How much air?

[H. Whelply]

'04 Forester XT, delivered over the weekend. Just checked tire air pressure
on the GeoLanders, and they're at 35.5. Door plaque or label says run 29
front, 28 rear, unless you have a load, then 35 rear. I'll check with the
dealer tomorrow, but it seems odd that they would deliver the car with
pressures so far from manufacturer spec, at least in front. Anyone have
similar experience? Advice?

Yes, I'm aware (and it's my usual practice) to do what the manufacturer
says.

HW

 

[Frank Logullo]

'04 Forester XT, delivered over the weekend. Just checked tire air pressure
on the GeoLanders, and they're at 35.5. Door plaque or label says run 29
front, 28 rear, unless you have a load, then 35 rear. I'll check with the
dealer tomorrow, but it seems odd that they would deliver the car with
pressures so far from manufacturer spec, at least in front. Anyone have
similar experience? Advice?

Several of us have had this happen. I put in nearly 3,000 miles and found
all pressures to be 45 psi.
Service dept. says they are shipped over pressure in case they lose some
air, they will not have to bring in equipment to storage yard to inflate.
Basically dealer prep is sloppy.
Frank

 

[H. Whelply]

Several of us have had this happen. I put in nearly 3,000 miles and found
all pressures to be 45 psi.
Service dept. says they are shipped over pressure in case they lose some
air, they will not have to bring in equipment to storage yard to inflate.
Basically dealer prep is sloppy.
Frank

Checked with the dealer this AM. He said they normally put 33 psi in
for all-around driving in this area (So. Calif.).

Did the "several of [you]" go with the "official" inflation pressures
or something else?

What strikes me also is: how does Subaru define "load" or "loaded"?
The max load for the car is 900 pounds. So, is that the number that
triggers the need for 36 lbs. in back? Or if, say, three large adults
are in the car, with some luggage, is that a "load" or "loaded"?

Hal

 

[Edward Hayes]

My owner manual describes what is light/normal and what is considered heavy.
What does your manual say?? ed

 

[D H]

Checked with the dealer this AM. He said they normally put 33 psi in
for all-around driving in this area (So. Calif.).

Did the "several of [you]" go with the "official" inflation pressures
or something else?

Hal, I (and several others I know have responded many times before to
similar threads) run 35psi all the time. That's a personal choice, but I
know that is what my dealership usually advises folks too. This gives longer
mileage wear on your tires, somewhat better gas mileage (not scientifically
measured in my case, just logically assumed), and still provides good
handling. The lower recommended psi ratings should give a softer ride,
admittedly, but I'm happy with 35psi. You can certainly experiment, and find
what suits your driving tastes etc. You certainly don't want to run terribly
LOW pressures, for obvious reasons, but running higher, as allowed by
whatever limits your tires have, is not a problem if you know what the
tradeoffs are. You're not locked in to one setup and one setup only.

What strikes me also is: how does Subaru define "load" or "loaded"?
The max load for the car is 900 pounds. So, is that the number that
triggers the need for 36 lbs. in back? Or if, say, three large adults
are in the car, with some luggage, is that a "load" or "loaded"?

Again, find what suits you. I typically have no passengers in the back
seat, but carry a toolbox and bike wheel in the rear, and bike on the top
rack. All these variables affect something, but as I said above, I just run
35psi and it works fine for me and gives good tire wear as well.

 

[Dominic Richens]

Hal, I (and several others I know have responded many times
before to similar threads) run 35psi all the time.

Does it make sense, then, for me to run with a higher pressure for a long
highway-only drive?

I always check tire pressure and oil when filling up for that long, highway
only, trip. I always make sure it is a bit over what is stated on the
inside of the driver's side door. Upon looking at my tire's max rating of
45psi, I've wondered if I should push it up to the high 30's or ever 40 psi,
then let the extra pressure out at the end of the trip for better handling
in wet.

cheers!

 

[D H]

Does it make sense, then, for me to run with a higher pressure for a long
highway-only drive?

I always check tire pressure and oil when filling up for that long, highway
only, trip. I always make sure it is a bit over what is stated on the
inside of the driver's side door. Upon looking at my tire's max rating of
45psi, I've wondered if I should push it up to the high 30's or ever 40 psi,
then let the extra pressure out at the end of the trip for better handling
in wet.

I know of some on this newsgroup who say they do run 40 or even more, I
believe. My tires are usually max of 35, so that's what I run. I guess you
might try the higher #s and see how it works in terms of ride stiffness,
handling, etc.[/QUOTE]

 

[Nicolas Dore]

'04 Forester XT, delivered over the weekend. Just checked tire air pressure
on the GeoLanders, and they're at 35.5. Door plaque or label says run 29
front, 28 rear, unless you have a load, then 35 rear. I'll check with the
dealer tomorrow, but it seems odd that they would deliver the car with
pressures so far from manufacturer spec, at least in front. Anyone have
similar experience? Advice?

