TCL Tire PSA. Always check your tire pressures after having them professionally installed.

[BRealistic]

-Bought two new tires off tire rack to replace my worn rear tires. Had them shipped to local tire shop. (nobody in city could get these tires.., but I could order them off the internet on my phone in under 5 minutes.. wth?).
-Had them installed at the tire shop.
-They seemed fine around town.
-Started a long interstate commute again this week- and on high speed corners the back end was very loose.
-Checked my wheels and suspension for anything loose since it felt like something was going wrong.
-Decided to check tire pressures at gas station next to office (cold tires).

Rear tires:



The door says 32 psi for both front and rear (fronts are 32 psi fwiw, but did not think those post pic worthy).

You think 32 psi front with 45 psi rears would affect the handling?

And honestly- this is fairly common. A coworker had new tires installed at new car dealer and then went on highway trip, had blowout four hours into trip and discovered the three new tires left were all at 50 to 55 psi.

So check your pressures. Do not trust anybody else.
(and I know the stick gauge is crap, but I had to buy one at the gas station as my good one seems to have disappeared from the trunk....)

[PJtree23]

Good call. Probably just some after school special high on redbull and monster.

[mx5er]

Same goes when purchasing a new car. I understand cars are shipped with higher pressures to prevent flat spotting during storage. But the dealer don't bother to set the correct pressure during prep.

They just wash your car with used gritty water with a rag But that's another story.

[BRealistic]

Same goes when purchasing a new car. I understand cars are shipped with higher pressures to prevent flat spotting during storage. But the dealer don't bother to set the correct pressure during prep.

I have also heard that dealer pump up the tire pressures to make a car feel more peppy in a short test drive. Heck, the lighter power steering may even impress some idiots. (shrug)
Though that trick seems like something from the manual steering 65 whp days.

[BRealistic]

Good call. Probably just some after school special high on redbull and monster.

I think it has something to do with installing the tire on the wheel.
They have to go to a high psi to get it fully seated and balanced, then forget (or don't give a ****) to set the proper tire pressure once installed on the vehicle.

[VwG60Kid]

i had tires mounted at NTB last year and on the ride home it felt seriously harsh... checked the pressures and they were both around 70psi

[zhenya00]

Yup, just had the same experience. Dropped off 4 wheels and tires to be mounted, forgot to check the pressure after mounting and found the handling very sketchy. Pressures were at near 50psi all around!

[NashGTI]

this just seems bizarre as basically every modern tire balancer has a provision to set the air pressure in the tire before balancing it, in fact most will even prompt you that you need to set the pressure before letting you continue the balance.

[Saves]

its just guys in the shop rushing, usually if theyre low profile tires or just tires with a really stiff sidewall, in order for them to seat the beat pressures that high are needed, then i guess they just dont adjust them afterwards

[ThreadBomber]

its just guys in the shop rushing, usually if theyre low profile tires or just tires with a really stiff sidewall, in order for them to seat the beat pressures that high are needed, then i guess they just dont adjust them afterwards

I've had tires take over 120 psi to seat the beads before. Makes me nervous, lol.

[Aonarch]

I always double check torque and psi.

[SpecialFX]

You think 32 psi front with 45 psi rears would affect the handling?

Absolutely. It's common for FWD autocross cars to be set up with a lot higher rear ire pressure than front. It helps the rear end come around more and reduced understeer. I was running 48psi rear in my GTI (for autocross only) until I got the rear sway bar

[Cubster]

Hearing all these horror stories bugs me because I'm very, very picky with my own cars and my customers benefit because I don't ever do anything but the right way.

[DasCC]

My tires were at 50 psi after purchase. The dealer always inflates to 40+ after service. The door recommends 33.


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[InfraRedline]

When I was in college, I worked summers at a local tire shop with a good rep for quality service in my home town. The old-school owner demanded that all tires be set at the maximum pressure indicated on the sidewall. He would yell at you if you checked the door jambs. He had all his personal vehicles (A veritable bucket-list of the most desirable original classic muscle cars) set the same way when he brought them in. The shop has now been in operation for longer than I have, so I wasn't going to second-guess him, and we never experienced any problems or even minor complaints related to that.

I still wonder if there is not some value in this method, but generally set my tires about halfway between recommended and max.

By the way, if you're taking tires to 120 to seat the beads, something is wrong. Do you lube the beads with soap before mounting?

[ThreadBomber]

By the way, if you're taking tires to 120 to seat the beads, something is wrong. Do you lube the beads with soap before mounting?

I didn't say every time. Of course we are using lube. It;s most apparent when mounting onto an OE run-flat wheel like on a MINI or BMW. Most low profile tires take somewhere in the 60 - 80 psi range to seat.

[patrickvr6]

When I lifted my Rover I was shocked at how much it wandered all over the road and how unstable it was during braking. I thought I had made a huge mistake until I checked the pressure in the tires and found them all at the maximum pressure of 80psi. I dropped them to 35 and all was well.

Tire monkeys can be morons.

[BRealistic]

just remembered .....
I actually asked a tire shop guy about this intentional over-inflation phenomena many years ago.
He said they add more than required so it will have enough pressure for quite some time (with normal air pressure loss)- so they are assuming the driver will never check their tire pressure until it actually LOOKS low..... and on a modern low profile tire that means very low pressure.

Does the new required tire pressure sensor on every vehicle include an over-inflation pressure error light?

