumps, where and what make is best please ?

I,m usually in and around the Udonthani area.

marshbags

Edited January 12, 2009 by marshbags

[JetsetBkk]

...I,m interested in getting one of those plug in pumps, where and what make is best please ?...

I think I got mine in Big C, but not sure - it was 5 years ago!: