The tyre monitoring systems are fantastic. My 16 yr old Jeep has it and it saved me in the Pilbara last Nov. I picked up a small metal spike and the system gave me the warning I needed to immediately look for a safe place to pull off a 100km/h road. 30 seconds after I had stopped the tyre was completely flat and the rim sitting on the road. The following month I was also alerted when I had a complete blowout just outside of Kununurra near the Ivanhoe ..... 44° and a storm approaching, gotta love that. I think tyres are overlooked by many. Great video with great info.
When I taught my kids to drive, they were taught to do these basic checks before getting behind the wheel. Then once behind the wheel, I walked around the vehicle to show them blind spots (I am a motorcyclist). I also invested in a quality pressure gauge, as on a motorcycle a one psi change can make a difference.
@@Igbon5 Exactly! It amazes me how often I see motorbike riders just sit in someone’s blind spot. It’s no wonder some of them get wiped out. Go past or stay behind, don’t just sit there matching speed while sitting in a blind spot! I used to make sure I got past quickly when I used to ride my motorbike to work.
@@TheEnvelopeOZ I noticed a slow puncture on the left front tyre of my car! And I inflate my front wheel drive sedan to 230 in the front, and 210 at the back. I wonder if this is the correct pressures?
John wisely switched to O-Light a year ago, to be ready for anything. Then, he was indoors for a year and the O-Lights never failed, when he needed them. If I spend another year in this house, I can be pretty confident that no O-Lights will fail me, when I need them.
A few years ago I parked next to a commodore with a flat rear tyre. Had a child seat in the back so walked across to the outdoor cafe where a mothers group was carousing. The driver of the vehicle said that when she leaves she would drive to the service station and put more air in it. Was able to convince her to call the NRMA (she was a member) to change the tyre by saying they could change it while she was still having coffee with her friends. With her attitude there was no way I was going to change it for her.
Or when you are at the shops, it is raining and the car beside you has racing slicks because they are so bald, then you see the 2 baby seats in the back of the car.... People spend big bucks on name brands, clothes, phones, electronics, meals etc, but can't find a little extra to put decent rubber on their cars... Very frustrating.
I run my tyre pressure at 25% above standard setting. It's still below the tyre makers maximum pressure. I get excellent handling and even tyre wear. Ride quality is still acceptable, but you do feel more bumps. People should pay much more attention to their tyres. Good report, could save someones life!
Tyres are usually the last thing most people think when they are driving. They will first buy some type of car freshener before checking the tyre pressure.
Tyres are THE THING that delivers the most significant performance upgrade in one step - it impacts acceleration, cornering and braking, so getting pressures right is kinda critical.
@Andrew_koala According to the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), you are 37 times more likely to die in a motorcycle accident than a car accident - and nine times more likely to become injured while riding a motorcycle than while driving a car. No pressure (pun intended).
You're absolutely right. A neighbour asked me to look at her Mini because she said it was "handling funny". It had run-flat tyres and there was no pressure in any of them when I checked. Nothing. 0psi. She had never checked them and the tyre warning light had never come on, so she didn't bother.
I did a defensive driving course over 25 years ago. Three things that have stuck with me are brake pressure in an emergency ( most cars never had ABS back then, seating position and hand position on the wheel and tyre pressures. They definitely make a difference.
Yes, they are at the optimum pressure, checked them this morning - due to the extreme rain, I wanted to be sure. And I check them at every refuel, also. I even took the Subaru to work instead of the Ranger - I prefer the AWD over the extra "fording" depth.
I ride a bicycle and I check the pressure everytime I ride. I also watched your original tyre pressure video from couple years back and have been doing the four corner pressure checks every other week. It always amazes people, when I tell them that the pressure on my tyres go down 0.1 Bar almost every fortnight. Then they check their tyres with my gauge and they're shocked.
So true, I bought my ute that was equipped with S****n tires that lasted only 2 years and half. The problem was they started to spit out the valves. Got myself stranded in the middle of deliveries. In short, I had to replace all 4. Keep up with the info. Keep safe, stay healthy 👍
I just had my winter tyres changed over to the 3 season stock Michelins on my ElectricJesusMobile today actually. (Will check my engine oil and radiator coolant fluids later as instructed, I promise.) The magick screen of my TechnoKing, tells me it’s precisely at 42 psi as required. Thank you, O Great Cadogan Vizier for the reminder.
I was convinced this video was going to be a chiding for going over. Decades of owning/maintaining sports cars and 1/2 ton pickups (Murica!). 38 to 39 psi cold is what I settled on for all. Everything John states here matches my real world.
Great video. I've always done 20% less than the max rating on the tire. This has been in the same ranges that you recommended based on +20% the car manufacturer's recommendation. It's good to have confirmation I've been doing it right.
Hey JC, greetings from the U.K. Special thanks from me for this particular video, and not for the reason you might think. It prompted me to go check my tyre pressures. Now I had 4 new Goodyear Asymmetric SUV tyres fitted to my F-Pace 900 motorway miles ago, at a national branded Auto chain specialising in tyres and brakes. Now before you take the proverbial, I know it’s a JLR but with Brexit and all, someone’s gotta buy something made in Britain, yeah? And it’s been great, so far... Anyway, I’m checking the pressures and dressing my nice new tyres, when I notice that the front offside locking wheelnut is proud of its recess. Well that’s not good, I thought, as I spun it twice with my fingers and it fell off the stud. Cue a change of underwear, followed by gathering the appropriate tools to check the rest. EVERY locking nut was loose. And I mean finger loose. Every other nut took an easy half turn of torque on the wheelbrace. The moral of my story is - trust no-one. Most tyre fitters will tell you to check your nuts after 50k’s or so. Some will even hand you a suitably coloured warning note to that effect, in order to indemnify themselves from incompetence. How many of us actually carry out that check? Not many I’m guessing. So my thanks to you are due because, had I not watched this video when I did, I might have suffered a calamity. Doesn’t bear thinking about really. I have written to the Head Office of this particular Tyre Fitting chain. Not to claim recompense, or cause trouble. Simply to make them aware. They have replied, promptly to be fair, and are investigating. They shall remain nameless, as the incompetence, or forgetfulness, of a single employee or team of employees, should be dealt with effectively but internally, in my view. And the jobs and careers of blameless employees should not be put at risk by adverse publicity. Keep up the good work. Subscribed about a year ago and really enjoy your content and sense of humour.
John, I agree with you 100% on this issue sir! Maintaining proper tire pressure is one of the simplest and easiest things a person can do to improve their safety on road.
Well said John. So true by my own experience. Most people would be driving their car under inflated at the recommended manufactured pressure and will prematurely wear out their tires. I’ve driven with my tires at 6 psi or more above recommended manufactures pressure and still my tires wear out prematurely like they’re underinflated.
Where have YOU been all of my UA-cam life? You sir just made a subscriber out of me. The way you deliver your content is Excellent. Thank you for what you do.
I've argued with so many tire jockeys about this very topic because they always lower my pressure when I come in for free rotation. I have a compressor at home but it's still annoying that they won't listen to me. ...I came to this exact conclusion on my own by monitoring my wear but I've never heard anyone else say this out loud. Glad you did...
@@AutoExpertJC Tire shops (especially larger chains with corporate lawyers/solicitors? (AU) may require them to follow the vehicle maker's pressures for liability (lawsuit) reasons. It's simpler to say "we follow the vehicle manufacturer's specs" in court; saves a lot of explaining.
@@markh.6687 It goes the other way around too sometimes. One time i got new tires (on one of the largest tire shops here). The shop over inflated my front tires to 40psi even tho the recommended is 33psi. And 33 is the best pressure for my car based on my testing as well. I was thinking on the way home that what the heck is going on as the car rode like crap since the tires were way too hard to absorb any bumps. Fixed the pressure at home and car rode great again. Nowdays i only take the rims to the shop and get new tires put on them and put them on my car at home so they can't screw around with my car since shops often overtighten the bolts also.