[phil123]

By the way, if you're taking tires to 120 to seat the beads, something is wrong. Do you lube the beads with soap before mounting?

Depends on how much you are stretching them. We had 160 psi in my toyos before they seated. 195/40/16 on a 9" wheel.

[ThreadBomber]

just remembered .....

Does the new required tire pressure sensor on every vehicle include an over-inflation pressure error light?

Yes

[someguy123]

I don't care what the maximum tire PSI as I consider over 40 psi(cold) will cause more wear than the car manufacturer recommended ~32PSI.

All that extra PSI will save how much fuel, while causing more wear to tires and brakes?

[ThreadBomber]

All that extra PSI will save how much fuel, while causing more wear to tires and brakes?

Can you explain how tire inflation will significantly affect brake wear?

Also, a tire will not wear from crowning due to over-inflation until well past the maximum recommended pressure for that tire.

[SnowGTI2003]

Explain how a higher tire pressure wears the brakes more than the recommended pressure.

[BRealistic]

Can you explain how tire inflation will significantly affect brake wear?

If you run your tires over-inflated, you have to break for every air pumping station? That is a good question.

Also, a tire will not wear from crowning due to over-inflation until well past the maximum recommended pressure for that tire.

I wouldn't be so quick to make such a sweeping statement.

[ThreadBomber]

If you run your tires over-inflated, you have to break for every air pumping station? That is a good question.
.

The only thing I can figure is it's less rolling resistance which needs more braking. I guess that .01% matters and you probably more than make up for it in fuel.

I wouldn't be so quick to make such a sweeping statement.

It is the truth. A radial tire is pretty strong. If you are running between say 30 and 50 psi the tire is basically sitting on the ground similar enough to not affect wear that much. It takes a lot of pressure to crown the tire, it's a lot easier to wear the edges from underinflation than it is to crown it. It is much more common to crown it by putting it on too narrow of a wheel, or wear the center out from always having it on the back of a RWD vehicle, for example.

[someguy123]

I was wondering how long someone would figure it out. I don't know about the .01% depending on your driving style.

I don't know about you, but 32 to 38(cold), I had to adjust my braking....

[mike02467]

I had teh exact same experience Tires were all at like 43 psi, supposed to be 33.

[someguy123]

Also like to add I notice more crap(little rocks) gets picked up and stuck in the tire as PSI goes up(from personal experience). Not sure if that would add more wear though.

[Waarp]

My sister had a kid mechanic pump up her tire at a service station. The following week I was in her Explorer with her and noticed the front end crashing over potholes. I got out and checked the right front. The pressure was so high it was off the scale of the gauge. Must've been 55 lbs at least. Took me like 5 minutes to bleed it back down to 28.

Trust no one!

[InfraRedline]

Absolutely INCORRECT!

This guy is WRONG. Period.

The tire makers clearly state that it is the "MAXIMUM PRESSURE" nothing else. That means that if you set the tire pressure above that number it could be dangerous! So considering how INaccurate most tire pressure gauges are the pressure could well be above the max which could cause catastrophic failure!

The recommened pressures on your car are there for a reason. The engineers that designed your vehicle used the pressures indicated so that the car would be safe and handle as expected by the driver. Also helps to prolong tire life and mpgs. Of course you can go a few PSI above or below those pressures without compromising anything including your safety, fine tuning to your liking.

Just because this shop owner had a good reputation doesn't mean he actually deserved it. In fact what he is doing is dangerous!

It's easy to talk in absolutes with lots of caps and italics, but the fact is, the more you know, and the more experience you have, the more you realize that life is rarely that black and white. Recommended pressures are also a compromise between handling, ride quality, and mpgs.

If you're really that adamant about this practice being dangerous, please call the shop and explain that you don't care about 35 years of experience, you're from the internet to save lives:
http://www.ronstires.com/

[BRealistic]

My sister had a kid mechanic pump up her tire at a service station. The following week I was in her Explorer with her and noticed the front end crashing over potholes. I got out and checked the right front. The pressure was so high it was off the scale of the gauge. Must've been 55 lbs at least. Took me like 5 minutes to bleed it back down to 28.

Trust no one!

I have tried to show women (asking for help at gas stations) how to put air in their own tires.. and many get angry and just say they want somebody else to do it (they don't want to learn his simple task even when I suggest they might need to do it without "a man around" some time).
Maybe knowing that most people will put way too much air in their tires might convince a few more to learn for themselves. It is an easy thing to learn.

[ThreadBomber]

I have tried to show women (asking for help at gas stations) how to put air in their own tires.. and many get angry and just say they want somebody else to do it (they don't want to learn his simple task even when I suggest they might need to do it without "a man around" some time).
Maybe knowing that most people will put way too much air in their tires might convince a few more to learn for themselves. It is an easy thing to learn.

I'm seriously wondering how long it will be before we see some type of self-inflating valve stem that will keep pressure where it should be. It's tough to do I guess because pressure in a tire is pretty high compared to the atmosphere but I'm sure they'll figure out how to do it and still be able to balance the assembly properly. I think the latter is probably the biggest hurdle. If you had a pump strong enough to suck in air I'm sure it would be heavy.

[what]

You cross-posting bastard!

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...1#post78070600

[BRealistic]

You cross-posting bastard!

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...1#post78070600

It's a rant AND a PSA.

[SICKVDUB1]

I had the same issue but mine were underinflated mine were at 20psi. STUPID VW dealer lol, but i can't be mad at my car!