Nevermind TPMS and the light, what is the optimal psi for an unloaded PW?

[Rated R]

I just got a set of 35" Duratracs. Right now I have them at 60 psi f/r but for an unloaded pw I still would think that's overkill. Opinion?

 

[Heath Edwards]

Here’s what I do. Granted my tires are E load and call for 80psi but screw that and my truck is a Cummins but I’ve used this for every truck I’ve ever had. I set the front to a psi that gives me a good flat print of the tread on the ground. You can use chalk to confirm this or just visualize it. Anyhow that is 60 in the front on my truck. Then I run the rear 10-15psi BELOW that for normal daily. When I have my trailer rear is back up to 80psi. I used AlfaOBD to get rid of the TPMS light and reset my thresholds to 60 front 50 rear. Again I’ve used this same practice for 30+ years now on all of my pickups. Half ton to one ton. Lifted to stock. 40” tires on my 85 Silverado to 265/65/17 on my Colorado.


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[62Blazer]

The ideal pressure varies based on several different things. Driving style, typical loads, and the type of tire. The chalk test and some experimenting to see how the ride and handling are affected at different pressures are the best way to do it. I will say that you typically can get a better ride, better traction, and better tread wear from the optimal tire pressure, and on an empty truck that is typically lower values.

I haven't bothered to mess with the pressures on my PW that I just bought last month mainly because I have a set of 35's to go it next week, but on my last truck (Chevy 2500HD crew) running larger than stock tires with a max psi rating of 65 I found that about 50 psi front and 40 psi rear was a good combination for normal driving. The front tires have more weight on them plus more lateral strain from turning then the backs and why I went higher. Back tires have a good amount less weight on an empty truck, plus lower pressures helps the traction and ride especially on the back since the spring rates are designed to handle some sort of load. I ran two sets of the same tires on this truck and got very even wear and had a noticable difference in ride quality and traction as compared to running at max pressure. Never adjusted the front pressure, but would bump the rears up to the max 65 psi when towing heavy loads (near the max tow rating) for long distances on the freeway. If only towing for a short distance on back roads, or a smaller trailer, I didn't bother adjusting them.

 

[olyelr]

I run my E rated 35” Falken AT3W’s at 60 front and 50 rear. Seems to be the sweet spot when I am unloaded, although I think I could lower the back a smidge more and still be fine.

 

[WY-Dave]

 

[Maligator]

I chalked tested mine, i roll with like 42 in the front and 35 rear

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[Trailmaker]

Only way I can squeeze 400 miles on one tank of gas and still have a decent ride but pull a trailer at moments notice, I run 60-62 on all 4s.

 

[thkbaron]

can the dealer drop the pressure limits to something useable like down to 45 or 50 as a low before the light comes on?

 

[olyelr]

can the dealer drop the pressure limits to something useable like down to 45 or 50 as a low before the light comes on?

they could, but never heard of one that would just do it for you.

 

[Rated R]

can the dealer drop the pressure limits to something useable like down to 45 or 50 as a low before the light comes on?

The Ram Tazer can do this.

 

[olyelr]

The Ram Tazer can do this.

still requires a dealer trip. Last i knew anyway.

i have a TazerRAM, but havnt even bothered with tire pressures changes because of that.

 

[Rated R]

still requires a dealer trip. Last i knew anyway.

i have a TazerRAM, but havnt even bothered with tire pressures changes because of that.

I just did it tonight. Lowered both TPMS F/R and killed the light in the live functions. I'll probably do 60 psi front and 50 rear like you mentioned.

 

[olyelr]

I just did it tonight. Lowered both TPMS F/R and killed the light in the live functions.

yes. But you need to keep it plugged in. If you pull it out of the port the light will come on still.

 

[Halligan]

Toyo AT2 305/70/17 Load range E:

Front= 50psi
Back= 45psi

I trashed my first set of Toyo's that were the same size and type running the factory pressure. Wore the center tread much faster than the outer tread. I may even drop down to 45psi in front and 40 in rear.

 

[Blue Streak]

I run 45 front & 40 rear with the tpms set to 35 with an AEV Procal and locked in by dealer.

 

[Fitzreefer]

Ditto on the chalk test.

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[Grand Mesa]

285 75R17 tires. 40 PSI both front and rear. Have an AEV Procal, but ignore having the dealership to accept the TPMS changes.

 

[WY.Ram]

37x12.5r18 Load E - 40psi front, 35psi rear per the chalk. Ripped my PIN from within my truck w PIN RIPPER app. Then used AlfaOBD to change thresholds and reconfig the rf hub.

Followed protocol from right here at home, RAMf.

No dealer, PIN RIPPER wanted $5, I think it was $5. But the pin is same forever and can also be used to program new key fobs, and more maybe.

Took me awhile to talk myself into 35 psi in back, but never seeing dirt on outer lugs, finally I let the air out. $480 a tire made me wanna puke to begin with, sure don't wanna poor wear pattern. Good ride tho, even expansion joints are tolerable ( for now)

'16 PWagon with a badass Greene tune feed'n & Fire'n 6.4L 6spd // 5.13 AAM // 37" KM3, -24mm // DOR, Purple Cranium // CAI, ARH, Solo Mach44 // z36, EBC // Custom Graphics, AVS, 4% VLT // Morimoto, Rigid, Diode Dynamics // Alfa, Diablo //.................

 

[Grand Mesa]

I run the factory pressure of 65 PSI front and 60 PSI rear when fully loaded. Use four pallets of 60 bags each of wood pellets (40 pound bags) every long winter season. Purchase a full pallet due to its 1/3 lower cost at a distant hardware store that is located on the other side of a 11,000 foot high mountain road summit. A tractor trailer rig comes in once a week to deliver an entire load of pellets which is sold out and gone on the same day. Can't see leaving any of my pellet bags behind to potentially be resold or just accidentally walk away due to the PW's load capacity isn't high enough to haul them. That's the only time that my Load Range E tires ever see the factory PSI specs. Set them all back to 40 PSI afterwards when they're cold for towing, moving stuff, and just daily driving.

 

[UTAHPWRWGN]

It's science based on the tire and the weight being put on it.

https://tirepsi.com/lt285-70r17-tire-pressure

Stock PW should be:

4090 lbs front axle / 2 = 2048 lbs per wheel

2971 lbs rear axle / 2 = 1485 lbs per wheel

Technically you could run 35 psi front and rear though Goodyear does recommend adding 5psi for speeds over 65mph hwy.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/x8qqt5x3m81mvnt/Goodyear_Tire_Inflation_Load_Charts.pdf/file

So, 40 front 35 rear should work just fine. I'm sure there's more science that could be used to really nail it down but that's close enough for my jazz.