Toyota Prius: Stupid tire store conversation about air pressure

"Mike Rosenberg" <invalid> wrote in message
news:1hl1oym.v2xcsi1mpi8xN%invalid... 

I don't understand why you would want to sacrifice comfort and stability by
increasing the tire pressure beyond the recommended amount for the car
itself. And as for the tires being rated for 35 psi I'm sure he really meant
the car not the tires.
When you over inflate the tires ground clearance increases too so it's
questionable whether you gain mpg. Air resistance might offset the less
rolling resistance. Ultimately all you may have gained is a rough hard ride
and premature weakening of the front end.
mark_

In article <com>,
mark_digital© <com> wrote:
 

Because it doesn't sacrifice comfort or stability. Experience shows
this.
 

It may be questionable--everything is questionable--but it does gain
mpg. Experience shows this.

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mark_digital© <com> wrote:
 

If I didn't feel the ride was comfortable, and especially if the car was
less stable, I wouldn't keep the tires at 42/40, but my ride is
perfectly comfortable and stable that way.
 

Oh no, he absolutely meant the tires when he talked about their
sidewalls not be able to handle anything above 35 psi.
 

This isn't something I've just made up, and it's not just common
knowledge in the Prius newsgroups, mailing lists and forums, it's
something I've read about for years. Increasing tire pressure up to
near the maximum rating increases fuel efficiency.
 

I don't have a rough hard ride.
 

Never had any problems in my previous cars.

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mark_digital© wrote: 

What have you been smoking????
Cars themselves do not have a maximum tire pressure, they only have a
maximum recommended wheel/tire dimension. The pressure limit is set by
the tire manufacturer to keep it within the required dimensions and
physical stress limits of the material used.
For your interest the Prius is shipped everywhere else in the world
outside of the U.S. with Michellin Energy tires which have a maximum
pressure of 51 psi which many drivers use (and the ride is NOT
noticeably rough at that pressure).
 

With that statement you obviously DON'T have any experience in inflating
the tires to higher levels on the Prius. If you did you would KNOW that
it DOES improve mileage performance.
 

I'll just note that the inflation over the Toyota recommended pressures
35psi front, 33psi rear, started back with the Classic Prius. Many
owners noted premature tire wear, particularly on the edges (which is
usually an indication of running the tires at too low a pressure).
(But a few stuck to the Toyota recommendations and didn't notice any
problems.) Many owners then tried increasing their tire pressures up
to the max. cold pressure on the OEM tires (Bridgestone Potenza RE92
XL) of 50psi, and then backed down to where the ride felt comfortable
for them, which was usually in the 40psi range (add 2psi in front). A
nice side benefit of longer tire life was slightly better fuel economy.
(These OEMs would typically wear out by 30,000 miles.)

When the NHW20 Prius came out, people just followed the recommendations
that were there for the Classic. US OEM tires (Goodyear Integrity)
have a max. cold pressure of 44psi. Again, a few have reported uneven
edge wear...

I have yet to see a report from a Prius owner reporting uneven center
tread wear, indicating that the tires are overinflated.

<net> wrote in message
news:googlegroups.com... 
Mine have been at 42/40 for the past 10K. Tires were rotated at each 5K
service interval. According to my 15K service report tread wear is uniform
across the surface.

"Kubalister" <spam.here> wrote in message
news:44fae3f3$0$94983$news.telstra.net... 

I *think* he was making a joke.

OscartheGrouch <com> wrote:
 

I didn't get that feeling at all and still don't. What gives you that
impression?

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