@@imrileth6618 Sometimes I think they overpressure to mount the new tires, so the tire bead seats on the rim and all that, but forget to lower the pressure. I had lug issues a couple of times, one car went to a different shop after somebody got air-ratchet crazy and I couldn't change a slow-leak tire for repair. Paid the new shop a few dollars to loosen and re-torque all four tires after the leak was fixed.
@@markh.6687 Yeah. The air ratchet use is a common problem here especially in large shops. They just can't be bothered to use proper tools i guess. That's why i always change my summer/winter tires myself nowdays.
I am old school country. I do a visual check of tyres as you walk towards car. Check pressure weekly, check wiper blades monthly. Oil and water each refill. Screen washer weekly in summer, (lots of bugs around). 34PSI all four tyres around town, 36 front 34 rear (FWD) on trips because I want some oversteer. On my club car 32 rear and 28 front (RWD and mid engine) John on ultra high performance rubber there are little triangles on the sidewall and the idea is to adjust pressure so the wear touches the point of the triangle. Those guides are also on R spec rubber too. On hillclimbs, the club car pressures go down to 22psi rear and 20psi front. But check out the little triangles.
I'm glad you said that John, because mine are rated for 230-270kP (33-39psi) but I regularly fill them to 300kP (43psi) as the fuel economy goes up slightly and the drive and handling seems identical.
Less enough so she loses control of the car and crashes into a big fat eucalyptus tree so she doesn't hurt any other people (any more). Blame it on Covid.
Weekend track day guy here. That 20% is right on the money. I haven't learned anything here, but everything you say is on par with what I have learned from personal experience. Most weekend racers seem to think that lowering pressure is the way to go because that's how drag race is done. It only lead to overheating tires.
I’ve heard that you should check the tire pressure in the morning when it is cooler for the best accuracy. Is there an optimum air temperature to measure the tire pressure? If this has already been asked my apologies.
My car has tyre pressure sensors. The pressure goes up by a significant amount when the tyres are warm, 3-4psi. So yes, set the pressure on cold tyres. That way you won’t drop below the minimum pressure which is the danger.
Yes sir my tyre pressures are correct as of 5 days ago. I do this once a fortnight so I don't have to feel guilty when I see videos like this. Negative reinforcement does work. And well. My family's safety and well-being thanks you for it.
@@AutoExpertJC I see what you did there! 😆 Many thanks for all the advice and wisdom you've imparted upon so many of us over the years. You do great work and it is very much appreciated!
Here I am, John, looking you straight in the eye and saying that unless my tyres have all sprung leaks in the last half-hour, then they are all at the correct pressure as specified by the car manufacturer and they were the same, this time last week. I'm fortunate, in that I have access to annually calibrated pressure vessels to be able to check and adjust my own tyre pressure gauge against. I'll watch the video right through though for information and entertainment. Have a good day, Friday!
Ability to accelerate out of bad situations have served me well also. There is something to be said for knowing your vehicle limitations though, for sure, and brakes/tires play a big role in stopping/handling. I guess my point is that proper equipped "performance vehicles" are safer than economical "sloths" when driven properly. Maybe only slightly but...
Thank you John!! Well described! I have been adjusting my tire pressures above the placard listed 32 psi for years generally the tires are at 36-37 psi checked monthly unless the ambient temperatures change like Summer and Winter conditions. Average tire life for me is over 40K Miles depending on brand. Currently riding on The CrossContact™ LX25. 38500 so far mounted on my 2017 Lexus RX350. Happy New Year!
Another few reasons why it pays to go 10-20% over: 1. If you are a bit inclined not to check the pressure very often then the period that you can go without checking and still remain at or over the specified pressure is increased. 2. If the servo pressure gauge is out of whack and tending to slightly overstate the pressure, by going 10% of so over you are still at least at the pressure specified by the manufacturer. If the servo pressure gauge is understating the pressure you can still afford the extra 10% and remain well under the specified maximum pressure of the tyre unless the servo gauge is totally stuffed. If it is stuffed you will probably realise that by how long it takes to get up to the "correct" pressure and how it feels when you drive off. 3. If you tend to not check the spare (if you have one) as often as the other tyres because it is so inaccessible, then you probably want to intentionally overinflate the spare when you do, so avoiding pulling out the spare when you really need it and finding it is flat or well under the required safe pressure that you need to continue your journey. The overinflation that you want might well be greater than the 10-20% of the other tyres and still be OK providing it is below the maximum pressure specified by the tyre manufacturer, and provided you take account of it possibly being greater than the other tyres if you put it on without being able to check the pressure.
My 2016 F-250 here in 'Murica calls for 65 psi, identical wheels and tires on the near identical F-350 is 80 psi. Running the 250 at 65 psi makes the front end absolutely chop the crap out of the tread and ruin the tires. At $1000 for a set of load range E light truck tires, I run the full 80 psi.
Righto John, Hankook Dynapro ATM LT265/70 R16 @ 55psi front, 60psi rear on D40 Navara, 180,000k life. I run 60psi rear as I carry a lot of tools and tow regularly.
@@AutoExpertJC It worked well, on my 2nd set with the ute at 280,000k's. Original tyres were rubbish, lasted less than 50k and were very unstable with a load in them. The Hankooks are a 10ply tyre.
Interesting video, thank you for the information. A quick point if I may? Every tyre pressure information bite I’ve ever seen has had the “if it is worn more in the centre then it’s over inflated” bit included. Sure this is correct, but in the 39 years I’ve been a licensed driver I have never seen a tyre worn in the middle! My point is, I believe some people have the tyre pressure right, but *most* people have their tyres under inflated.
Excellent video You take those things people think they know and take for granted and expound on them I just went out tonight in the rain, got back and saw this video pop up and now I'm thinking, it's been a while since I checked my tyres, tomorrow morning when hopefully there's a break in the rain, I'll be checking them I drive a Delica, it's an awesome vehicle and I buy tyres that are as wide as my vehicle will accommodate and I pick the ones with the highest wet ratings as I figure that's when tyres are most called upon to save my arse. I never cheap out on tyres, if it's say $30 extra for per tyre, big deal, that probably gets spent on coffee over a short period anyhow Perhaps I'm wasting money on going for wet weather tyres as preference but in my ignorance it's what I've decided to focus on It's good to know one can go up to 20% extra pressure on the tyres, I didn't know how much extra one can go to if required. I had a mechanic once try and fix a fuel performance issue by going insane on the pressure to try and reduce rolling resistance. It worked but I literally bounced down the road, lol. He's now gone out of business, I wonder why... Did I say what a great video this is 😀
Quality tires at the right pressure is incredibly important, however I never recommend more than 10 percent over placard for any street car. The ride on many cars with responsive stiff suspensions suffers to the point of harshness in my experience. Hondas for instance get really uncomfortable with over 10 percent pressure. I can't get friends to check pressures even after I give them a air gauge. I don't want to deal with "it feels worse." If you want to drive faster I suggest plus size summer performance tires, racing pressures and other suspension modifications like Bilstein shocks. Trucks and trailers are another story. The other factor people ignore is temperature, tires lose one pound for every 10 degree F drop. Good report.
Good advice John. My wife went to a ladies information evening at the dealership for her car. They were told the placard tyre pressure was all about ride comfort. Her tyre placard says 32PSI they recommended 36PSI.
Thanks for this. I could have used this on my last dealership visit. The pseudo-technician at my dealer recently read me the riot act about over-inflating my tires when I was complaining about an alignment problem. (Took wearing out a set of tires, 60000km, and 4 alignments for the whack-jobs to figure out one wheel was dynamically unbalanced). I had, properly, bumped up tire pressure to account for maximally loaded driving conditions. Helpfully, the pseudo-technician reset all my pressures to placard and sent me on my way. To the nearest air compressor. FFS
Yes. I am absolutely confident that 20 minutes ago, my tyres are spot-on for pressure. The car even told me it was happy about the tyre pressures. Even my spare! O'lights are pretty fucking good lights...
Its nice to have someone talking about actually useful stuff. I mean 0-60 times on cars that most people will never be able to afford is fun. But this shit is a lot more practical, usefull and makes a owning a car more involving.
