Proposed Tire Pressure Experiment
 

Well, as anyone who has been reading my posts knows, I plan on buying new tires (for the Beast) in 3,000 miles at 155,000. I already drive with the tires 5 PSI over the sidewall recommended max of 35. (I have operated them at 40 since they were new, and they have worn evenly). I am now thinking that maybe I should boost them to 45 or 50 thinking what the heck, who cares if I wear out the middle, they're being replaced soon anyway. I can get 3,000 miles of 50PSI data and not worry about abnormal tire wear. Thoughts or comments? My biggest concern is that my contact patch will get smaller on tires with little tread anyway and this might create wet traction problems. What I don't want is to create an unsafe condition.

-Jay

Go for it. As long as you drive conservatively in wet conditions, you should be fine. I think it's a good experiment for the next 3,000 miles.

Careful on wet roads with heavy rain puddling. I wouldn't do it on ice for any reason.

regards
badger

I plan to have the new tires on before there is any chance of ice or snow.

I just replaced my original tires on my VX. Got a set of Michelins for $231 total installed and warranteed at Costco.

I was worried about the mileage loss I might see, but it seems like the difference is not very much. Old tires were at 38PSI (35 recommended max). new tires are at 40 for the time being (max is 44). Road noise drastically reduced as well as steering effort. Handling improved significantly.

Broke down and replaced the timing belt (also 15 years old), but the fan belts were fine at 15 years, believe it or not LOL.

regards
badger

If the max was 44 I'd put 50 in them, and not think twice...

Understood about the pressure, and I may try it soon. The other side of the coin is the ride quality is light years better than the old tires. It may not be worth the couple of MPGs for the comfort and the fact that at just under 37,000 miles I don't want to subject the car to that kind of vibration with the resulting rattles and loose parts a few years down the road.

regards
gary

Higher pressure should not increase waterplaning risk. Higher inflation pressure increases the contact pressure on a smaller footprint, which will have more tendency to push water out from under if there is any tread at all. Lower pressure over a larger area will have more tendency to float. Rock hard tires become a problem in snow. In fact, one of the ways to unstick a car from snow is to let some air out of the tires.

Your truck is a couple hundred pounds heavier than mine. What size tires do you use?

My 245/75R16 tires handle and wear great at 80psi front, 72psi rear. I am not exceeding the tires' 80psi capacity (Load Range E), though I am exceeding the rims' 50psi rating.

It might be worth testing just to get an idea of what kind of tires you want to replace the old ones with. If you get good results you might want to go with a LRR tire that has a 45psi sidewall rating then you should be able to run them at 50psi without any safety issues and still have good road contact.