Door sticker says 33psi tires say 44 psi. Which one should I follow?

 

Follow the door's recommendation. I personally have run a bit higher at 35-36 PSI for the last 18 years, but 44 is too high.

 

the 44psi tire pressure is the MAX for the tire. If you inflated to 44psi cold, it would heat up and exceed the max within a few minutes of driving.

 

Garylev

As long as you are at each tire check the DOT Code on each tire. It will say DOT and there will be an oval with a 4 digit code something like 3717 or 1218. The first 2 digits of the code is the week of the year the tire was made the 2nd 2 digits are the year the tire was made. So 1218 would be 12th week of 2018. If your tires are more than 6 years old it is time to change them regardless of the tread. That would be the time to get rid of the run flates.

Dennis

 

Agreed, go a bit higher than the door sticker. As air naturally leaks out, you'll stay in the acceptable range longer if you over-inflate a few pounds each time you add air.

 

in fact, if you put 44 pounds in, I am pretty sure the TPMS system would sound because the pressure is too high

 

Not true. When I programed my TPMS sensors I started at 50 lbs when the new tires were put on and drove it home from Firestone. I then let out air to program. I never got the light on with the pressure too high.

 

I do 35 psi all around. 33 should be good too.

 

On my 245/45/18 non run flat I run 36 up front and 33 in the back. In general I run a bit more in the front as you have the extra weight of the engine. On run flats I would probably run 33 as they ride like crap.

 

Wouldn't the design engineers who specified the front/back pressures have taken the extra weight in front under consideration?

 

It’s not necessarily an engineering spec. It’s more of a comfort recommendation based on type of tire and size from the factory. I’m not running stock size or run flats. I played with the pressure a bit and like how it feels with this setup. You also add more pressure based on weight. For instance if you taking a road trip with a vehicle loaded up with people or whatever you are supposed to inflate your tires a bit more than if it’s just a person or two. Same thing applies for towing.

 

Not trying to offend but if you need to ask that question , please don't do anything more than add air to your tires. Take your car to a qualified mechanic for EVERYTHING else. take your pressure readings when tires are cold.

 

From my perspective, it is exactly an engineering spec.

True, but whatever you add to the front, you should add the same amount to the back, unless the owner's manual instructs otherwise.

 

I'm not chastising your reply, in fact, I agree. Too, I appreciate how you worded it to not be offensive. However, there is no such thing as a stupid question, and we're all here to learn, I hope! It would be great if things such as "maximum tire pressure" were taught in driver's training. It's getting more and more rare, however, that schools even teach driver's training!

 

For daily driver in normal street use, I doubt many of us could detect the front/rear contact patch variance with equal vs 2 lb different front/back. I can feel a 1 lb difference left/right, but front / rear, I'm not so confident I would notice.