As a NSW AUVIS I can tell you that during wet weather I find it difficult to get these No Name tyres to pass a brake test, some of the long wearing SUV/ 4WD tyres also perform poorly during brake tests in wet conditions.
Thanks John for the good information I use tyre wear on all our vehicles as a way to determine tyre pressure. I have found two cheap brands of tyres that are really good tyres ,and have given better wet grip and wear than the Bridgestone tyres we were using on one of our cars. My tyre service said my tyre pressures were to low ,but also agreed that the wear was even .carefully monitoring wear over time and adjusting pressure slightly as you suggested works well for our cars. I also regularly check the pressure Thanks for your good info as always
Bloody good report old chap. All I heard was run 50PSI in those Pirellis, cause I'm a simpleton, but not too simple to deduct 10 percent, because, road.
I have a bit of OCD with my tyre pressures. For convenience I bought a Jamec PEM automatic tyre inflator / deflator bolted to the garage wall. Set my pressure and run around the car (and motorbikes) waiting for the beeps at each tyre and they're done. It wasn't cheap, but it makes life easy.
soooo true I always refer my clients to check the video en heavy towing. honestly, they can drive but most can barely understand car limitations and design parameters. for example, 2 weeks of non-stoping rain and people keep tailgating like there is no tomorrow.
Thanks John. My Pajero states 26psi F/ 29psi R. I have found 32psi all around works nicely when unloaded. I think a good idea is to measure the height of the centre of the hub to ground when unloaded. With a max load in the car, measure it again and top tires up to the same height. Do NOT exceed max pressure of course! In my opinion you will get the same footprint with this method. Your thought on this??
Thank you for making me feel normal, great videos, keep on rolling from Newcastle upon Tyne England where people still think they have a democracy, petrol is £1.23p a litre & diesel is £1.29p on average. A large latte in Starbucks is £3.80p, minimum wage is approximately £8.72 if your over 25, £8.20p age 21to 24, £6.45p 18 to 20, under 18 years of age is £4.55p and apprentices is £4.15p. They say average wage in the UK is £30k but in my experience living in the north of england it's more like £24k, average house price in the north of england for a basic 3 bedroom house detached is £250k, I recently bought 2 Michelin pro climate tyres, 245, 40, R18 costing £297.00. A single train ticket from Newcastle to London paying at the station the day you turn up is £212 for a 235 mile trip, although I travelled from Newcastle to Swansea in wales & that was £316 single, motorway service stations fuel is approximately 20% more. road fund licence (car tax) is £140 a year for an Audi 2014 2L diesel, my partners Renault clio 1.4L (12 years old is £240) car insurance for me is £375 a year, been driving 25 years and 10 years no claim bonus, break down cover is £170 a year for the works. Audi charge me £134 an hour for labour for any work on, changed to a local garage who charge me £45 an hour. Speeding ticket is between £80 to £100 as long as you haven't went over speed limit by no more than 10%, over 100mph instant ban unless your in the masons a night of the Garter a Lord, Sir, Dame or an MP, 132000 should have passed away due to covid, our PM came on live TV 9 months ago and said to take covid on the chin, £37 billion contract given to government donor for ttack and trace which has never worked, that would be enough to give every NHS worker a £26k bonus instead of the 1% pay rise, 1.4 million staff work for the NHS, only 3 people own 85% of all the UK's main stream media and are all right wing, UK has no free press, 4 million people use food banks every day, 1.7 million unemployed but the real figure is more than double that, they cut every disabled persons benifit by £30 pw, average disability benefit is £110 pw, state pension is £148pw, unemployment is £71pw if you can get it, an estimated £80 to £135 billion a year is siphoned off from UK tax to shell companies & offshore companies in tax havens, thought I'd let you no how great the UK is. Have a great day.
That was fascinating. Seriously. Similar to us in Canada. A gi-normous country with cold weather (usually) and thousands of miles driven per year. The cost to operate a vehicle (depreciating asset) is a phenomenal strain on most people's scant savings. You listed some real life numbers there that are probably mirrored all over the world. So, extend the life of your tires as per John's suggestions, and keep the savings for more important things. Like my dad always said, you never actually own tires; you just rent them. Bring 'em back when they're bald and rent them again. Cheers!
@@lookinin123 got to watch every penny when the government are robbing us blind, last week they announced that there spending £205 billion on more nuclear weapons, we have 180 nuclear bombs and there uping them to 240, the military industrial complex. I use to work up the great lakes of Canada from the st Lawrence seaway to lake superior Duluth in the 1980s. Last week the government put forward a ban on peaceful protest, yesterday there was protests all over England, hundreds of people injured.
Hello John Great video What I find interesting is the tyre placards and also what tyre retailers say. A tyre retailer will tell you that the placard pressures are there so your ride is comfortable. The retailers will tell you that a higher pressure is better for safety and wear. What they say seems intuitive to me but surely the car manufacturers also know this so why don't they save us all the doubts and put a higher pressure on in the first place. I'm not an expert or an engineer and the bottom line should be this is what is required so just do it. Thanks for you great videos, even the funny ones.
In the track world, I've always been told to run lower pressure because they get so much hotter quicker that you need to compensate at cold readings (and/or the lower pressure yeilds a larger contact patch). Then there's real serious folks measuring hot to see what they're actually getting to of course.
Don't forget to measure the tyre temperatures across the entire contact patch if possible, with at least 3 measurements per tyre (inner, middle, outer) to make sure the temperatures are relatively even across the contact patch. The budget option is just to measure the temps right after pitting, but ideally, one should measure tyre temps in real time and record them for proper analysis. To be fair, this is getting into serious professional territory, so the average weekend warrior should do decently with the much more economical measure right after pitting method unless one's somehow lucky enough to access the necessary tools. On track, assuming your tyres have strong enough sidewalls, running lower pressures with more negative camber is one way to gain laptime on circuits with relatively large amounts of time spent cornering. The ideal tyre contact patch is infinitely compliant in ride, but relatively stiff when twisted (e.g. when steering) and doesn't move sideways much upon application of lateral force. The best approximation of this sort of behaviour we can practically achieve presently is via radial tyres with stiff outer sidewalls and tread, run with enough negative camber and low tyre pressures.
Just for interest sake, I fitted Steeda Spyder Rims with Michelin Pilot Sport tyres to my 2015 Mustang, which were subsequently transferred to my 2018 Mustang. Now I'm talking over $500 per tyre in addition to the $500 for each rim - quality in both departments. I check the air pressure regularly for the very reasons you mentioned, but what I have found incredible, is that they have never even lost 1 psi in all that time, although I've adjusted the pressures depending on wet/dry conditions and if I'm taking it out for a drive in the country with the lads or with the wife.
Out here in Nebraska we have temperature extremes, especially in the spring where the outdoor temperatures can vary over the course of the day and can drop or raise your tire pressure significantly. Checking the pressure has become a habit for me because of it.
Excellent breakdown, John, thank-you! First time seeing your channel. QUESTION: From a towing perspective I haul a 34' travel trailer (dry 7000 lbs / max 9000 lbs) and an F150 (total length towing approx 53') with cargo such as tools in crew cab, and bed is full (generator, wood blocks, tool bags, ramps, basically I'm a rolling self-repair shop. I used to inflate to sticker inside door my first year or two. But now I inflate closer to the max tire pressure on the tire. Both my trailer tires and F150 are max 65psi cold and I inflate between 60-62. I'll purchase a caliper to get a more accurate wear measurement moving forward, but curious what your thoughts are on my set-up. Trailer certainly pulls better when my tire pressure is closer to max instead of sticker.
@@phillipevans9414 Many experts argue this point and claim it's all about cornering and that camber is irrelevant. But road camber means the front outer tyre is always taking slightly more weight and is responsible for steering the car slightly uphill to maintain a straight line. My Prado ate the outside of front left tyres, and it was mostly used for touring duties. Perhaps it's a conspiracy to protect road-builders against being sued for excessive tyre wear due to poor road design. :-)
Great video. Proper tire pressure ( and tread) is key to preventing hydroplaning too. In hot areas we found pressure loss causes flexing and heat build up and occasionally disastrous tread separation. Your life really does ride on those tires.
