Better Mileage in a Range

[GasSavers_Red]

Originally Posted by derangedrover

no they aren't

Kewl, considering its age I'm guessing you are still running the stock Continentals? 275/40 Z R20? Each one of those are capable of around 2000lbs of load, you could air em up some without worrying too much about load capacity.

[diamondlarry]

Also, keep in mind that a tire's max load rating is at the max psi level.

[brucepick]

Welcome derangedrover!
I've stayed out of this thread till now but I think I'll speak up now.

This is my favorite tire pressure article.
http://www.officer.com/article/artic...on=19&id=27281
I found it from the links in this thread - but had to follow down a long chain to get there.

Danger of blowing the tire from high pressure apparently doesn't become an issue till you get up to something like 2X max sidewall.
Danger of blowing tire due to low pressure is quite real. Driving around at 20-24 lb. risks a blowout - which is too bad because many manuals say to set tires at 27 or thereabouts, then they lose some pressure and it's all over.

Load capacity increases with tire pressure increase.
Theoretically it stops increasing at the tire's max sidewall rating.

My car's door sticker recommends something like 27 psi. I'm running 44 psi tires at about 40 lb (cold); the ride is pretty hard but it's helping my FE.

[1993CivicVX]

So, Bruce, what do you think about 43 psi on a 35 sidewall rating front tires? 52 on my back rated at 44 psi? What about pot holes? There are quite a few pot holes where I live in the freeze/thaw earth buckling Northeast.

Yeah, seems safe to post now.. hehe. Although apparently we lost a forum member in the melee....

[bowtieguy]

Originally Posted by diamondlarry

A very much belated welcome to GasSavers! I haven't been spending as much time here as I used to because of the type of responses you have been getting. I would suggest lowering speed as much as possible, airing up the tires to the max sidewall pressure, timing traffic lights so you don't have to stop anymore than usual, moderate acceleration, and combining as many trips as possible.

This guy is the type of person who needs good advice more than most people. As has been mentioned earlier in the thread, a 5 mpg improvement for him is a huge improvement. ~50%? A wise man said a very long time ago, "It is not the healthy who need a physician."

great quote! i wonder if anyone else knows who said it/where it came from? those goodyear tires--do you like 'em. got the same on my olds. not rated very well i think. might go with goodrich soon. thoughts?

[diamondlarry]

Originally Posted by bowtieguy

great quote! i wonder if anyone else knows who said it/where it came from? those goodyear tires--do you like 'em. got the same on my olds. not rated very well i think. might go with goodrich soon. thoughts?

They work great on the Prius. But then again, I drive slower/more resonably than probably 90% of the people on the road. I have my doubts on whether or not they will do as well in snow. Hopefully the stability control and ABS are enough to get me through. If not, I may need to make a trip to Tirerack soon.

[Hockey4mnhs]

I have Goodyear viva 2's. There lrr and they handel great. If your looking for lrr check these out.

[brucepick]

Originally Posted by 1993CivicVX

So, Bruce, what do you think about 43 psi on a 35 sidewall rating front tires? 52 on my back rated at 44 psi? What about pot holes? There are quite a few pot holes where I live in the freeze/thaw earth buckling Northeast.

Yeah, seems safe to post now.. hehe. Although apparently we lost a forum member in the melee....

What do I think? I can throw in my 2 cents worth but you have to apply your own brain power to it too.

Usually equal pressure all around, or possibly higher pressure wherever the weight is higher. Thus higher pressure for rear tires for cargo-carrying trucks, and higher for the fronts for most cars. Or maybe best equal all around.

You suggested higher pressure in the rear and I assume that's for the little Civic. Maybe the 44 psi tires are on the back for some definite reason. I think if all tires are in good shape, I'd put the 44 psi ones on front, and so be able to run a little higher pressure in front if that works out well for you.

I ran my old 35 psi tires around 38-39 for a while, didn't have any issues with that. I only had to swap in new tires due to a nail in a front one and age/deterioration issues in the rear pair.

Anything above 40 psi in my car, the ride gets pretty hard. Back then ('89) all tires were 32 psi if I recall correctly, and mfg's were often specifying 27-30 psi, so the shocks and suspension bushings etc. were built assuming those softish tires. Nowadays tires are rated 44 psi and higher, and mfg's are spec'ing 35 psi and maybe more, so I think they're compensating for the hard ride elsewhere in the system.

Hope that helps

derangedrover, I hope you're still around and probably getting a bit better FE now. I think someone already mentioned that FE usually improves during the break in period. Just break it in gently like you're supposed to, don't beat on it.

[bowtieguy]

Originally Posted by Hockey4mnhs

I have Goodyear viva 2's. There lrr and they handel great. If your looking for lrr check these out.

thank you! yes i am interested in irr tires. i wonder if any of our technical guys can figure a cost/mile formula considering irr and tire value. ie if a certain tire(irr) increases FE by "X" amount over its life, but another has longer life by "X x 1.5" w/out increasing FE, it(irr tire) would NOT be a better value.

[1993CivicVX]

Originally Posted by bowtieguy

thank you! yes i am interested in irr tires. i wonder if any of our technical guys can figure a cost/mile formula considering irr and tire value. ie if a certain tire(irr) increases FE by "X" amount over its life, but another has longer life by "X x 1.5" w/out increasing FE, it(irr tire) would NOT be a better value.

heh, it's LRR for Low Rolling Resistance. Couple people have posted that their Low Rolling Resitant tires lasted very long time like 80,000 miles.