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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!princeton!siemens!bhs
From: bhs@siemens.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.auto
Subject: Re: tire inflation pressures
Message-ID: <25300052@siemens.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 10-Jul-85 09:08:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: siemens.25300052
Posted: Wed Jul 10 09:08:00 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 12-Jul-85 01:36:29 EDT
References: <572@hlwpc.UUCP>
Lines: 40
Nf-ID: #R:hlwpc:-57200:siemens:25300052:000:2027
Nf-From: siemens!bhs    Jul 10 09:08:00 1985




peoplethinkthatthislineiseatenbutitisnot,isit?youcanseeitafterall,canyounot?

There is no cardinal rule on tire pressure
It is a good idea to consider the manufacturers max. pressure as the upper
permissible cold limit. However, it is not a must to obey that pressure
setting.

Car manufacturers will post a pressure recommendation which will give what they
consider to be an appropriate ride/handling balance for the given car. So, for
example, it seems that Chevrolet is trying to tell you to run lower tire
pressures in order to give you a softer ride over small bumps, expansion
joints, etc.

Instead of blindly obeying either the tire merchant's recommendation or
Chevrolet's recommendation, you should really find a setting that you like for
your personal driving. For example, you could experiment with various settings
between the manuf. max. and Chevrolet's setting. Set the tire pressure to
maximum pressure, and drive around like that for two days. Then, try out
Chevrolet's setting. Notice how the car got smoother, but flabbier in the
corners? Then, after a few days, try out a pressure setting in between- say 31
front, 29 rear. What I am trying to say is : juggle the figures around until
you like the ride. On my car, I run 32 front, 35 rear (cold).

By the by: the correct procedure for checking tire pressure: before you leave
the driveway in the morning, right after breakfast, you should check the tire
pressure. Then, note how much each tire is off by. Later on at the gas station,
check the pressure again, and then start adding the missing amount into the
tires. For example, tommorrow morning your front right tire might show 27 psi
instead of 29, which means that you are 2 psi short. Later on, at the gas
station, your tire may show 30 psi, because of tire heating. Now you could say
that the tire is over 29 psi, and you could leave it. However, you should still
add more air into it until you have added in the missing 2 psi, thus making it
32 psi.


Bernard H. Schwab
Siemens RTL, Princeton, NJ