Back in my bike racing days, bias ply tires, we used the 10% Rule - difference between cold and hot pressure should be 10%. If higher add air. If lower, remove air. The Good Old Days
Good video John for the average punter ! I'm still running original tyres on the Kluger I bought new 2015, looking after pressures, etc. has served me well, as just clocked 70,000 km, I will be buying again the Michelin Latitude HP's,
Just a comment that rear tyres are important (even on FWD) for wet weather driving and not aquaplaning. I always thought the better tyres on front for FWD due to them being driven wheels, but I've recently learned the advice is to get the better tyres on the rear as the last thing you want in the wet is aqua plane induced oversteer.
I run the all terrains in my Dmax at about 40 because that's what gives it even wear, particularly on the front as the OEM tyres scrubbed out on the outer edges on the front end, probably because of the added weight of the Bullbar (50-60kg). The thing that shits me is the placard says 32psi, so when it goes in for a service that's what comes back, so after every service I have pump the tyres up again. Grrrr!
@@AutoExpertJC Sometime they listen, sometimes they don't. Probably a liability thing, if the placard says this and the tyre blows out because we didn't make it match then we are responsible.
I have been driving for 52 years now and do a car check every saturday arvo ! All fluids and tyre pressure , I also keep my tyres 4-5 psi higher than the placard says. Good or bad, I am a Michelin fan and always buy that brand. Being a very conservative driver I typically get 100,000 km from a set, sometimes a little more. It works for me !
My Toyota calls for 32 lbs of air. I ran that for a while and could see the tire was definitely wearing fast and it was geared towards ride comfort, now I run about 38 to 40 psi and the tires wear much better now and steering feels much better.
Thank you for the information! I do have question about tires regarding deflation. So when I lived in Alabama, 'Murica, people would go muddin'. When they would get stuck they would lower their tire pressure to 5 or 10 psi. Was for traction in the mud and sand? Would it make that much of a difference? Thank you for all you do!
Do tyres have a shelf life? I'm a low distance driver of about a couple thousand miles a year. Should all tyres be replaced regardless of usage after a number of years?
Dear John. I hope your ok. Can I ask what is the facination, you have with torches. You keep sharing flashlights that can send messages to the voyager probe the lights that bright. is this an Australian thing ? in the Uk we have one torch, a torch that gets used yearly around Christmas time to get the decorations out. You guys have torches to compete with the sun. I assume it's very Dark at night where you are but why so many ?
Good content. Question - how does slight over inflation - compared to stated inflation - affect traction in the wet. Will the higher pressure lead to less grip or does it make no difference?
I've always found running pressures around this the perfect level for grip and fuel economy. Despite the countless diagrams saying lower pressure equals more grip.
I am absolutely certain. My Lotus is set at 24F 27R cold and my ute is 30 PSI all round. I check whenever the ambient air temp changes by 20F or every other fill-up.
I want to know what is the best surrounding TEMPERATURE to measure the PSI? I'm in Arizona. I put about 2 lbs more in each tire.. 35 front and 33 rear RDX . The garage Temp was 56deg. I drive later when the Temp was 75Deg 37 Front and 35 rear.
I got myself a external TPM system and replenish the air when it drops more than 0.2 bars. The integrated TPM(abs based) car is ok but it only alerts me when the difference is more than 0.4 bars between tyres. I was very surprised that you cannot see the difference just by looking at the tyre between 2.2 and 1.2 bars
I can absolutely guarantee my tyres are at the correct pressure, my good wife bought me a Ryobi air compressor so I check once or twice week. I also purchased a high quality pressure gauge as we are heading off to Dingo Piss Creek next month if it's not flooded out.
Every time I've bought a new car, I've started with about 2 psi extra in the front and 1 in the rear, as I do like to press on in the bends (I learned to drive in a Leyland Mini - and they're all about maintaining momentum around corners, as they really didn't accelerate all that well with only 40hp.) But no matter how much "spirited" driving I do in the twisties, it seems I always end up with the most even wear (and thus the best grip) with no more than 1 psi extra in the front at most, and no extra in the rear. Not sure if this is because I tend to drive smaller cars with relatively wide rubber (so they're inherently a little easier on the tyres) or what...but it seems to work for me. :-)
![What is the Best Tire Pressure? [TESTED]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1T9B8krxWU4/mqdefault.jpg)
the problem is the people who need to see this are not watching.
spot on
Exactly. Like my 81 year old Mom driving with her car's tyres at 120. (Kpa)
i was doing mine one day older woman asked me to do her's sure no worries had like 15 lb in them on average.
Like most important things
Looooooool bro😊
The tyre monitoring systems are fantastic. My 16 yr old Jeep has it and it saved me in the Pilbara last Nov. I picked up a small metal spike and the system gave me the warning I needed to immediately look for a safe place to pull off a 100km/h road. 30 seconds after I had stopped the tyre was completely flat and the rim sitting on the road. The following month I was also alerted when I had a complete blowout just outside of Kununurra near the Ivanhoe ..... 44° and a storm approaching, gotta love that. I think tyres are overlooked by many. Great video with great info.
When I taught my kids to drive, they were taught to do these basic checks before getting behind the wheel. Then once behind the wheel, I walked around the vehicle to show them blind spots (I am a motorcyclist). I also invested in a quality pressure gauge, as on a motorcycle a one psi change can make a difference.
Well done. 13 points out of a possible 10 there.
Did you teach them how to correctly adjust their mirrors, in order to eliminate those blind spots (to the pit of hell)?
@@ScottMurrayBestFamilyCars absolutely, but even when mirrors are well adjusted, there are still spots where motorcycles are not visible.
Did the same with my kids and now the grand kids, cheers. ps I ride a 850 Norton
@@Igbon5 Exactly! It amazes me how often I see motorbike riders just sit in someone’s blind spot. It’s no wonder some of them get wiped out. Go past or stay behind, don’t just sit there matching speed while sitting in a blind spot! I used to make sure I got past quickly when I used to ride my motorbike to work.
Glad I'm not the only one fussy with tyre pressure.
What do you notice with them? And what psi do you prefer?
@@TheEnvelopeOZ I noticed a slow puncture on the left front tyre of my car!
And I inflate my front wheel drive sedan to 230 in the front, and 210 at the back. I wonder if this is the correct pressures?
John wisely switched to O-Light a year ago, to be ready for anything. Then, he was indoors for a year and the O-Lights never failed, when he needed them. If I spend another year in this house, I can be pretty confident that no O-Lights will fail me, when I need them.
A few years ago I parked next to a commodore with a flat rear tyre. Had a child seat in the back so walked across to the outdoor cafe where a mothers group was carousing. The driver of the vehicle said that when she leaves she would drive to the service station and put more air in it. Was able to convince her to call the NRMA (she was a member) to change the tyre by saying they could change it while she was still having coffee with her friends. With her attitude there was no way I was going to change it for her.
Some just don't care. I just leave tyre shop phone numbers on their windscreens
sounds like my sister.. " you do know there's no tread on your spare tyre.. ", sister, " that's why it's in the boot.. ".
Talking to a brick wall - its a Darwinian thing.
Or when you are at the shops, it is raining and the car beside you has racing slicks because they are so bald, then you see the 2 baby seats in the back of the car.... People spend big bucks on name brands, clothes, phones, electronics, meals etc, but can't find a little extra to put decent rubber on their cars... Very frustrating.
I run my tyre pressure at 25% above standard setting.
It's still below the tyre makers maximum pressure.
I get excellent handling and even tyre wear.
Ride quality is still acceptable, but you do feel more bumps.
People should pay much more attention to their tyres.
Good report, could save someones life!
Tyres are usually the last thing most people think when they are driving. They will first buy some type of car freshener before checking the tyre pressure.
Tyres are THE THING that delivers the most significant performance upgrade in one step - it impacts acceleration, cornering and braking, so getting pressures right is kinda critical.
... and trailer bearings.
