On my '13 3500 I see the tires are rated 80psi max. The door says 60front and 80 rear. Just standard rims with tires. That seems high, unless towing. Considering the thing already rides like a tank at 45 PSI (new tires placed on by the dealership that is largely a truck dealer should know best, right? Maybe not). I don't want to shorten the tire life too much, but I don't want to be bouncing around every corner either. What do you run/suggest?
What tire PSI do you run?
- Thread starter joey_b
- Start date
Tires depend on a lot. Rotations, alignment, driving style, parts quality on the front end and inflation based on your usage. Also, the tire itself as all are different from brand to brand, design to design and even tire to tire.
While unloaded, running 60psi all around created center channel wear for me. I now run 45 rear 49 front if unloaded. I usually add 5 PSI for every 2k in tow - 10k load would mean I increase the rear PSI by 25, so 45 to 70. I only run 80 in the back if loaded to the hilt.
This is on my 2500
While unloaded, running 60psi all around created center channel wear for me. I now run 45 rear 49 front if unloaded. I usually add 5 PSI for every 2k in tow - 10k load would mean I increase the rear PSI by 25, so 45 to 70. I only run 80 in the back if loaded to the hilt.
This is on my 2500
If you aren't maxing the weight rating of the tire, you don't usually want to be at max pressure. The wider the tire, the more sensitive they are to proper inflation.
If the centers of your tire are wearing faster than the edges, you need to lower your pressure. If the edges are wearing faster, raise the pressure. It might take quite some time to get a feel for what provides the best tire life.
To complicate things further, you can sacrifice tire life for either mileage or comfort, as you see fit. Running higher pressure (up to the max) will lower rolling resistance and increase fuel mileage. Probably won't be significant on a truck, but a car can see a big gain if you don't mind buying new tires sooner (IMO you spend more on tires than you save in fuel). Lowering pressure will increase comfort and traction, but wear the edges of the tires more. If you lower them too much, you can overheat the sidewalls and blow out a tire, which is dangerous.
For the stock tires, I would try running them down to maybe 40 in the rear, 45 in the front and see how it rides. I wouldn't go much lower than that on such a narrow tire. On my 315/70R17 I run ~30 rear (depending on how much traction I want) and 35 front. I'll pump the rear up to 40-45 if I am towing heavy (they are rated to 50 PSI).
If the centers of your tire are wearing faster than the edges, you need to lower your pressure. If the edges are wearing faster, raise the pressure. It might take quite some time to get a feel for what provides the best tire life.
To complicate things further, you can sacrifice tire life for either mileage or comfort, as you see fit. Running higher pressure (up to the max) will lower rolling resistance and increase fuel mileage. Probably won't be significant on a truck, but a car can see a big gain if you don't mind buying new tires sooner (IMO you spend more on tires than you save in fuel). Lowering pressure will increase comfort and traction, but wear the edges of the tires more. If you lower them too much, you can overheat the sidewalls and blow out a tire, which is dangerous.
For the stock tires, I would try running them down to maybe 40 in the rear, 45 in the front and see how it rides. I wouldn't go much lower than that on such a narrow tire. On my 315/70R17 I run ~30 rear (depending on how much traction I want) and 35 front. I'll pump the rear up to 40-45 if I am towing heavy (they are rated to 50 PSI).
^ therein lies your dilemma, we all do it a little bit differently. My numbers are with 265/60r20 tires on a 20x9 wheel. Every persons combination will be slightly different. I would start with both front and rear being the 50's with the rear lower by 4 or 5 psi.
I run 35 all the way around on 35x12.50-17's in the winter and 40 in the summer. Anything over that and the rear center wear faster and the front slides everywhere in the rain. Not to mention it rides like ass.
When my truck had the stock 265's, they had 40 in the rear and 45 in the front and it rode great.
When my truck had the stock 265's, they had 40 in the rear and 45 in the front and it rode great.
This question is always such a bitch because we all seem to run different tires and wheels than stock. I run a set of Boulder wheels; 8.5" wide and similar to H2. I run Hankooks in 285/70/17. I used to run 62/80 but now I run 62/60 front/rear. I corner so much and so hard that I need the pressure up front! I wonder if I could drop the rear even more, but I haven't mucked with it.
It is a hard question but for a stock wheel and 265 tire combo, there's not too many variations on that, either you run max for an extra .5 mpg and because that's what it says to run, or you run 40-50 for a better ride and better traction. Wear is t gonna be greatly affected at this point.
I have BFG All Terrains 35", and I am running 40 up front & 32 in the rear.......My truck used to ride like a Cadillac up until about 5 years ago. I had a clue of sets of tires warrantied put due to this, and it continued. So, as of a month ago I went and got the BFF All Terrains, along with brand new Fox Shocks, thinking all of this would solve the problem. The same.problem was still there, and there is nothing wrong with my driveline or u-joints. Last week I finally received another referral who knows our trucks inside/out to check out my truck, and when I told him that the past tire company used to keep my old tires at 80 psi, and that I had the newly purchased ones at 50 psi, he said that was still way too high. He said to drop the front to 40 & the rear to 32. When I left his place, 95% of my issue had been solved !!!
