Tire pressure for best MPG ?

[Flomounier1]

35PSI for all 4 tires (Standard recommended pressure according to the door jamb sticker on the Hybrid XL).

Any more than that and you'll just have a rougher louder ride and increase the odds of having a blowout if you hit a bad pothole. Assuming you increased it to 45psi, I'd be surprised if the MPG went up by 1.

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[Atisko]

Not correct. Higher pressures reduce the tendency of a tire to hydroplane and increase traction in snow.

Can you reference any article sources for running higher tire pressure in the snow or rain?

 

[Lyle]

Mine are at 38/39 psi, down from the 46 psi they were at when I took delivery. The recommended psi is 44 psi max according to the spec page for the Pirelli tires.

 

[jc888888888]

JMPO, but I believe that would only be an issue if you went "over" the max recommend pressure.
I can't imagine manufacturers would be like, "Well, 51 lbs won't be quite as safe, but sure go ahead" lol

yep Dealers under inflate to smooth the ride , as long asyou stay under max pressure ,my tire guy tells me especially here in hot Florida ,staying closer to max pressure slightly better wear and mileage. Keep in mind Florida roadways are hot 8 months out of the year so tires are extremely pliable . When I get mine I am going to run 3 or 4 lbs under max

 

[Fish Chris]

Is MPG > than Safety? I mean MFG determines the tire pressure for optimal use, sure you may lose some MPG, but you are gaining traction and stability. If you over inflate the tire it starts having less contact with the ground while this may marginally increase your MPG, you will be sacrificing traction especially when turning as the reduced surface area contacting the ground isn't going to be able to hold you on the path you are trying to guide the vehicle. This will be compounded if the road surface is compromised by water, snow, or ice. Push the limits and you may hurt yourself or some one else that happens to be around you when things literally start going sideways.

I totally agree. And in this case, "over inflation" would be anything over 51 lbs. I was considering 48...

 

[Fish Chris]

Whatever, you seem to know safety snd engineering so why f’n ask?

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/amp15341871/tread-rightly-why-tire-pressure-matters/

Because I thought you might have more of an f'n clue lol Don't get angry man. It's only an internet forum

Anyway, I did actually read over the link you posted. I get that there is a difference for max tire pressure, and recommended tire pressure for said vehicle. So what is the recommended tire pressure for our Mavericks ?
Keeping in mind too, that you couldn't possibly have one number that was best for everything. As the article explained, its a balance between safety, ride comfort, traction, etc. I think we want to lean 'slightly' to better mileage. But, maybe 44-46 is already as high as we'd want to go ? .....except not the two 44's on one side, and the two 46's on the other lol

 

[Fish Chris]

35PSI for all 4 tires (Standard recommended pressure according to the door jamb sticker on the Hybrid XL).

Any more than that and you'll just have a rougher louder ride and increase the odds of having a blowout if you hit a bad pothole. Assuming you increased it to 45psi, I'd be surprised if the MPG went up by 1.

Wow ! I'm surprised it is so low ! But I'd also be very surprised if your mileage increase going from 35 to 44 lbs would be "any less" than 1 full mpg.

 

[Sjbuck2021]

Run at 35 psi cold located in the door jam and not what's on the sidewall of the tire. The conti pro contacts are great tires. I had them on my vw passat. Should get 60k miles tread wear by keeping them at 35 psi cold and rotating every 5-10k miles.

 

[Mymaverick2021]

I was pretty surprised that the tires on the Maverick (Continentals ?... Are these put on all stock Mav's?) had a max pressure of 51 lbs ! These are certainly not put on compact cars...
In any case, I checked the pressure, and 2 we're at 42 lbs, and 2 were 44 lbs. Thinking about 48 lbs each ? Still within the recommended margin. Do you think a 4-6 lb increase would give me 1 extra MPG ?
Another thing, I just put the bed cover on. Hoping that might give me 1 more MPG too ?

We have been slowly climbing 1/10th at a time, every since getting used to setting the ECO mode before every trip. Hitting 37.5 MPG's combined now, but still hoping with these two things ^ plus 8 to 12 months of breaking in (loosening up) that tight motor, that we can average 40 MPG's combined

What tire pressure are you running ?

I would put the tire pressure at the recommended pressure according to the info plate on the Drivers side door sil

 

[Bushpilot]

Not correct. Higher pressures reduce the tendency of a tire to hydroplane and increase traction in snow.

Can you reference any article sources for running higher tire pressure in the snow or rain?

Hydroplaning is easy, it is well-established that hydroplaning speed is directly affected by tire pressure.

https://mechanics.stackexchange.com...re-pressure-affect-susceptility-to-hydroplane

Wet snow acts similar to water, dryer snow gets complicated, because depth and other factors come into play.

More tire pressure results in a narrower contact patch, less pressure results in a wider contact patch. Which will help or hinder depends on the exact snow conditions.

http://racetrackdriving.com/tech/tire-review/snow-tires-wide-vs-narrow/

Many people choose to "minus size" their winter tires in order to narrow the contact patch.

https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=126&

Note that I am not making a recommendation, just discussing the physics.

 

[Mymaverick2021]

Hydroplaning is easy, it is well-established that hydroplaning speed is directly affected by tire pressure.

https://mechanics.stackexchange.com...re-pressure-affect-susceptility-to-hydroplane

Wet snow acts similar to water, dryer snow gets complicated, because depth and other factors come into play.

More tire pressure results in a norrower contact patch, less pressure results in a wider contact patch. Which will help or hinder depends on the exact snow conditions.

http://racetrackdriving.com/tech/tire-review/snow-tires-wide-vs-narrow/

Many people choose to "minus size" their winter tires for this reason.

https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=126&

Note that I am not making a recommendation, just discussing the physics.

That explains it I live in Hawaii

 

[Maui]

Everybody reading this should check tire pressure on any new car or truck you buy. The manufacturer pumps them way up to protect them for shipping. The P.D.I. guy at the dealer (pre- delivery inspection) often blows it off.. "Time is money, nobody will notice, I don't give a stool specimen". I've heard them all.

 

[Decayed]

They put the pressure on the door jamb for a reason. I usually go 1-2 lb over to account for loss over time in case I forget to check them.

 

[Cliff]

Before tire pressures showed on the dashboard we all assumed the max PSI stamped on the tire was the correct PSI to inflate the tire too.

 

[huunvubu]

Not correct. Higher pressures reduce the tendency of a tire to hydroplane and increase traction in snow.

OVERINFLATED TIRES IN WINTER

While over inflating a tire is never good, it’s especially dangerous during the winter months. The snow, ice, salt and sand that gather on the normally clear roads during the winter can reduce grip, which means you’ll need to do whatever you can to get every bit of traction. Because an overinflated tire already has reduced traction due to its smaller contact patch, the likelihood of uneven or excessive tread wear increases significantly in the winter.

You may need to put more air in your tires when temperatures drop, but don’t get carried away. Inflate your tires to the manufacturer’s specifications to ensure good wear, proper traction and optimal tire safety.

https://knowhow.napaonline.com/are-overinflated-tires-bad-for-winter

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