What is even worse is people will go to a car wash and get tire shine and put on them not realizing that it makes their tires perform worse
@Andrew_koala According to the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), you are 37 times more likely to die in a motorcycle accident than a car accident - and nine times more likely to become injured while riding a motorcycle than while driving a car.
No pressure (pun intended).
You're absolutely right. A neighbour asked me to look at her Mini because she said it was "handling funny". It had run-flat tyres and there was no pressure in any of them when I checked. Nothing. 0psi. She had never checked them and the tyre warning light had never come on, so she didn't bother.
I did a defensive driving course over 25 years ago. Three things that have stuck with me are brake pressure in an emergency ( most cars never had ABS back then, seating position and hand position on the wheel and tyre pressures. They definitely make a difference.
hey, can you share this experience in more detail? your text looks astonishing, what does hand position on wheel means in an emergency.
Aircraft mechanic retired ex Air Force... so have OCD about the importance of tire pressures.
At least you need not use anhydrous nitrogen in a car...
@@AutoExpertJC Nor oxygen mask and pressure suit... but the time may come if Elon Musk gets his way. 😋
I wouldn't be breath-holding on that.
@@AutoExpertJC 😂😆😁
I’m just a nobody - but I love my tyres😌
Yes, they are at the optimum pressure, checked them this morning - due to the extreme rain, I wanted to be sure. And I check them at every refuel, also. I even took the Subaru to work instead of the Ranger - I prefer the AWD over the extra "fording" depth.
Hard to believe you check your tire pressure everytime you fill your tank. 😂
I ride a bicycle and I check the pressure everytime I ride. I also watched your original tyre pressure video from couple years back and have been doing the four corner pressure checks every other week. It always amazes people, when I tell them that the pressure on my tyres go down 0.1 Bar almost every fortnight. Then they check their tyres with my gauge and they're shocked.
John great show, I must say sorry for any offhand comments in the past I have been in in a dark place but now help has been found, cheers Mate.
Congratulations, I hope the good days for you continue 👍
So true, I bought my ute that was equipped with S****n tires that lasted only 2 years and half. The problem was they started to spit out the valves. Got myself stranded in the middle of deliveries. In short, I had to replace all 4. Keep up with the info. Keep safe, stay healthy 👍
I just had my winter tyres changed over to the 3 season stock Michelins on my ElectricJesusMobile today actually. (Will check my engine oil and radiator coolant fluids later as instructed, I promise.) The magick screen of my TechnoKing, tells me it’s precisely at 42 psi as required. Thank you, O Great Cadogan Vizier for the reminder.
Thanks
John, I’m not generally a commenter on UA-cam. But that was the best lecture I’ve ever attended. Thank you.
I was convinced this video was going to be a chiding for going over. Decades of owning/maintaining sports cars and 1/2 ton pickups (Murica!). 38 to 39 psi cold is what I settled on for all. Everything John states here matches my real world.
Great video. I've always done 20% less than the max rating on the tire. This has been in the same ranges that you recommended based on +20% the car manufacturer's recommendation. It's good to have confirmation I've been doing it right.
Hey JC, greetings from the U.K. Special thanks from me for this particular video, and not for the reason you might think.
It prompted me to go check my tyre pressures. Now I had 4 new Goodyear Asymmetric SUV tyres fitted to my F-Pace 900 motorway miles ago, at a national branded Auto chain specialising in tyres and brakes. Now before you take the proverbial, I know it’s a JLR but with Brexit and all, someone’s gotta buy something made in Britain, yeah? And it’s been great, so far...
Anyway, I’m checking the pressures and dressing my nice new tyres, when I notice that the front offside locking wheelnut is proud of its recess. Well that’s not good, I thought, as I spun it twice with my fingers and it fell off the stud.
Cue a change of underwear, followed by gathering the appropriate tools to check the rest. EVERY locking nut was loose. And I mean finger loose. Every other nut took an easy half turn of torque on the wheelbrace.
The moral of my story is - trust no-one. Most tyre fitters will tell you to check your nuts after 50k’s or so. Some will even hand you a suitably coloured warning note to that effect, in order to indemnify themselves from incompetence.
How many of us actually carry out that check? Not many I’m guessing.
So my thanks to you are due because, had I not watched this video when I did, I might have suffered a calamity. Doesn’t bear thinking about really.
I have written to the Head Office of this particular Tyre Fitting chain. Not to claim recompense, or cause trouble. Simply to make them aware. They have replied, promptly to be fair, and are investigating. They shall remain nameless, as the incompetence, or forgetfulness, of a single employee or team of employees, should be dealt with effectively but internally, in my view. And the jobs and careers of blameless employees should not be put at risk by adverse publicity.
Keep up the good work. Subscribed about a year ago and really enjoy your content and sense of humour.
I am 100% sure the pressure in my tires is optimum. Why? Because I follow your channel and you covered this subject before. Nice work dude!
It's all a blur to me... I'm senile, obviously.
@@AutoExpertJC I have too seen your old video. That's why my tyres have an extra 10% in them.
@@AutoExpertJC C'mon man! You know, the tire thing!
@@markh.6687 Is it tires or tyres?
I'm so tired of this argument.
@@BubblesTheCat1 tyres for the English, Tires for the mericans who can't spell correctly... kinda like their dates... all backwards
John, I agree with you 100% on this issue sir! Maintaining proper tire pressure is one of the simplest and easiest things a person can do to improve their safety on road.
Totally agreed - and the air is even free...
Simplest, easiest yet basic and very fundamental!
I'm telling you that they are. In Europe 1% of the people know that the car has tyres.
Well said John. So true by my own experience. Most people would be driving their car under inflated at the recommended manufactured pressure and will prematurely wear out their tires. I’ve driven with my tires at 6 psi or more above recommended manufactures pressure and still my tires wear out prematurely like they’re underinflated.
Where have YOU been all of my UA-cam life? You sir just made a subscriber out of me. The way you deliver your content is Excellent. Thank you for what you do.
I've argued with so many tire jockeys about this very topic because they always lower my pressure when I come in for free rotation. I have a compressor at home but it's still annoying that they won't listen to me. ...I came to this exact conclusion on my own by monitoring my wear but I've never heard anyone else say this out loud. Glad you did...
It's the only meaningful test (unless you're on a racetrack, in which case you'd data-log the shit out of it).
@@AutoExpertJC Tire shops (especially larger chains with corporate lawyers/solicitors? (AU) may require them to follow the vehicle maker's pressures for liability (lawsuit) reasons. It's simpler to say "we follow the vehicle manufacturer's specs" in court; saves a lot of explaining.
@@markh.6687 It goes the other way around too sometimes. One time i got new tires (on one of the largest tire shops here). The shop over inflated my front tires to 40psi even tho the recommended is 33psi. And 33 is the best pressure for my car based on my testing as well.
I was thinking on the way home that what the heck is going on as the car rode like crap since the tires were way too hard to absorb any bumps.
Fixed the pressure at home and car rode great again.
Nowdays i only take the rims to the shop and get new tires put on them and put them on my car at home so they can't screw around with my car since shops often overtighten the bolts also.
@@imrileth6618 Sometimes I think they overpressure to mount the new tires, so the tire bead seats on the rim and all that, but forget to lower the pressure. I had lug issues a couple of times, one car went to a different shop after somebody got air-ratchet crazy and I couldn't change a slow-leak tire for repair. Paid the new shop a few dollars to loosen and re-torque all four tires after the leak was fixed.
@@markh.6687 Yeah. The air ratchet use is a common problem here especially in large shops. They just can't be bothered to use proper tools i guess.
That's why i always change my summer/winter tires myself nowdays.
I am old school country. I do a visual check of tyres as you walk towards car. Check pressure weekly, check wiper blades monthly. Oil and water each refill. Screen washer weekly in summer, (lots of bugs around). 34PSI all four tyres around town, 36 front 34 rear (FWD) on trips because I want some oversteer. On my club car 32 rear and 28 front (RWD and mid engine) John on ultra high performance rubber there are little triangles on the sidewall and the idea is to adjust pressure so the wear touches the point of the triangle. Those guides are also on R spec rubber too. On hillclimbs, the club car pressures go down to 22psi rear and 20psi front. But check out the little triangles.
