New Tires - who's running 44psi ???

[georgebuhr]

I’m not a tire pro but have mounted my fair share of tires. Best advice I’ve seen so far was given by the guy that said he called Goodyear. He is absolutely correct in saying that psi on sidewall is ONLY for mounting. Placard in door jamb is what you should be running at all times, UNLESS you have changed from stock conditions. You can look at tire wear all you want, but the more dangerous condition is when you are over/underinflated. This creates a hot spot INSIDE the tire that you will not see just looking at tire wear. You can tell when this has happened when you dismount a tire and you see loose rubber bouncing around inside the tire. This can cause blowouts that you will never know is coming.

I would also note that the less air a tire has in it, the less load it can carry. This means that when you bump up from 17s like my yukon has to 20s or 22s, you need to significantly bump up the psi to be safe. Same thing when adding weight. You don’t need to change psi going to LTs, UNLESS you add weight or are towing, then the psi needs to match the load with the purpose of not creating a hot spot inside the tire.

Moral to the story is rather than assuming, guessing, looking at wear, etc, the best route is talk to a tire professional/ manufacturer to get a recommendation for the conditions. I believe there is also a book that tire installers have access to that is basically a bible for tires that tells you all the info you need. I’m not telling anyone to stop doing what works for them, but you have to be careful to get this right. Having a tire blow out is never fun.

 

[petethepug]

Grab a piece of chalk and draw a line on the treads from left to right. Take a drive and see where your contact patch is. Adjust air accordingly.


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[TahoeFL2017]

Update - after 2 months, running 38psi, the Nittos are great

Running through deep puddles just slows me down a bit, zero hydroplaning, and tried them out in DEEP loose beach sand, no issues.

Highway, I can't tell the difference from the Michelin factory tires. And a lot less$$$

 

[89Suburban]

That tire shop is run by fools then. Properly trained tire guys know that LT tires require more air than P-Metrics.

Stock size KO2s (All LTs really) on 17 inch wheels should be 42. This is minimum required to exceed rear axle capacity. At 50 psi, mine were hard to keep aired up and they slowly wore down in the center.

I'm gonna take your advice run the 42 psi on the KO2's and see how it does. I tried 30-32 and the outer edges are wearing down and they look like chit. I'll be needing new tires by the end of September and I am thinking about trying the Michelins out. The noise on these is really getting on my nerves.

 

[Stbentoak]

40 ish seems to be the sweet spot. Any lower on mine and they start to look "Flat"... Ride and mileage is good at 40....

Dealer delivered mine with 56 in them ! I assume that is the pressure used while on the carrier....

 

[swathdiver]

I'm gonna take your advice run the 42 psi on the KO2's and see how it does. I tried 30-32 and the outer edges are wearing down and they look like chit. I'll be needing new tires by the end of September and I am thinking about trying the Michelins out. The noise on these is really getting on my nerves.

I've been running mine for a while now at 46-47 psi cold. 42 exceeds the axle capacity but tire wear was more than when I used to run them at 49-50 psi.

Mine are 49 months old now, dry rotting and nearly down to the wear bars at 48K miles. They would have lasted longer had I run them with more air in the beginning.

 

[89Suburban]

I've been running mine for a while now at 46-47 psi cold. 42 exceeds the axle capacity but tire wear was more than when I used to run them at 49-50 psi.

Mine are 49 months old now, dry rotting and nearly down to the wear bars at 48K miles. They would have lasted longer had I run them with more air in the beginning.

Yeah I got a lot of dry rot as well, more than I like or would expect to see. Mostly just between the tread blocks. I got close to 40K on these.

 

[TJ Baker]

I heard so many arguments that I called the Goodyear Tire Co. The max pressure printed on the tire is the max for mounting a tire. It is never to be exceeded when seating the bead. The operating pressure in the door jamb is what you go by. You can exceed that number by a few pounds when carrying a heavy load. Running a tire at max mounting psi, especially here in Florida, will greatly increase the risk of tread separation.

So what about a case where the door sticker for the rear tires is the same as the max pressure for the tire!!

 

[Stbentoak]

So what about a case where the door sticker for the rear tires is the same as the max pressure for the tire!!

View attachment 344648

You didn’t buy the right load range of tire then. You must’ve bought a passenger tire and you should be looking at a light truck type heavier duty with more plies tire….

 

[TJ Baker]

You didn’t buy the right load range of tire then. You must’ve bought a passenger tire and you should be looking at a light truck type heavier duty with more plies tire….

The tires are the exact same tire sold with the truck as new. The door sticker is factory supplied. Are you suggesting they manufactured the truck with the wrong tires!!??