Factory Specs on Tire Pressure?

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JTG

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How accurate is the factory specs for tire pressure that is on the door jam plate. My daily driver is a 02 Suzuki XL7 4x4 (235 60 R16), it recommends 26 psi on the front tires and 35 psi on the rear, does this make sense to anyone for the front tire pressure?
 
I would just put 32-35 all the way around.
Yes, the manufacturer has a reason. Safety, ride quality, and on and on.........

I know I was running the air pressure in my wagon at the recommended pressure (32 front, 38 rear, cold) and all it did was cause my rear tires to wear out in the center.
 
How accurate is the factory specs for tire pressure that is on the door jam plate. My daily driver is a 02 Suzuki XL7 4x4 (235 60 R16), it recommends 26 psi on the front tires and 35 psi on the rear, does this make sense to anyone for the front tire pressure?


Right or wrong I always use the information found on the side of the tires. I would think that would be the best option for the best tire wear.
 
Seems to me that a 235/60 would need less pressure in the rear than the front, because the usual way to do it would be less pressure in the rear to keep the tire from wearing more in the center from that much pressure with less weight on it.

Going by what the tire says is your best bet though, and just watch for more wear in the center of the tire.
Then if it does wear more in the center of the tire I'd bring the pressure down a little.

Just an oppinion, and how I determin what you asked.
 
I also go by whats on the side of the tire. I wasn't aware that different
types of tires call for different max pressures.

You learn something everyday. I have some tires that have a 51 psi max
and others that say 35 psi

I keep them 5 t0 8 lbs less than the max. I'm sure the pressure
increases as the tires warm up.
 
How accurate is the factory specs for tire pressure that is on the door jam plate. My daily driver is a 02 Suzuki XL7 4x4 (235 60 R16), it recommends 26 psi on the front tires and 35 psi on the rear, does this make sense to anyone for the front tire pressure?

The vehicle manufacturer wants U to enjoy the ride and doesn't care about tire wear. Try max pressure first (checked cold) and adjust down as needed for a comfortable ride.
 
In the third world of chassis tuning, one of the ways to adjust the handling of the car is to adjust the air pressure. A tire pressure differential like the one given by RTG would promote understeer. This is seen as a safer condition for the average driver than oversteer. Given the rash of lawsuits for SUV rollovers, it would seem that Suzuki is doing a CYA here. (IIRC the Suzuki Samarai was deemed a problem child at one point.)

Without knowing things like rim width, f/r weight distribution, general use of the vehicle, it's tough to make a recommendation for tire pressures. I do not recommend exceeding the max rated pressure on the sidewall of the tire. Using the tried and tested SWAG technique employed in the third world of chassis tuning, try starting with the rear tire pressures to 36 psi (cold) and the fronts to 30 psi. Drive the car. If it feels a little tail happy, drop the pressures at the front by 2 lb increments until you feel comfortable. (Don't go below 26.) If the car drives fine, increase the front pressures in 2 lb increments until either the car begins to feel tail happy or you reach the inflation of the rear tires.

This seems bass ackwards and is time consuming. But this is one those old-school NASCAR experiences you can do at home. If in the event the tires show signs of over inflation, drop pressures maintaining the same tire pressure differential.

"Let's be careful out there." - Phil Esterhaus, Hill Street Blues
 
.........I went to tire school put on by Good Year.......i asked the rep y the factorys has 2 different pressures, i had always assumed that because i had a ram 2500 diesel that it was ment for the payload......he said i was only partly right as the different rear pressure was for when the truck was driving down the road pushing the wind it evens out the weight distribution so theoratically there is more weight on the rear than the front.......i told him i cant really see it that way......i hope i explained it right......kim........
 
Good rule of thumb is 30,32 or 35psi for all passenger tires. just because the sidewall says max psi is 51 or 44 etc does not mean thats needs to be the operating pressure, I have people come into work all the time with their tires at max pressure and wouldnt' you know the center of the tire is starting to dish out hmmmm. i wonder why. Follow the door sticker unless the tire size is different from factory.

Most common tire pressures
For all 4 ply passenger tires. 30, 32 or 35 Psi without a load, Depending on vehicle application and tire size/type.
For 6 ply Lt Tires 30, 35 or 40 without a load, Depending on vehicle application And tire size/type.
For 10 ply Lt tires 60 or 70 Psi wiithout load, Depending on vehicle application and tire size/type.

Most common tire wear issues due to improper tire inflation assuming the vehicle is aligned.
Worn sholder edges or rounded sholders indicates underinflation.
Worn center or dished out center indicates over inflation.
 
I have been doing wheel alignments for over 25 years and the best air pressure i have found for passenger tires is 32 - 35 PSI all the way around
At 32 PSI you get a softer ride and do not loose a lot of wear. The best wear is at 35 PSI but some cars are rough around town & city streets. The other thing to remember is to keep your tires rotated if possible. When you get into 60 and 50 series tires you will have to play with the pressures as high pressures will wear the centre of the tires and too low will wear the shoulders.
 
Thanks for the replys, I always run 32-35psi on this vehicle and will continue to do so, it just made me scratch my head when I seen the 26psi for the front.
 
32-35 is a good baseline. I run 35 in all my tires and get 40-50,000 miles out of a set with proper alignment and occasional rotation. I don't rotate as often as recommended. With a bad alignment and frequent rotations, you can ruin a whole set of tires in a hurry. If you leave them alone and watch the wear, you will know what the problem is and can correct it. tmm
 
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