Just adjusted to +10% the tyre pressure of my 235/35/r19 Pirelli all season sf3 tyres thanks John!
*Checks tyres.....* the wire is for grip, right?
Nah - it earths the car for re-fuelling.
Yes, the grip on your wallet.
John as much as I enjoy your brand of humour, it was really rather refreshing to go back to information based content; more fact, less acerbic wit.
I'm mixing it up. Thanks for watching.
@@AutoExpertJC
It's showing and it's refreshing
Too much of a thing gets tiresome
I think the mix at the moment is good but I'm just one viewer
If any of the jokes offended you. Remember you clicked on his face.
@@AutoExpertJC 😂
I'm glad you said that John, because mine are rated for 230-270kP (33-39psi) but I regularly fill them to 300kP (43psi) as the fuel economy goes up slightly and the drive and handling seems identical.
Thanks. Confirms what I've found works. Now, 10 or 20% above for safety. How much less for the mother in law's car?
Less enough so she loses control of the car and crashes into a big fat eucalyptus tree so she doesn't hurt any other people (any more). Blame it on Covid.
Haha 😆, great ideas 💡
Weekend track day guy here. That 20% is right on the money.
I haven't learned anything here, but everything you say is on par with what I have learned from personal experience.
Most weekend racers seem to think that lowering pressure is the way to go because that's how drag race is done. It only lead to overheating tires.
put 38 in mine not sure if the servo pumps default back to 32 cause every time i check mine its on 32.
I’ve heard that you should check the tire pressure in the morning when it is cooler for the best accuracy. Is there an optimum air temperature to measure the tire pressure? If this has already been asked my apologies.
My car has tyre pressure sensors. The pressure goes up by a significant amount when the tyres are warm, 3-4psi. So yes, set the pressure on cold tyres. That way you won’t drop below the minimum pressure which is the danger.
Yes sir my tyre pressures are correct as of 5 days ago. I do this once a fortnight so I don't have to feel guilty when I see videos like this. Negative reinforcement does work. And well. My family's safety and well-being thanks you for it.
Eggggggggcellent!
@@AutoExpertJC I see what you did there! 😆
Many thanks for all the advice and wisdom you've imparted upon so many of us over the years. You do great work and it is very much appreciated!
Here I am, John, looking you straight in the eye and saying that unless my tyres have all sprung leaks in the last half-hour, then they are all at the correct pressure as specified by the car manufacturer and they were the same, this time last week. I'm fortunate, in that I have access to annually calibrated pressure vessels to be able to check and adjust my own tyre pressure gauge against. I'll watch the video right through though for information and entertainment. Have a good day, Friday!
Tires and brakes, the two most important thing on your car from a safety perspective. Great video!
Ability to accelerate out of bad situations have served me well also. There is something to be said for knowing your vehicle limitations though, for sure, and brakes/tires play a big role in stopping/handling. I guess my point is that proper equipped "performance vehicles" are safer than economical "sloths" when driven properly. Maybe only slightly but...
Thank you John!! Well described! I have been adjusting my tire pressures above the placard listed 32 psi for years generally the tires are at 36-37 psi checked monthly unless the ambient temperatures change like Summer and Winter conditions. Average tire life for me is over 40K Miles depending on brand. Currently riding on The CrossContact™ LX25. 38500 so far mounted on my 2017 Lexus RX350. Happy New Year!
Yes, recommended Tyre Pressure plus 2 psi
Not a bad ballpark plan.
Mine are, I checked them on Friday. But I’ll still watch as I’m bored and there is nothing on Foxtel.
When looking at your tires' wear out is more interesting than TV...
Another few reasons why it pays to go 10-20% over:
1. If you are a bit inclined not to check the pressure very often then the period that you can go without checking and still remain at or over the specified pressure is increased.
2. If the servo pressure gauge is out of whack and tending to slightly overstate the pressure, by going 10% of so over you are still at least at the pressure specified by the manufacturer. If the servo pressure gauge is understating the pressure you can still afford the extra 10% and remain well under the specified maximum pressure of the tyre unless the servo gauge is totally stuffed. If it is stuffed you will probably realise that by how long it takes to get up to the "correct" pressure and how it feels when you drive off.
3. If you tend to not check the spare (if you have one) as often as the other tyres because it is so inaccessible, then you probably want to intentionally overinflate the spare when you do, so avoiding pulling out the spare when you really need it and finding it is flat or well under the required safe pressure that you need to continue your journey. The overinflation that you want might well be greater than the 10-20% of the other tyres and still be OK providing it is below the maximum pressure specified by the tyre manufacturer, and provided you take account of it possibly being greater than the other tyres if you put it on without being able to check the pressure.
Are Hankook Tires good I have to change the full set of my tires and Mavis recommended them on the website?
My 2016 F-250 here in 'Murica calls for 65 psi, identical wheels and tires on the near identical F-350 is 80 psi. Running the 250 at 65 psi makes the front end absolutely chop the crap out of the tread and ruin the tires. At $1000 for a set of load range E light truck tires, I run the full 80 psi.
Righto John, Hankook Dynapro ATM LT265/70 R16 @ 55psi front, 60psi rear on D40 Navara, 180,000k life. I run 60psi rear as I carry a lot of tools and tow regularly.
Sounds like a plan.
@@AutoExpertJC It worked well, on my 2nd set with the ute at 280,000k's. Original tyres were rubbish, lasted less than 50k and were very unstable with a load in them. The Hankooks are a 10ply tyre.
Please don't forget the consequences of over inflation. If you get carried away with the pressure gauge you have no grip.
Would you agree or disagree to go 3-5 psi above the placard standard in winter time?
Interesting video, thank you for the information. A quick point if I may?
Every tyre pressure information bite I’ve ever seen has had the “if it is worn more in the centre then it’s over inflated” bit included. Sure this is correct, but in the 39 years I’ve been a licensed driver I have never seen a tyre worn in the middle! My point is, I believe some people have the tyre pressure right, but *most* people have their tyres under inflated.
Very helpful-thank you, John. Confirms I am already on the right track pressure wise.
Excellent video
You take those things people think they know and take for granted and expound on them
I just went out tonight in the rain, got back and saw this video pop up and now I'm thinking, it's been a while since I checked my tyres, tomorrow morning when hopefully there's a break in the rain, I'll be checking them
I drive a Delica, it's an awesome vehicle and I buy tyres that are as wide as my vehicle will accommodate and I pick the ones with the highest wet ratings as I figure that's when tyres are most called upon to save my arse. I never cheap out on tyres, if it's say $30 extra for per tyre, big deal, that probably gets spent on coffee over a short period anyhow
Perhaps I'm wasting money on going for wet weather tyres as preference but in my ignorance it's what I've decided to focus on
It's good to know one can go up to 20% extra pressure on the tyres, I didn't know how much extra one can go to if required.
I had a mechanic once try and fix a fuel performance issue by going insane on the pressure to try and reduce rolling resistance. It worked but I literally bounced down the road, lol. He's now gone out of business, I wonder why...
Did I say what a great video this is 😀
Quality tires at the right pressure is incredibly important, however I never recommend more than 10 percent over placard for any street car. The ride on many cars with responsive stiff suspensions suffers to the point of harshness in my experience. Hondas for instance get really uncomfortable with over 10 percent pressure. I can't get friends to check pressures even after I give them a air gauge. I don't want to deal with "it feels worse."
If you want to drive faster I suggest plus size summer performance tires, racing pressures and other suspension modifications like Bilstein shocks. Trucks and trailers are another story. The other factor people ignore is temperature, tires lose one pound for every 10 degree F drop. Good report.
Good advice John. My wife went to a ladies information evening at the dealership for her car. They were told the placard tyre pressure was all about ride comfort. Her tyre placard says 32PSI they recommended 36PSI.
