The Tom and Ray column in this morning's Seattle Post-Intelligencer dealt with tire inflation. The writer noticed that the Jiffy Lube place where she takes her car has repeatedly "over inflated" the tires, to about two or three pounds under the maximum permissible pressure. She argued with the guys who insisted that this is better for the tires and is a Jiffy policy. The latter she confirmed by noticing the same practice at three different facilities. Her point is that she wanted the tires inflated to the recommended pressures listed on the inside of the driver's door.
Tom and Ray agreed with her. The maximum pressure, they say, is what the tire can hold as an absolute; to drive a car with this much, or nearly this much pressure in the tires is dangerous and will adversely affect both the wear of the tires and the handling of the car. Any increase in mileage is incidental to the increased danger from a poorly handling car.
Some of you are putting nearly the maximum pressure in your tires, which I believe is 44 psi for the OEM tires, in order to get better mileage. This might be a red herring, because what you may save in a few gallons of gas isn't worth the risk. Think of it this way: if your mileage goes up from 45 mpg to 47 mpg, you are saving only 0.1 gallon of gas per 100 miles while making your car less maneuverable.
I'm keeping my tires pretty close to the recommended pressure.
Tom and Ray agreed with her. The maximum pressure, they say, is what the tire can hold as an absolute; to drive a car with this much, or nearly this much pressure in the tires is dangerous and will adversely affect both the wear of the tires and the handling of the car. Any increase in mileage is incidental to the increased danger from a poorly handling car.
Some of you are putting nearly the maximum pressure in your tires, which I believe is 44 psi for the OEM tires, in order to get better mileage. This might be a red herring, because what you may save in a few gallons of gas isn't worth the risk. Think of it this way: if your mileage goes up from 45 mpg to 47 mpg, you are saving only 0.1 gallon of gas per 100 miles while making your car less maneuverable.
I'm keeping my tires pretty close to the recommended pressure.