Yes, I'm aware (and it's my usual practice) to do what the manufacturer
says.

HW

Hello HW

My previous car's (1982 Mercedes) owner's manual suggested adding 2psi
if doing a lot of highway travel and 4psi if doing high speed highway
travel. I run my 2000 Legacy with 3psi more than suggested by the
owner's manual as I do quite a bit of highway and the harder (not by
much, if anything...) ride is OK with me.

My 2 cents...

Nicolas

P.s. sorry if this is duplicate, not sure if sent the first time...

 

[Ken Gilbert]

I know of some on this newsgroup who say they do run 40 or even more, I
believe. My tires are usually max of 35, so that's what I run. I guess you
might try the higher #s and see how it works in terms of ride stiffness,
handling, etc.

i run 40# all the time in my 205/55 re92's, oem tires on impreza wrx.

much better feel for the road.

jm2c
ken

 

[Bart]

For years, in all my cars, I have run 32psi with no ill effects

I'm not sure why the manufacturers always seem to recommend less (or why
dealers always seem to pump in more) -- I find the 30s give longer wear to
the tires. But 32 doesn't make it as rough a ride as maybe 38 would.

 

[D H]

i run 40# all the time in my 205/55 re92's, oem tires on impreza wrx.

much better feel for the road.

Yes, I was noticing yesterday as I shopped for tires online that the 55
series tires tend to allow that higher pressure. First time I had occasion
to see why some can run the higher pressures, since I had never run across
it on any tire I owned previously. (Of course, some truck tires allow the
higher psi too, for obvious reasons.)

 

[Edward Hayes]

One of the advantages of radial tires is the flexible sidewalls allow the
tire to keep the rigid (belt) in contact with the road surface. If you
exceed the recommended pressure by more than a couple of pounds (I use
+4psig) then you loose the radial advantage.

 

[H. Whelply]

My owner manual describes what is light/normal and what is considered heavy.
What does your manual say?? ed

If it does that, I haven't found the page yet. I've looked both in the
area about tire pressures, and the area about loading the car.

Your manual is for an '04? I'd be interested in the page reference(s).

Thanks.

 

[H. Whelply]

One of the advantages of radial tires is the flexible sidewalls allow the
tire to keep the rigid (belt) in contact with the road surface. If you
exceed the recommended pressure by more than a couple of pounds (I use
+4psig) then you loose the radial advantage...

Ummm...then why do you us +4 psi over recommended? You want to "loose the
radial advantag"? Sorry, I'm missing something here.

HW

 

[Dominic Richens]

Ummm...then why do you us +4 psi over recommended? You want to "loose
the radial advantag"? Sorry, I'm missing something here.

The "radial advantage" is in traction and handling, not fuel economy. Add
4psi if you don't care about the former and want more of the latter.

 

[WRXtreme]

No offense Ken, but how can you stand the factory tires on the WRX?
Replacing them is probably the biggest handling/performance mod you can make
for under $1000. I'm not trying to cause an argument here, just wondering
how you tolerate the factory rubber.

 

[Edward Hayes]

Sorry the pressure info is on the drivers door and not the manual on my 2000
F. One to three occupants + a light load. As for the radial air pressure I
use +4 psig because I drive on "shell roads" here in SW Florida and the
extra pressure helps wear the tread more evenly. When I referred to loosing
the radial advantage I was referring increasing pressures to 38 or more
psig. There is one other disadvantage to increasing pressures significantly.
Since the tire is considered part of the damping/shock system, over pressure
puts much more wear on the suspension parts. Run the air pressure you like
but it is a trade-off. ed

 

[H. Whelply]

Thanks for the clarification. I'll doublecheck the driver's door post, where
the pressures are posted, but I don't think anything so clear as you
describe is there.

HW

 

[Mark Jones]

No offense Ken, but how can you stand the factory tires on the WRX?
Replacing them is probably the biggest handling/performance mod you can make
for under $1000. I'm not trying to cause an argument here, just wondering
how you tolerate the factory rubber.

What is your general impression of the 2004 WRX STi?

I was looking at one today and it seemed pretty impressive.
I was a bit surprised that it weighed as much as it does. I was
expecting it to be under 3000 pounds, but instead it is close
to 3300. I guess 4-wheel drive adds quite a bit.

 

[H. Whelply]

I asked about the additional weight of AWD on a Forester XT. The salesperson
said about 100 lbs. Since that vehicle is on the same Impreza platform as
the WRX (in fact, my XT engine is a detuned version of the STi
engine.....yee-haa!), it should hold true for the WRX, if he's correct.

HW