Tire pressure for winter tires

T

Tim Reeve

When getting my winter tires installed, the mechanic mentioned that they
recommend setting the pressure to a couple of PSI less than summers. This
seems sensible, but I wondered if anyone had any experience or facts to back
this up?

His reasoning is you want a slightly softer tire to grip the road better.
Coupled, I would guess, with the idea that you are not as likely to be
cornering as hard! Since I usually run about 2 PSI above the suggested
inflation, this would actually bring me down to normal anyway.
Cheers,
Tim
 
Tim Reeve said:
When getting my winter tires installed, the mechanic mentioned that they
recommend setting the pressure to a couple of PSI less than summers. This
seems sensible, but I wondered if anyone had any experience or facts to back
this up?

His reasoning is you want a slightly softer tire to grip the road better.
Coupled, I would guess, with the idea that you are not as likely to be
cornering as hard! Since I usually run about 2 PSI above the suggested
inflation, this would actually bring me down to normal anyway.
Cheers,
Tim

Hello Tim

Just my 2 cents: Winter tires are already designed with rubber that
stays flexible at lower temperatures, so they will, by design, grip
the road well when cold; Winter tires wear faster, and may be more
prone to uneven wear due to underinflation; Air compresses as it gets
colder (I've read ~1psi for every 5 degrees Celsius - ~10 deg. F - in
tires...) so underinflating by 2 psi at 0 Celsius - 32 F - will turn
into -6 psi at -20 Celsius - -10 F; I *think* underinflation is
recommended on snow and ice, but again I don't know if this is with
older winter tires and if modern (post-Blizzac) winter tires need it
or react well to it - it might be good only in extreme situations.

I run 35/33 (factory rec. is 32/30) in my winter tires...

As I said, my 2 cents... :)

Nicolas
 
Tim Reeve said:
When getting my winter tires installed, the mechanic mentioned that they
recommend setting the pressure to a couple of PSI less than summers. This
seems sensible, but I wondered if anyone had any experience or facts to back
this up?

His reasoning is you want a slightly softer tire to grip the road better.
Coupled, I would guess, with the idea that you are not as likely to be
cornering as hard! Since I usually run about 2 PSI above the suggested
inflation, this would actually bring me down to normal anyway.
Cheers,
Tim

within reason, lower air pressure means more traction and more wear.
before this winter i drove in an area that was snowy, but not very
icy, now i'm in an icy/snowy winter and this is my first year with
real winter tires. on my subaru, i'm keeping my eagle hp all seasons,
but on my old 4runner i decided to go with the winter dueler (light
truck blizzak). i haven't run them very far so i can't comment on
wear, but i'm only running 20psi in the tires and i have excellent
(better than studs) traction. i've known people to run as low as 8psi
in their blizzaks when it's really icy out, but i think my truck it
too heavy to do that without serious tire damage.

i've never been one to really believe the sticker in the door that
says what tire pressure to run. that value may be true for the oe
tires, but even going to a different brand or model in the same size
tire, you may have to change pressure to get the handling
characteristics to be optimal. as a rough guide the total contact
patch of your tires times the pressure in your tires is equal to the
weight of your car. so if you go to a little wider tire, you can
safely lower your pressure (within reason). my advice is to play
around with the pressures until you find what gives you the handling
characteristics that make you feel comfortable, and then watch tire
wear to make sure everything is even. one thing the sticker on the
door is good for it telling you the weight distribution. on my truck
it says to run 32/30 psi in the front/rear. that means the front it
probably about 7% heaver so i should run about 7% more pressure in my
fronts than my rears, that's what i do and it handles great. i do the
same for my car and have never had any problems.

mike
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
13,887
Messages
67,362
Members
7,362
Latest member
Sandlance

Latest Threads

Back
Top