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What PSI are you running?

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
What PSI are you using?

YES factory recommended PSI is 33PSI (18in tires) or 35PSI (19in tires). But, those who have had their R4P for a longer time, may have come to realize that the factory recommendation is low.

Just wondering what the longer term owners are running.
 
#2 ·
I typically run 36psi in the front and 33psi in the rear on my vehicles because I believe that produces a more even wear pattern and the recommendation is only to soften the ride. But I thought The R4P would be better balanced between the front and back because of the battery placement. But now that I look at it the fronts look like they are carrying a lot more weight. Maybe I should go back to the old plan - it has worked well for a lot of vehicles.
 
#5 ·
Note that tire pressure is different for stock 19 inch tires for higher trim levels, and lower for 18 in tires. My driver door jam sticker had the wrong tire pressure number hand written in.

Yes, start familiarizing yourself with the manual, but it can be hard to find exactly what you are looking for. Here is what I found buried in specs;

I run my tires a little high at 35 - 38 psi.
 
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#7 ·
I’m not looking up your Owner’s Manual. What is the recommended psi for your tires?
“it takes an astute eye to notice the TRD-specific 18-inch wheels with Falken Wildpeak A/T Trail 01A tires.”

We don’t get those tires on our R4Primes.
 
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#9 ·
FredsToyota said:
Use the tire pressure it says in the manual. Don’t overthink this and the engineers have picked this value for the best ride/handling and tire wear etc.
Click to expand...
Tire pressure is a balance between ride, handling, and tire wear. Ride and handling are prioritized by the manufacturer over wear pattern (that's why most front tires show excessive tire wear on the outer/inner treads and less in the middle). This common wear pattern is masked to a degree by proper back to front rotation (typically all 4 tires hit the minimum tread depth on the outer treads first). This pattern is common on almost all vehicles kept at the pressure listed inside the driver's door threshold. Many of the better tire shops will confirm this if you ask but the manufactures will not. That is why I run front tires at a higher pressure.
 
#10 ·
I set them at 37 PSI for my 19 inchers. Mainly because I usually set them on a Sunday, in the garage. That +2 is there to compensate a 20F drop in temperature in the real outside world.

Did that in a 75 degree garage two weeks ago. It is now 55 degrees out and raining. My cold tire pressure is dead on at 35.
 
#11 ·
Salmon said:
Tire pressure is a balance between ride, handling, and tire wear. Ride and handling are prioritized by the manufacturer over wear pattern (that's why most front tires show excessive tire wear on the outer/inner treads and less in the middle). This common wear pattern is masked to a degree by proper back to front rotation (typically all 4 tires hit the minimum tread depth on the outer treads first). This pattern is common on almost all vehicles kept at the pressure listed inside the driver's door threshold. Many of the better tire shops will confirm this if you ask but the manufactures will not. That is why I run front tires at a higher pressure.
Click to expand...
Agreed - which is why I always go a few psi over the recommendation. I'll trade off a softer ride for higher mpg and longer wear.
 
#12 ·
jazhanel said:
I set them at 37 PSI for my 19 inchers. Mainly because I usually set them on a Sunday, in the garage. That +2 is there to compensate a 20F drop in temperature in the real outside world.

Did that in a 75 degree garage two weeks ago. It is now 55 degrees out and raining. My cold tire pressure is dead on at 35.
Click to expand...
So you're aiming for ~36psi at the typical 68F reference cold tire temp? I say approx since you're doing whole increments in PSI.
 
#14 ·
NoelinColorado said:
So you're aiming for ~36psi at the typical 68F reference cold tire temp? I say approx since you're doing whole increments in PSI.
Click to expand...
I am aiming for 35 PSI at the lowest temp forecast for the next few weeks. I find that on the typical sunday morning, it is a pretty good assumption that my garage would be 20F warmer than that.
 
#15 ·
jazhanel said:
I am aiming for 35 PSI at the lowest temp forecast for the next few weeks. I find that on the typical sunday morning, it is a pretty good assumption that my garage would be 20F warmer than that.
Click to expand...
If the ambient temp was 68F and was going to stay 68F for the next few weeks, what would you want PSI to be at? This is always an interesting discussion on the motorcycle forums. My bike utilizes temperature-compensated TPMS and evaluates internal tire air TEMP and pressure. Fabulous technology and you still have people that don't trust this sophisticated system and instead use their $30 gauge and some don't have a clue about the relationship between temp and pressure. BMW actually tells owners in the Rider Manual to trust their sophisticated system but many as I say just don't trust it.
 
#16 · (Edited)
FredsToyota said:
Use the tire pressure it says in the manual. Don’t overthink this and the engineers have picked this value for the best ride/handling and tire wear etc.
Click to expand...
AFAIK, the tire pressure recommended in the door jam/manual (Cold pressure reading) is assuming the pressure will increase to optimal pressure when the tire has warmed up after the first 15 or 20 minutes of driving. But, if my comute is only 15 minutes, then I would be driving mostly on under inflated tires and would see less than ideal tire wear and efficiency. So, I, considering my own specific usage, can make an informed decision to go up a PSI or 2 in order to compensate from the broad all encompassing guidance that the manual was written for.

My brain can easily handle this amount of thinking 😉

dp
 
#18 · (Edited)
dpostman said:
AFAIK, the tire pressure recommended in the door jam/manual (Cold pressure reading) is assuming the pressure will increase to optimal pressure when the tire has warmed up after the first 15 or 20 minutes of driving. But, if my comute is only 15 minutes, then I would be driving mostly on under inflated tires and would see less than ideal tire wear and efficiency. So, I, considering my own specific usage, can make an informed decision to go up a PSI or 2 in order to compensate from the broad all encompassing guidance that the manual was written for.

dp
Click to expand...
There is a range of pressure and temps tires can happily accommodate as FredsT says best not to overthink it, IMO and Fred's! This being said when you have more extreme ambient temps it's worth using the basic rule for every 10F you are +/- the reference cold tire temp of 68F it's worth compensating by 1psi. Example: it's 38F in your garage this morning and you're going to check your cold tire temp, and it's really cold at 38F! If the recommended CT PSI is 35 and it's set perfectly, you'd expect it to be 31psi in your garage this morning, and adjust accordingly. IOW, it's worth getting the tire about to what it needs to be and beyond that let the tire do its thing.

Oops, that should have been 32psi...
 
#19 ·
I agree it is not worth getting too deep into the details for tire pressure. The general rule of thumb is that tire pressure rises 1 to 2 psi for every 10 degrees F (sorry Canadian friends). Volume changes due to humidity, load, tire width, etc. so calculators like the gas law are not very accurate.

Here is a pretty good reference for those that are interested:https://carmodnerd.com/tire-pressure-temperature-calculator/
 
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