That's is correct I would do 35 to 36
Thanks for this. I could have used this on my last dealership visit. The pseudo-technician at my dealer recently read me the riot act about over-inflating my tires when I was complaining about an alignment problem. (Took wearing out a set of tires, 60000km, and 4 alignments for the whack-jobs to figure out one wheel was dynamically unbalanced). I had, properly, bumped up tire pressure to account for maximally loaded driving conditions. Helpfully, the pseudo-technician reset all my pressures to placard and sent me on my way. To the nearest air compressor. FFS
Yes. I am absolutely confident that 20 minutes ago, my tyres are spot-on for pressure. The car even told me it was happy about the tyre pressures. Even my spare! O'lights are pretty fucking good lights...
Its nice to have someone talking about actually useful stuff. I mean 0-60 times on cars that most people will never be able to afford is fun. But this shit is a lot more practical, usefull and makes a owning a car more involving.
As a NSW AUVIS I can tell you that during wet weather I find it difficult to get these No Name tyres to pass a brake test, some of the long wearing SUV/ 4WD tyres also perform poorly during brake tests in wet conditions.
Thanks John for the good information I use tyre wear on all our vehicles as a way to determine tyre pressure. I have found two cheap brands of tyres that are really good tyres ,and have given better wet grip and wear than the Bridgestone tyres we were using on one of our cars. My tyre service said my tyre pressures were to low ,but also agreed that the wear was even .carefully monitoring wear over time and adjusting pressure slightly as you suggested works well for our cars. I also regularly check the pressure Thanks for your good info as always
Bloody good report old chap.
All I heard was run 50PSI in those Pirellis, cause I'm a simpleton, but not too simple to deduct 10 percent, because, road.
2013 i30 wagon.......recommended is 32psi.........major tyre retailer said 36.and at 36 it rides,corners and brakes beautifully
Yeah - just keep checking the wear rate across the tread face.
I have a bit of OCD with my tyre pressures. For convenience I bought a Jamec PEM automatic tyre inflator / deflator bolted to the garage wall. Set my pressure and run around the car (and motorbikes) waiting for the beeps at each tyre and they're done. It wasn't cheap, but it makes life easy.
Wow. What a wonderful commercial on flash lights. Oh, and the bit of info on tires was kinda interesting!
You are providing a valuable public safety message with these videos. Sir I Salute you.
soooo true I always refer my clients to check the video en heavy towing. honestly, they can drive but most can barely understand car limitations and design parameters. for example, 2 weeks of non-stoping rain and people keep tailgating like there is no tomorrow.
Thanks John. My Pajero states 26psi F/ 29psi R. I have found 32psi all around works nicely when unloaded. I think a good idea is to measure the height of the centre of the hub to ground when unloaded. With a max load in the car, measure it again and top tires up to the same height. Do NOT exceed max pressure of course! In my opinion you will get the same footprint with this method. Your thought on this??
An excellent, accessible, non-condescending explanation. Thanks!
Thank you for making me feel normal, great videos, keep on rolling from Newcastle upon Tyne England where people still think they have a democracy, petrol is £1.23p a litre & diesel is £1.29p on average. A large latte in Starbucks is £3.80p, minimum wage is approximately £8.72 if your over 25, £8.20p age 21to 24, £6.45p 18 to 20, under 18 years of age is £4.55p and apprentices is £4.15p. They say average wage in the UK is £30k but in my experience living in the north of england it's more like £24k, average house price in the north of england for a basic 3 bedroom house detached is £250k, I recently bought 2 Michelin pro climate tyres, 245, 40, R18 costing £297.00. A single train ticket from Newcastle to London paying at the station the day you turn up is £212 for a 235 mile trip, although I travelled from Newcastle to Swansea in wales & that was £316 single, motorway service stations fuel is approximately 20% more. road fund licence (car tax) is £140 a year for an Audi 2014 2L diesel, my partners Renault clio 1.4L (12 years old is £240) car insurance for me is £375 a year, been driving 25 years and 10 years no claim bonus, break down cover is £170 a year for the works. Audi charge me £134 an hour for labour for any work on, changed to a local garage who charge me £45 an hour. Speeding ticket is between £80 to £100 as long as you haven't went over speed limit by no more than 10%, over 100mph instant ban unless your in the masons a night of the Garter a Lord, Sir, Dame or an MP, 132000 should have passed away due to covid, our PM came on live TV 9 months ago and said to take covid on the chin, £37 billion contract given to government donor for ttack and trace which has never worked, that would be enough to give every NHS worker a £26k bonus instead of the 1% pay rise, 1.4 million staff work for the NHS, only 3 people own 85% of all the UK's main stream media and are all right wing, UK has no free press, 4 million people use food banks every day, 1.7 million unemployed but the real figure is more than double that, they cut every disabled persons benifit by £30 pw, average disability benefit is £110 pw, state pension is £148pw, unemployment is £71pw if you can get it, an estimated £80 to £135 billion a year is siphoned off from UK tax to shell companies & offshore companies in tax havens, thought I'd let you no how great the UK is. Have a great day.
That was fascinating. Seriously. Similar to us in Canada. A gi-normous country with cold weather (usually) and thousands of miles driven per year. The cost to operate a vehicle (depreciating asset) is a phenomenal strain on most people's scant savings. You listed some real life numbers there that are probably mirrored all over the world. So, extend the life of your tires as per John's suggestions, and keep the savings for more important things. Like my dad always said, you never actually own tires; you just rent them. Bring 'em back when they're bald and rent them again. Cheers!
@@lookinin123 got to watch every penny when the government are robbing us blind, last week they announced that there spending £205 billion on more nuclear weapons, we have 180 nuclear bombs and there uping them to 240, the military industrial complex. I use to work up the great lakes of Canada from the st Lawrence seaway to lake superior Duluth in the 1980s. Last week the government put forward a ban on peaceful protest, yesterday there was protests all over England, hundreds of people injured.
Hello John
Great video
What I find interesting is the tyre placards and also what tyre retailers say.
A tyre retailer will tell you that the placard pressures are there so your ride is comfortable.
The retailers will tell you that a higher pressure is better for safety and wear.
What they say seems intuitive to me but surely the car manufacturers also know this so why don't they save us all the doubts and put a higher pressure on in the first place.
I'm not an expert or an engineer and the bottom line should be this is what is required so just do it.
Thanks for you great videos, even the funny ones.
300nzd for a tyre, 2nd tyre in a month different wheel. This video definitely explains a lot. Great video thanks for the knowledge 💯👌🏾
In the track world, I've always been told to run lower pressure because they get so much hotter quicker that you need to compensate at cold readings (and/or the lower pressure yeilds a larger contact patch). Then there's real serious folks measuring hot to see what they're actually getting to of course.
In the track world, testing determines best pressures. You do it with proper scientific controls in place.
Don't forget to measure the tyre temperatures across the entire contact patch if possible, with at least 3 measurements per tyre (inner, middle, outer) to make sure the temperatures are relatively even across the contact patch. The budget option is just to measure the temps right after pitting, but ideally, one should measure tyre temps in real time and record them for proper analysis. To be fair, this is getting into serious professional territory, so the average weekend warrior should do decently with the much more economical measure right after pitting method unless one's somehow lucky enough to access the necessary tools.
On track, assuming your tyres have strong enough sidewalls, running lower pressures with more negative camber is one way to gain laptime on circuits with relatively large amounts of time spent cornering. The ideal tyre contact patch is infinitely compliant in ride, but relatively stiff when twisted (e.g. when steering) and doesn't move sideways much upon application of lateral force. The best approximation of this sort of behaviour we can practically achieve presently is via radial tyres with stiff outer sidewalls and tread, run with enough negative camber and low tyre pressures.
Just for interest sake, I fitted Steeda Spyder Rims with Michelin Pilot Sport tyres to my 2015 Mustang, which were subsequently transferred to my 2018 Mustang. Now I'm talking over $500 per tyre in addition to the $500 for each rim - quality in both departments. I check the air pressure regularly for the very reasons you mentioned, but what I have found incredible, is that they have never even lost 1 psi in all that time, although I've adjusted the pressures depending on wet/dry conditions and if I'm taking it out for a drive in the country with the lads or with the wife.
