S PAW 1

The makeup of your particular tire has a lot to do with it. My Michelin Pilot A/S's have a softer mid rib than some others. So if you run the higher pressures, you will incur shorter life. I would suggest a careful read of your wear patterns when you rotate. That will give you an accurate gauge of where your tires should be set.

Will Y.

See S Paw 1's post #40 above- tire wear will likely depend on tire type. Timely tire rotations and keeping an eye on pressure while help optimize tire wear.

"Too high" probably will be over 40 psi (measured cold) on most tires sized for the TL. As bmacz06 mentions, the recommended pressures are a compromise, with bias towards softer ride rather than optimum handling. In the TL's case, the 18" A-spec wheels recommend 39 psi in front, while the 6MT cars with stock 17" wheels recommend 35F/32R and the 5ATs are 33F/32R (2006+) or 32/32('04-'05). There is a range of pressures which is appropriate for the car, depending on the driver's preferences.

My 5AT is set at 37F/34R on the stock MXM4s- I like the higher pressure for more sidewall stiffness, better steering response and less understeer. The tire wear seems unaffected- I'm at 32K; the tires treads are worn about half-way and evenly across the tread to date. I've run either 37F/34R or 36F/33R since within a couple of months of picking up the TL from the new car dealer.

Alignments are not part of my regular service regimen. Most of my cars have had alignments only if they failed to track properly, which was infrequent. My TL has not yet needed an alignment since delivery -- it has always tracked straight and I haven't hit any curbs, surface joints or potholes hard enough to throw off the alignment.

I hate cars

You can't make a blanket statement as to tire pressures for different tires, driving styles, and cars.

My new tires require 38psi. My old ones worked best at 28. Usually the front needs more air to maintain the correct contact patch because the front weights more. Simple as that. Tire pressure is more for fine tuning after you've gotten the balance as close to you liking as you can with springs and swaybars. Different pressure extremes are not good. You don't want to reduce the contact patch on one end of the car just to make it feel like it's more balanced. Besides, these cars are set up to understeer on purpose from the factory because it's considered safe. With oversteer the average driver will overcorrect a small slide a few times until they end up spinning into a ditch or worse.

blakura

I brought the lifetime alignment plan from firestone. I got an alignment a week ago, then got new tires 3 4 days later. When I called to ask if I needed another alignment, the mechanic said that it wasn't necessary. By the way, I didn't tell him that I had the lifetime package.

I hate cars

I get alignments when I get a new set of tires. The only other time I've done an alignment was when the girlfriend nearly bottomed the car to the frame on a pothole with three people in the car. Surprisingly the alignment was still ok. These cars seem to hold alignment very well. Anymore often than when you buy new tires is a waste of money. Rotating the tires often is not a bad idea.

cristphoto

"Tightened the turn radius,"

How does increasing tire pressure tighten the turning radius?

stavebomb

i think il do this once i install my suspension and get it aligned

I hate cars

It can't.

JetJock

Thanks for your information. I've been running around 35psi front....32 psi rear.....so I'm going to see what happens when I run more pressure in the front tires. They always seem to look "low" to me with all the front engine weight on the tires...so it should be interesting to see how the car handles with more pressure. Thanks!!

tl-pain

No problem, sorry for the late response.

mishar

Yes it can. Not for too much but it can. Tires resist turning because inside portion of tire has to make smaller distance than outside. Wider tires resist more. Max performance tires more than all seasons. Higher pressured tires have smaller contact patch and lower turning resistance so turning radius is smaller.

On the other hand, smaller contact patch makes less friction when it gets close to the limit and that means lower limit in curves, braking and accelerating. This is a bit different on a track and highway because more inflated tires has less deformation so less heat is generated and tires temperature is lower. It is good for long high speed driving and track abuse but not for regular street driving when tires are not hot enough to produce all friction.

black label

This is for heat management at high speeds. If you are running consistently at high speeds, you need more PSI to control heat build up which could lead to catastrophic tire failure.

The owners manual for my 97 Prelude said to pump up to 40psi (instead of the standard 32) if you were going to run for extended periods of time over 100mph (they also recommended obeying local speed laws).