42 PSI on used 2013 leaf (25.2k miles) Safe? (Original Ecopia Tires)

Hi Guys,

So I just went to the tire shop and got my left front tire patched up... because it had a screw stuck in it. They did a patch/plug job. Then I asked the guy to put the PSI at 42 because that is what I am running on my other 3 tires. He said it was too much. So it got me thinking, is it too much? From what I read before it doesn't seem like TOO MUCH. Yet, I think the people there were speaking about their brand new or just recently leased leaf meaning newer tires. I got my used leaf about 2 months ago and it still has the orignal tires. I wonder if running 42 PSI on 2 year old tires, going for 3, is a risky thing to do? BTW I don't drive fast and I try to stick with 55 in the FWY though sooomeeetiiiiimeesss I go a little higher, but really I'm not a fast driver. What do you guys think? Leafy has 25.2k miles and I drive at least 1k miles every month. I think 1.2k or so is average for me. Plus I just recently found a free DC quick charger (Didn't know those existed!) and it has encouraged me to drive more :lol:

As long as you don't exceed the maximum pressure that is molded onto the sidewall of the tire (for the OEM Ecopia I believe it's 44 PSI), it's not unsafe. The worst that can happen with overinflation that does not exceed the rated maximum tire pressure is accelerated tire wear down the center, a harsher ride, and possibly greater susceptibility to road hazards.

However many Leafers have reaped benefits from overinflating tires. It's pretty well known that at Nissan's recommended tire pressures, the OEM Ecopias will wear faster at the outside shoulders than the rest of the tread surface, as if there's something wrong with the camber. Overinflating the OEM tires tends to make tire wear more even.

I have 40,000 miles on my original Ecopias (2011 Leaf), tires are wearing very evenly. I run my tires at 40 PSI. Have only used about half the useful tread so far (10/32 originally, now down to 7/32, will replace at 4/32).

If you want to play it really, really safe, run them at 10% below the maximum printed on the sidewall. In this case that would be about 40psi.

Okay, thank you guys! It is nice to hear from a 2011 leaf owner. I will bring it down to 40 PSI. I was just unsure how fast they would leak out slowly so I figured 42 so as they leak it will bring me down to 40 PSI. They don't seem to lose air that fast though.

I usually inflate to 42psi and don't reinflate often - too hard for me to do physically.

My Ecopias have a sidewall maximum of 51PSI. I run them at 45PSI, and they coast as well as any tires I have owned.

RonDawg said:

As long as you don't exceed the maximum pressure that is molded onto the sidewall of the tire (for the OEM Ecopia I believe it's 44 PSI), it's not unsafe.

Click to expand...

To extend that it is the maximum tire pressure at the coldest time of the day.

If your car sits out in the desert and gets down to 50F and night and 90F in the day the max sidewall pressure is xx PSI at that 50F. At 90F it will exceed the max PSI number but is still safe.

As a real world example I set my tires to 51 PSI in my garage in the low 70s F. I drive to work and see them on leafspy rise to as high as 55F and don't worry about it even though the tire is marked 51 PSI max.

On top of that I don't let air out of the tires if the next days high is 10 degrees higher. The difference between 80F and 90F is minor compared to the heating from driving at highway speeds.

That guy freaking about about 42 PSI is just stuck in the old school mentality that all tires should be set to 32 PSI and probably doesn't even know that PSI changes with temperature so sets the tire while it is hot.

Think about it when is the last time you had your car serviced before sun up? Before you drove the car to the shop? By the time you get to the shop your tires are warm not cold. And that max PSI on the tire is for cold.

ya, its safe enough I guess but 44 PSI is safer. I would be more worried about flexing sidewalls than anything else. Rather have more stability on turns with a shorter stopping distance. FYI; maybe its my driving style but I have not locked up my brakes in probably 15 years if you don't count my Corolla (which locks up way too easily on wet pavement)

When a tire manufacturer determines the maximum permissible tire pressure (which is printed on the sidewall), they assume worst case scenarios. Thus, if you decide to use that higher pressure, you will be safe under virtually all circumstances and need not worry about it from that perspective.

