ffemt1271

i have an '03 2500HD and the tire says 80 psi max and the door sticker says 70 psi? what do you guys run in yours???????? ???

Moparior

You should always run what the truck sticker says, not the tire. The truck sticker is based on the handling characteristics of the truck. All the tire is telling you is what the max pressure the tire can handle safely. Of course I am assuming you are talking about stock tires, not some wild oversize or undersized ones.

phox_mulder

Not necessarily.

Here's a f'rinstance.

My Tacoma door sticker said 32 psi.
(can't even remember what size they came with)

I put BFG's on it and they said 50 psi on the sidewall.
(they weren't any taller than the stock ones, but a bit wider)

Now if I ran those BFG's with only 32psi in them, they'd either wear out really fast, or the bead would seperate, or I would surely die.

I ran them right around 43-45psi, as that was the smoothest ride, and they didn't bulge, and wore evenly.

The sidewall will usually tell the maximum pressure required for the tire to be able to carry the maximum load.

Right now, my tires say 80 psi on the sides.
I run them at 65 front and 55 back, as that seems to be the best compromise for daily driving.
Any higher in the back and it bounces around too much (unloaded) any lower and they'd wear the sides too much.
Any higher in the front, bouncy, any lower and bulges way too much and squirly steering.

I need to get some sand tubes to carry around this winter, and I'll adjust the rear tires to accomodate that extra weight.

Remember, the mighty cummins is in excess of 1,000 lbs, so keep the front aired with this in mind.

Sidenote: I firmly believe that half of Firestones recent problems with tread seperation resulted from Ford having customers put too little air in the tires to compensate for the tendancy for SUV's to rollover in sharp turns, and this put too much stress on the sidewalls.

phox

P Kennedy

I agree with Fox completely the stickers on the truck assume you will use it in a general manor so they assign a number that is general. Pickup trucks are hard to keep one tire pressure as they are usually loaded different day to day. Tire wear is as important and relative to tire pressure, a dually only loaded once a year with a trailer only needs 60-80 psi while under the trailer. Driving around empty 40-50 psi will give better tire wear and a more positive foot print while higher pressure in the front tires support the weight of the engine and stiffer side wall for handling in corners. Single rear wheel pickups are different again as half the width of 4 tires on the road handles different but the front is fairly consistant with the haevy diesel needing to be supported. Taller sidewalls handle weight different as well generate more heat when loaded and can feel squirmey. The construction of the tire, load range, tread design and width are all factors and the factory does not always supply you with top grade tires for all purposes. The tag on the door is at best a suggestion. PK

phox_mulder

Just had another thought.<br><br>Weigh the truck at each tire.<br>Figure out what percentage that weight is of the maximum weight the tire can carry.<br><br>Say each tire can carry 3,000 lbs at 80 psi.<br><br>Let's say each front corner weighs 2400 lbs.<br>That is 80% of the 3,000 total the front tires can each carry.<br>You'd then put 80% of 80psi in each front tire, 64 psi.<br><br>Each back corner weighs 2070 lbs.<br>That is 69% of the 3,000 total the back tires can carry.<br>You'd then put 69% of the 80psi in, 55 psi.<br><br>As you add weight to the back, add some psi to each back tire.<br><br>I know it's not very scientific, but might work.<br>(my math might be off too )<br><br>phox

FiverBob

WHAT? ??? <br> ;D <br><br>

danlit

I lost count, I think my bathroom scale went around 7.5 times X 300lbs. <br> Danny

Green Giant

3500 SRW LONG BED QUAD CAB<br>60 front, 40 rear not towing anything.<br>I used this on my 95' and the tires wore fine till I upgraded to the BFG's. This really helps reduce the back end from bouncing all over the place when empty.<br>Jeff

blownbanana

The instructions that came with my '03 2500 2WD with CTD using the OEM Michelin tires calls for 40psi front and rear when unloaded and 50psi front and 70psi rear when loaded? I have been running 50psi unloaded, front and rear for better handling and less heat.

bulabula

I'm currently @ 65 front, 50 rear; unloaded.

spinlocker

I had some reservations running 80 (max cold). I have the 265/17s. I run empty more often than not. After pondering over all that text in the user's manual, I run 45 in the fronts and 40 in the back. The mpg dropped a mile or so, but it rides lots nicer.<br><br>With my light-for-hauling 2100# 15foot travel trailer (like towing a house, big tail thing), I bumped up the fronts to 55 and the rear to 60.<br><br>Love that whine under load.<br><br>2500 HO 4x2 SLT<br><br>

Moparior

I stand by my original statement. I am referring to tires that are sized according to the manufacturers sticker. If any tires sized other than those on the sticker are used on the truck, then you can throw the sticker out the window, and use your best judgement as to what pressures you should run. But my original statement was that the sticker tells you what is best for the entire vehicle under most normal circumstances, the tire sticker is only telling you what the max pressure for the tire can be. (assuming factor original sized tires)<br><br>Of course common sense dictates when you are hauling a very heavy load, the tire pressure needs to be high enough for the tire to safely handle the load.<br><br>This discussion brings to mind the whole Ford Explorer, Firestone tire debacle of a couple years ago. If memory serves, wasn't Ford recommending 28 psi, and Firestone was claiming that such low pressures were responsible for the tire failure? That kind of shoots a big hole in my argument doesn't it! <br><br>(Moparior retreats to rethink his position) ??? ;D

FiverBob

AAAANNNNNDDDDD, when you haul, are you loading up an 8' truck camper, or an 11' truck camper, hooking up to a fiver with the hitch 4&quot; forward from TDC, fiver with the hitch TDC, or a TT. Or are you loading the bed with a bunch of ??????. Each one will have its peculiarities and require rethinking the correct pressure for both front and rear. The only one that will &quot;probably&quot; not affect the front is the fiver with the hitch TDC. <br><br>Hey, my brain is now fried for the day. ;D ;D<br><br>Bob

Mr.Goat

??? [undecided] This tire pressure thing sure can start a controversy. Something like asking whats the best caliber for deer hunting. I never could resist the deer caliber issue, so I'll wade into this one as well.<br><br> In winter I never carry weight of any consequence so I'am running 55Ib. front and rear. It gives me good ride and traction in snow. And the tires are wearing evenly. I'll adjust the pressure as per the weight being carried. When the slide in camper is on all tires go to 80Ib. Never had tire problem following this regime. I'll always ere on the side of too much tire pressure as I feel most tire failures are the result of under inflation. My .02 cents ( 4 cents Canadian). Pete

Badunit

The sticker is not the thing to go by; it probably does not match what is on your truck, even from the factory. Go by the tire guide that came with your owners manual. If you don't have that, fill em so they get full contact with the ground. Watch how they wear and adjust from there. I usually overfill my front tires so they handle turns better and wear evenly.<br>