Tire pressure

[Alfie Farrand]

When driving on really hot summer roads as in Arizona does anyone reduce their tire pressure to accommodate for road heat. I have been told this helps the tires in some way.

[sm350bl]

If you are running maximum air pressure for your specific tire ( that information is on the side of the tire ) then airing down a little to compensate for expansion could keep you from over pressurizing. Though I don't know hot it would have to be or how much extra pressure it could result in. I personally dont run max air pressure in my tires. My tires are rated for 80psi of pressure carrying max rated load that tire is certified for. I normally run 65psi and that would allot me plenty of wiggle room for any heat expansion.

[chin_k]

There is a complication that when you lower the pressure, the tire will run hotter due to the extra flexing of the rubber. This is why low tire pressure can cause blow out. So it may sounds a good idea to lower the pressure when the external temperature is 20F higher than usual, it may not be a wise thing to do. You may want to get the instruction from the manufacturer, instead of random people from the web that does not work with tire on a professional basis. If I have the software to do simulation, I would run this and also do actual testing in the real world to verify.

[68camaro]

I live in VA and it gets pretty hot and humid, I run air at van door label recommendation which I think is 65 front & 55 rear....don't take my word but I am too lazy to go look.

I have a tire monitor system and I highly recommend one, mine gives tire temp as well as air pressure, temps never get hot enough for me to worry but I watch it closely plus it has alarms if air or tire temp goes above or below preset changes.

[Alfie Farrand]

Thanks for the information guys I will run my tires as in the Chinook manual 65 psi on the front 60 psi for the back when fully loaded. Heading to Arizona soon, As for a tire monitor does anyone have a preference type.

[chin_k]

I used one from Dill, but there are other ones out there (check Amazon and TireRack, for example) that maybe have better interface. The important thing is that it works with 6 tires, and have accurate sensor with alarm.