I run my tires at about 40psi. I inflate them (Pirelli snows in the Winter) to 42 before a cold snap, then leave them alone, as the cold bothers my hands. I suggest this to anyone running the Ecopias or similar medium-quality tires. 36psi is too low for the Leaf. I also suggest grille blocking for any prolonged Winter driving, especially if there is no heat pump (although it helps the heat pump as well). I also use Eco mode (with the air control set to recirculate as much as possible) to reduce the heater output, and increase throttle control, any time I have any worries about range. The figures I gave above are for single-trip driving; 'stop and go and wait' driving really reduces range, to about 40 miles.
How realistic is this with the leaf
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dhanson865
Well-known member
jlv said:
Not very urgent for the average driver.
It mostly depends on how far you drive and at what speed. But 25F rise is worth only a few PSI increase.
The faster you drive the hotter the tire gets, the longer you drive the more that heat builds up. Airflow/ambient temp cools the tire.
So short trips don't heat the tire up very much, low speed trips don't heat the tire very much, and so on.
The tire has a speed rating and that tells you what the maximum sustained speed is for the tire based on the max psi at cold fill. Most tires are rated for 112 MPH or more.
So if you aren't getting into insane speeds, or loading the car more heavily than normal, or driving the twisties super aggressively, you have quite a bit of temperature/pressure headroom before you are pushing it.
The retail ecopias are H rated so 130 MPH is considered pushing those tires. Personally I've never hit that speed in any car.
aired up the tires. 45-46psi in all 4.
I noticed zero comfort difference (again compare what I am coming from)
it does "sound" different. hard to put my finger on it.
did not notice a range difference but I only had 12 miles left to go anyway.
we shall see. fingers cross would love to be able to extend my usable temperature range for using heat down to 20' or heck even 25' would be nice.
I noticed zero comfort difference (again compare what I am coming from)
it does "sound" different. hard to put my finger on it.
did not notice a range difference but I only had 12 miles left to go anyway.
we shall see. fingers cross would love to be able to extend my usable temperature range for using heat down to 20' or heck even 25' would be nice.
I suggest you try leaving the distance at 25' and instead lower your fan setting to, oh, let's call it "beta."
dhanson865
Well-known member
nerys said:
46/45 psi at what temperature? what kind of home and work parking situation? Expected low temperature it will be exposed to within the next couple drives vs the temperature when you set it?
btw I just looked up the Weight distribution F/R
Leaf is 56% front / 44% rear (without cargo, driver, or passengers)
Prius is 60% front / 40% rear (Gen 2 and Gen 3 within 1% of each other, close enough to 60)
Leaf is definitely closer to front/rear equilibrium but assuming no passengers or cargo I'd still leave a pressure difference between front and rear (especially if you rotate you tires).
recommended tire pressure on the Prius comes out to 2 PSI difference at low PSIs and 3 PSI difference at sidewall max.
Leaf might make sense to do 1 psi difference at low PSIs and 2 PSI difference at sidewall max.
As to the range difference local roads vs highway speeds are a factor. the faster you drive the less this will matter to range. My commute is 15 miles with about 6 miles of 20-40 mph and 9 miles of 55-65 mph. I also have lots of elevation change in that where about 1/3 of the trip I'm gliding with no regen or motor power, or coasting with light regen. The lower speed and downhill segments get more gain from the increased tire pressure.
