how much psi can i pump safely?

[civic94]

i have Dominator 13' LRR tires in the front, its rated at 35 psi sidewall max.

i used to pump my old tires to 44 max, since the sidewall says 44. can I pump these up to say, 45 or 44 psi and still be safe from blowing out / loose traction?

[Erdrick]

You are going to get a ton of different answers on this. Some people will say yes, others will say no. The main thing to understand is that if you have a problem with the tires, and they are proved to have been over-inflated, then the manufacturer will bear no responsibility for said problem. Other than that, you are free to do what you choose.

I personally have 12" little things made by Falken... but over in Japan they don't even list max pressures on the sidewall. Everyone just goes by the doorjam listing. Not me though, no siree! I blow that thing out of the water. I am currently at over 50psi with no problems whatsoever.

[rh77]

I've used 50 psi in new Michelins for about a year now. Wear is perfectly even thus far, and cornering is great!

There are some downsides: the car is Really susceptible to crosswind drift, when compared with 35 or so psi. It's not a big deal -- it just takes more concentration and steering input. IMHO an under-inflated tire is much more dangerous than over-.

When ice and snow come around, similar principles apply with traction. Same thing -- they worked great last Winter with lots of freezing rain and some decent snowfalls. There needs to be some meat on the tread in this case.

RH77

[brucepick]

See this
http://www.officer.com/article/artic...on=19&id=27281

In that article, 100 psi in 44 psi tires worked great for handling.
I wouldn't go that far myself. But my 44 psi tires are now at 50, cold in the morning.
Actually the article recommended 50 psi for police cruiser training vehicles.

[trebuchet03]

Checklist:
New Tires (younger than 6 years)?
Tread wear even?
No Sidewall Damage (bubbles, cuts, etc. - scuffs ok if superficial)?
Radial Belted (pretty much, any modern tire)?

If all yes, you're good. Those are just basic things to check for - for any tire really. Risk minimization.

Extra Consideration for:
Road conditions -- potholes etc. The occasional avoidable pothole is okay, but a lot of them is putting you at higher risk for a blowout (but you'll be hard pressed to pin it on over inflation).

Weather -- Slippery conditions, you want more traction - higher psi = less contact patch, less traction. Wet conditions are very different though. In wet conditions, there's a hydroplane hazard. Higher psi = less contact patch which means it will take a higher velocity to plane. Lower psi = more planing surface.



Keep in mind. Max Sidewall pressure is the pressure used to test the max load rating And given how many miles members here have put on overinflated tires....

I have 44psi tires... And they're running at 55/50.

[McPatrick]

When we bought our CRX HF it had the same exact Dominator 13 inch tires on them. First thing I did was put 50 psi in there and we have driven around with that just fine and it got us good gas mileage. So, if it is safe is all for yourself to decide, but just thought I would let you know our experience.

[8307c4]

Not saying your tires are cheap, that is one possibility, thou as likely they're high performance, and that can be just as bad (soft rubber).

If you over-inflate your tires you risk uneven wear, on top of a blow out, I would think a far better choice is to get a better tire. For a car, I always opt for Grand Touring All-seasons, for heavier vehicles the load rating is more important (i.e.: One rating higher than recommended would likely work well).

With Grand Touring the max psi usually IS between 40 - 50 psi, as printed on the tire, they are the highest grade tire I know of before entering the performance market, I don't think you can get a better passenger tire than Grand Touring.

Cheap they're not, they easily run $100 each, but they last a long time.
Thus another benefit is the cost over the years, here's the thing:
$20 - $25 per tire goes into the labor, I don't care how it is marketed or viewed, it costs 20-25 dollars to mount / balance / valve stem / dispose / tax a tire, yes, every single time.

So, cheap $200 tires for my car still run me $300, then they last 10-20,000 miles and I spend another 300, it's not the cost of the tire that's eating me here, it's the cost of the labor!

Then a cheaper tire wears at least twice as fast as a high grade one (except performance tires made of soft rubber). So, do I spend 400 for decent tires + labor = $500 once and drive 50-80,000 miles, the tire literally dry rots so bad it needs replacing, the wear isn't but such a factor.
Or do I spend $300 at least twice in that time?

It's not 200 vs. 400 for tires here, it's (200 + 100) vs. (400 + 100), the labor is the same.
I get a lot more TIRE for my money with GTAS (grand touring all season).
Oh yeah well the car rides goo-hood too, that's just a bonus thou.

Don't forget the fact you have to reserve a half a day to have these things installed, and the fact tires are made of petrol, too.

Get a good tire, then always inflate to the Max. psi as printed on the tire.

[trebuchet03]

Here we go again

Grabs popcorn

[1993CivicVX]

Originally Posted by civic94

i have Dominator 13' LRR tires in the front, its rated at 35 psi sidewall max.

i used to pump my old tires to 44 max, since the sidewall says 44. can I pump these up to say, 45 or 44 psi and still be safe from blowing out / loose traction?

I heard the car talk guys say tires are rated up to 200PSI for blowout. In other words, less than 200PSI and they won't blow out. My personal experience is that the tires have better traction in dry but perhaps worse traction in wet when over inflated.

[Sigifrith]

I'm rollin' 50PSI on the VX, but if I get some HX wheelz & Insight tires look out world!