Wise. Mustangs are great vehicles!
all cars are spot on! compressor in the garage. 37 psi all around
Out here in Nebraska we have temperature extremes, especially in the spring where the outdoor temperatures can vary over the course of the day and can drop or raise your tire pressure significantly. Checking the pressure has become a habit for me because of it.
Gotta think about how hot your tyres get aswell, check them after a long drive and see the difference in cold vs hot
Excellent breakdown, John, thank-you! First time seeing your channel. QUESTION: From a towing perspective I haul a 34' travel trailer (dry 7000 lbs / max 9000 lbs) and an F150 (total length towing approx 53') with cargo such as tools in crew cab, and bed is full (generator, wood blocks, tool bags, ramps, basically I'm a rolling self-repair shop. I used to inflate to sticker inside door my first year or two. But now I inflate closer to the max tire pressure on the tire. Both my trailer tires and F150 are max 65psi cold and I inflate between 60-62. I'll purchase a caliper to get a more accurate wear measurement moving forward, but curious what your thoughts are on my set-up. Trailer certainly pulls better when my tire pressure is closer to max instead of sticker.
Other reason the passenger side tyre will wear faster is because that's the outside tyre which is doing the bulk of the work going around roundabouts.
Frank Reading. They also cop additional load in ordinary driving compared to the other side due to the road camber.
@@phillipevans9414 Many experts argue this point and claim it's all about cornering and that camber is irrelevant. But road camber means the front outer tyre is always taking slightly more weight and is responsible for steering the car slightly uphill to maintain a straight line. My Prado ate the outside of front left tyres, and it was mostly used for touring duties. Perhaps it's a conspiracy to protect road-builders against being sued for excessive tyre wear due to poor road design. :-)
Great video. Proper tire pressure ( and tread) is key to preventing hydroplaning too. In hot areas we found pressure loss causes flexing and heat build up and occasionally disastrous tread separation. Your life really does ride on those tires.
Back in my bike racing days, bias ply tires, we used the 10% Rule - difference between cold and hot pressure should be 10%. If higher add air. If lower, remove air. The Good Old Days
Thank you once again for another excellent and informative presentation.
No worries - thanks for watching.
The PSI information alone, saved a life.
Excellent informative video. Plugging in my compressor right now to up my tire pressures.
Some people over look tire pressures and tire brands. My Dad made sure to educate my Brothers and I on the importance of tires
Good video John for the average punter !
I'm still running original tyres on the Kluger I bought new 2015, looking after pressures, etc. has served me well, as just clocked 70,000 km, I will be buying again the Michelin Latitude HP's,
Just a comment that rear tyres are important (even on FWD) for wet weather driving and not aquaplaning. I always thought the better tyres on front for FWD due to them being driven wheels, but I've recently learned the advice is to get the better tyres on the rear as the last thing you want in the wet is aqua plane induced oversteer.
I've always heard putting the best tyres on the front, even in a RWD car is best...
Understeer aquaplaning is also pretty dire. Honestly I think there are pros and cons with both approaches.
@@AutoExpertJC in either case the solution is good tyre rotation and good tyres, who would have thunk it
I run the all terrains in my Dmax at about 40 because that's what gives it even wear, particularly on the front as the OEM tyres scrubbed out on the outer edges on the front end, probably because of the added weight of the Bullbar (50-60kg). The thing that shits me is the placard says 32psi, so when it goes in for a service that's what comes back, so after every service I have pump the tyres up again. Grrrr!
Just instruct them to leave it at 40.
@@AutoExpertJC Sometime they listen, sometimes they don't. Probably a liability thing, if the placard says this and the tyre blows out because we didn't make it match then we are responsible.
Problem at dealerships is: You never talk to the guy who does the work.
@@AutoExpertJC Yeah exactly.
I have been driving for 52 years now and do a car check every saturday arvo ! All fluids and tyre pressure , I also keep my tyres 4-5 psi higher than the placard says. Good or bad, I am a Michelin fan and always buy that brand. Being a very conservative driver I typically get 100,000 km from a set, sometimes a little more. It works for me !
My Toyota calls for 32 lbs of air. I ran that for a while and could see the tire was definitely wearing fast and it was geared towards ride comfort, now I run about 38 to 40 psi and the tires wear much better now and steering feels much better.
Thank you for the information! I do have question about tires regarding deflation. So when I lived in Alabama, 'Murica, people would go muddin'. When they would get stuck they would lower their tire pressure to 5 or 10 psi. Was for traction in the mud and sand? Would it make that much of a difference? Thank you for all you do!
Do tyres have a shelf life? I'm a low distance driver of about a couple thousand miles a year. Should all tyres be replaced regardless of usage after a number of years?
10 years
Dear John. I hope your ok. Can I ask what is the facination, you have with torches. You keep sharing flashlights that can send messages to the voyager probe the lights that bright. is this an Australian thing ? in the Uk we have one torch, a torch that gets used yearly around Christmas time to get the decorations out. You guys have torches to compete with the sun. I assume it's very Dark at night where you are but why so many ?
Yes I can. I check them every two weeks (every time I fill up the tank).
Good content. Question - how does slight over inflation - compared to stated inflation - affect traction in the wet. Will the higher pressure lead to less grip or does it make no difference?
When I was taught Advanced driving we were told minimum 40 psi hard ride but great response.
I've always found running pressures around this the perfect level for grip and fuel economy. Despite the countless diagrams saying lower pressure equals more grip.
Same. Did a defensive driving course at the old Oran Park in the early 90’s and was taught 40psi.
Same...........Also taught if you skid a tyre and you get two skinny lines, tyre under inflated. Get a single skinny line, tyre over inflated
So, for the best grip, which pressure is required?
I took your advice quite a while ago now and check my tyre pressures each time I get petrol (once a fortnight) It has paid off as well.
Yep - pretty sure it's a solid investment in terms of ROI.
I bought the ryobi one+ tyre inflator and also installed n air compressor in my fwd because I know that tyre pressures are everything.
On your advice John.
It's not a bad unit at all. And a compressor for 4WDs that actually go off road is a great addition.
@@AutoExpertJC how many go past the wollies
I am absolutely certain. My Lotus is set at 24F 27R cold and my ute is 30 PSI all round. I check whenever the ambient air temp changes by 20F or every other fill-up.
I want to know what is the best surrounding TEMPERATURE to measure the PSI? I'm in Arizona. I put about 2 lbs more in each tire.. 35 front and 33 rear RDX . The garage Temp was 56deg. I drive later when the Temp was 75Deg 37 Front and 35 rear.
I got myself a external TPM system and replenish the air when it drops more than 0.2 bars. The integrated TPM(abs based) car is ok but it only alerts me when the difference is more than 0.4 bars between tyres. I was very surprised that you cannot see the difference just by looking at the tyre between 2.2 and 1.2 bars
I can absolutely guarantee my tyres are at the correct pressure, my good wife bought me a Ryobi air compressor so I check once or twice week. I also purchased a high quality pressure gauge as we are heading off to Dingo Piss Creek next month if it's not flooded out.
Excellent - 12 points out of a possible 10. Hope the weather is kind to you mate.
@@AutoExpertJC Heading to Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanbra.
Sorry to hear that. Not to become a politician I hope.
@@AutoExpertJC Yep! As the new bloody Prime Minser. Wouldn't know what hit them plus place would be run by Ming's as well.
@@brentonl2631 Make Australia less shit then!
Every time I've bought a new car, I've started with about 2 psi extra in the front and 1 in the rear, as I do like to press on in the bends (I learned to drive in a Leyland Mini - and they're all about maintaining momentum around corners, as they really didn't accelerate all that well with only 40hp.) But no matter how much "spirited" driving I do in the twisties, it seems I always end up with the most even wear (and thus the best grip) with no more than 1 psi extra in the front at most, and no extra in the rear. Not sure if this is because I tend to drive smaller cars with relatively wide rubber (so they're inherently a little easier on the tyres) or what...but it seems to work for me. :-)
As a cyclist, I'm obsessed with tyre pressure. I have to restrain myself from checking every tyre I see. People don't always appreciate it.