February 13, 2010
I Am Starting A Hypermiling Experiment With My 1996 Nissan Altima.—questions About Tire Pressure?
The tire wall says max PSI 51, and I filled them up to 50 PSI. It was roughly 75 F when I filled the tires. Should I decrease the amount of air in the tires due to them heating while driving??? Decrease pressure when it gets hotter outside???
Again I want maximum safe tire pressure.
Related Product:
Related Posts
Filed under Gas Conservation FAQ by on Feb 13th, 2010. Comment. 
Leave a Comment
Comments on I Am Starting A Hypermiling Experiment With My 1996 Nissan Altima.—questions About Tire Pressure?
Maximum tire pressures as stated on sidewalls of tires are cold pressures. This means the car hasn’t been driven for a while, and the tires have not been baking in the sun. 50 psi is extremely high for your altima. Inflating your tires to this point can lead to very poor handling and very poor tire wear. Over-inflation such as this will cause your tires to wear rapidly down the center. this means you will be buying tires soon. If you are trying to save money by over-inflating your tires, you are wasting your time. There is a reason that tire makers do hours of research for each tire. If you are trying to save gas, take all the crap out of your car that you dont use on a daily basis and drive conservatively. 40 PSI is plenty, just moniotor your treadwear.
When checking your vehicle’s tire pressure, make sure the tires are “cold”.
Cold air pressure means that the vehicle has not yet been driven one mile.
Remember that driving on a tire increases its temperature and air pressure.
If you must drive more than one mile for air, check and record the air pressure in all your tires before you leave.
Once at the tire dealer, measure each tire’s inflation again and then note the difference.
Inflate the tires with low pressure to a level that is equal to the recommended cold pressure plus the difference at the higher temperature.