What up guys so I been getting a little confused on what tire pressure to follow, probably sounds like a dumb question but yeah so if you got aftermarket tires on your truck do you follow the tire presure on the driver door panel or the tire itself? Cause the tire says 50psi max load which would mean that's the max the tire can be pumped to on the trucks max capacity with those tires on or do I follow the driver panel correct me if I'm wrong but the psi is 30 I think for rear and 29psi for front idk I can't remember at the top of my head but anyway which psi do I follow? And also what psi do I put it at if the tire has a max load of 50psi do I go under the max like say 45psi or do I put it 50psi if following the tire reading?

 

Most people keep their tires somewhere in the 30-35psi range, it's close to door sticker and gives middle of the road performance. Airing them up past this and closer to max psi will stiffen the tire - good for carrying a heavy load, less rolling resistance, but if not much load the tires will "crown/round" and you won't have a flat contact patch on the road = wear out the center tread if keep like this. If you air down below the 30's then you'll have a softer ride, more rolling resistance, less height, you'll be riding/wearing on the outer edges of tread, and if you go too low the sidewalls may be folded too much and you'll mess up the inner tire structure.

Every tire brand/model vs vehicle weight will differ tire settings. To get the everyday setting, set them somewhere in the 30s and draw a chalk line across tread. Go drive a few hundred feet and see if the chalk wore off evenly. Most likely it's somewhere mid 30s.

Softer tires and heavy vehicle is when you'd get out of normal 30s psi. On my Land Cruiser I have 33" Goodyear Duratracs and the truck weighs over 5000lbs. These tires will take up to 80psi. Normal driving I keep them set at around 40-45psi to give a flat contact patch and keep down rolling resistance. If I'm wheeling that day, I'll drop pressure to around 20psi.

 

OK so if I'm reading correctly I should keep my tires in the 30-35psi range for normal driving? Or like I should follow the sticker on the drivers door even if the tire wall of my tires say max load of 50psi? I think my question more so is what psi chart should I match my tires to the one on the tire wall or the one on the drivers door? Thanks for the info though it really is helping me out

 

Recomended PSI for the vehicle is with the factory sized tires. Dont fill the tires to their max. Start at 35, see how the tires look, How it rides. If they look/feel like they need more air then adjust as needed.

 

Lots of other videos about doing this method too if you search more

 

When I bought new tires, the shop filled them by the door panel, not the tire spec.

Even the work order has factory pressures for front/rear on it for the tech.

 

so should I fill my tires by the factory panel specs? That's what I was getting confused about cause the factory specs for my truck is 29 psi in the front and 35 psi in the rear

 

The simple answer is yes. Use the plate on the door.

The max pressure rating on the tire is there for safety.

If you put that 50psi rated tire on a fullsize truck (heavier than your toyota) and put 29psi in it, it will be squatting and require more pressure....The manufacture of the tire is saying you can take the tire up to 50psi and use it safely.

So, if the fullsize truck door plate says 45 psi and then you fill the bed full of bricks, you can only compensate for that load with the remaining 5psi before risking tire failure. If you take that tire up to 50psi and its still squatting, then you would be smart to take some of the load off of it before running down the highway.

In other words, tires are load rated for a reason and the tire should match the weight or possible weight of the vehicle with a (safe) load.

Everyone should know when a tire looks "low"....Same applies when you load a truck or fill the back seat of your corolla with 3 big adults, etc...

 

If your tires are the same size as the door plate then sure, filling according to the plate is fine. If they aren't the same size as stock then odds are they can run a different pressure just fine.

On my 2wd toyotas I set my tires at 30-35 psi and adjust as needed no matter the size.

 

Robert M is absolutely correct about the right way to determine optimal pressure for a given scenario.

After some experimenting you will find that vehicle manufacturers are very conservative with their pressure recommendations on the door plate, and tire manufacturers are very aggressive with their recommendations on the sidewall.

Different tires need different pressures depending on how tall they are, how stiff the sidewall is, ect. Some of it depends on the driver: a fat person needs more air pressure, a person who regularly fills the tank up needs more than a broke kid squeezing ten bucks at a time, ect.

Driver preference is another issue. If you want a smooth highway ride or good economy you will want more air pressure than someone who wants a soft ride in town or grippy cornering.

Also it's worth remembering that tire technology is getting better, so if you're going off of a door plate made 30 years ago it's not going to mean much.