I just bought a used 04 TSX white and loving it. I have a question about the tire pressure. In the manual the recommanded tire pressure is 32 and 30 psi for front and rear, respectively. However, on the tires the max psi is 41 and my tires are inflated at that level. Here is the problem, I reduced my pressure to the manual recommandation and the engine feels like it is working harder and consumes more gas.

What tire pressures do you guys recommand?

 

You'll get recommendations all over the place on this; my 2 cents are go with the manual (or the sticker on the door jamb) and add a couple just to sharpen thing up a bit. The max pressure on a tires' sidewall is the pressure that's used to establish it's maximum carrying capacity (the weight rating that accompanies the max pressure). It has no connection what so ever to the recommended pressure for any particular car.

 

^^

 

^^

 

LoL

 

so are you saying that the tire pressure on all tires for the tsx's rim size should be the same? arent some tires made out of different material, and made differently?

 

Not all tires are constructed the same, so the rated carrying capacity will vary also (and rated at different maximum pressures). This is on the sidewall (in raised numbers) and also expressed as the load index (I've seen 91, 92, 93.and 94 for the OE size).

 

so a tire with a higher/lower carrying capacity should still use the PSI on sticker on the car?

 

dang 41 seems too high

 

Although any individual tire may behave a little differently at a given pressure, the car manufacturers recommendation is always a good place to start. Granted, this recommendation is a compromise, but they (the car makers) really do put some research into it. Remember that they have to take a number of things into consideration when coming up with a number. Fuel mileage, comfort, handling, wet weather, dry weather performance, tire life, vehicle weight to name a few; all these things have to be factored into a number. If you're willing to give up performance in one area, you may be able to pick up performance in another. Higher pressures will probably give you slightly better highway mileage (although any increase may be difficult to determine unless you drive virtually 100% highway and allot of it) at a small comfort penalty. Same goes for dry weather handling; a few more pounds may allow (what would feel like anyway) slightly better grip (which is what prompted my earlier comments about sharper handling). I realize most of this is blah, blah, blah; bottom line is go with the sticker. The tire choice really shouldn't make any difference in that. Experiment if you like, or if you're happy with the cars' ride and handling, stick with what Acura recommends.

 

Thanks for your suggestion. However, should we still follow the Acura label on psi if the tires are different?

Winter - 205/60/16

Summer - 225/40/18

Should we put in 32/30psi too?

 

Ok, how about this for a guideline. If the tire explodes, the pressure is too high. If the sidewalls are bulging out it's too low. Anywhere in between is down to personal preference.

Realistically, 32 PSI all around is a pretty good starting point. Stay above 28 or you'll be overheating the carcass. Stay under the max load pressure listed on the tire. I've found I'm getting pretty even wear across the tread at 35 psi and it handles nice and crisply. This is with Falken ZE-912 220/50-17 (I think that's the size, I've got my winter tires on now).

 

not trying to be frustrating, just trying to find out what to use.

i've been told in the past (on some other car forums) that the tire manufacturer knows which psi is best for their tire, and that the tires should be filled to the max stated psi on the tire when cold (never put air in tires you have driven on recently).

i always assumed the tire pressure on the car is just for the stock tires that the car comes with.

 

Running at the max PSI on the tire at less than the max load weight will yield tires that never get to their optimal temperature. The results of which will be decreased traction and an rougher than necessary ride. Depending on the tire you may prematurely wear out the center of the tread as well.

There are so many variables involved that experimenting with your particular set up and your particular driving style in your own typical environment is the only way to find your optimal set up. Further confounding the situation, the optimum pressure may change with the weather. Try to narrow your experimentation down to as few variables as possible. Pick a single stretch of road or a combination of roads that is representative of what you typically drive on. Use that same piece of road for all your comparisons and don't change anything but the tire pressure. Try to make all your observations as similar conditions as possible.

For on road driving, you won't see a huge a variation so don't sweat it too much. You're not trying to shave 10ths of a second off a lap time or anything.