Thanks guys. My tires say never to exceed 40 psi and max psi is 44. I checked the tire and it is sitting at 40 PSI. My guess is the guy was too scared to bump it to 42... or maybe his gear wasn't working right . My others are between 42/41 so now I got a 40 PSI tire on my left. Also, he forgot to give me a receipt for the work so I'll be dropping by today for that. What are the chances of this being a bad patch job and the tire leaking out 2 PSI in almost 24 hrs? :shock:

I wouldn't worry about that, I bet 2 psi is within the margin of error of most tire pressure gauges. You can try to get it as close as you want, but you probably will not notice a significant difference in driving/safety/mileage. As far as 2 psi or 4 psi more than the sidewall says... I wouldn't sweat it. A 3 year old tire is not very old, and the tire is designed to be able to operate at max pressure for the life of the tire. With liability these days, it is pretty safe to say, the tires are designed with a significant safety factor and 2-4 psi will not cause a failure.

Thanks firetruck. I'll keep the tire that way and just pick up the receipt. I might check the pressure another time another day just to make sure it isn't leaking

NissanLeafCamper said:

Thanks guys. My tires say never to exceed 40 psi and max psi is 44. I checked the tire and it is sitting at 40 PSI. My guess is the guy was too scared to bump it to 42... or maybe his gear wasn't working right . My others are between 42/41 so now I got a 40 PSI tire on my left. Also, he forgot to give me a receipt for the work so I'll be dropping by today for that. What are the chances of this being a bad patch job and the tire leaking out 2 PSI in almost 24 hrs? :shock:

Click to expand...

never seen a 40 PSI ecopia before

NissanLeafCamper said:

Thanks firetruck. I'll keep the tire that way and just pick up the receipt. I might check the pressure another time another day just to make sure it isn't leaking

Click to expand...

Checking the pressure once a month is usually sufficient to keep them topped off.

Ran mine at 50 for 3 years,

My Wife would not let me inflate her tires to 44 like mine as she was, well I don't know scared i guess or didn't want the harder ride. Now that her fronts are totally, almost bald after 15,000 miles she has agreed to let me inflate them to 44.

When I took her 2015 S in for battery check and tire rotation (and A/C warranty recall) the service drive up read the tire depths for me and i got a report.

mine is always at 44 PSI more or less (this morning the range was between 44½ and 45¼) and my last report stated mostly 6's and one 5 this happened around 33,000 or so. i am almost to 37,000 miles and I will not be replacing tires if I turn in car at 45,000 miles

NissanLeafCamper said:

Hi Guys,

So I just went to the tire shop and got my left front tire patched up... because it had a screw stuck in it. They did a patch/plug job. Then I asked the guy to put the PSI at 42 because that is what I am running on my other 3 tires. He said it was too much. So it got me thinking, is it too much? From what I read before it doesn't seem like TOO MUCH. Yet, I think the people there were speaking about their brand new or just recently leased leaf meaning newer tires. I got my used leaf about 2 months ago and it still has the orignal tires. I wonder if running 42 PSI on 2 year old tires, going for 3, is a risky thing to do? BTW I don't drive fast and I try to stick with 55 in the FWY though sooomeeetiiiiimeesss I go a little higher, but really I'm not a fast driver. What do you guys think? Leafy has 25.2k miles and I drive at least 1k miles every month. I think 1.2k or so is average for me. Plus I just recently found a free DC quick charger (Didn't know those existed!) and it has encouraged me to drive more :lol:

Click to expand...

I'm running tires at 51 PSI on my leaf (crappy goodyears the used car dealer gave me). I personally have no problem with running above 40 psi.

I'm about to swap tires on the leaf and will be back to tires with a 44 psi max instead of 51 so then I'll be back in the mid 40s instead of low 50s but I'll still run near sidewall max.

NissanLeafCamper said:

Thanks guys. My tires say never to exceed 40 psi and max psi is 44. I checked the tire and it is sitting at 40 PSI. My guess is the guy was too scared to bump it to 42... or maybe his gear wasn't working right . My others are between 42/41 so now I got a 40 PSI tire on my left. Also, he forgot to give me a receipt for the work so I'll be dropping by today for that. What are the chances of this being a bad patch job and the tire leaking out 2 PSI in almost 24 hrs? :shock:

Click to expand...

The line about 40 PSI is for setting the bead. That means during the mounting process before the tire is balanced and put on the car don't put more than 40 PSI.

Grab a magnifying glass or take a picture and blow it up because that text on the tire is very tiny.

Once mounted the max is 44 and the other number no longer applies.