Higher PSI for Better Range?

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PianoAl

Well-known member
Joined
May 16, 2016
Messages
239
What's the current thinking on inflating the tires to the max PSI (e.g. 44 psi) to get some more range? Safe? Dangerous?

One tire store guy told me the only disadvantage is a rougher ride. He also said they last longer.

A different tire store guy was so shocked he had an accident in his pants, and told me it decreased stopping distance, especially when roads were wet.
 
Totally safe to do assuming you have modern good quality tires.

Check the Max PSI label on the sidewall which will likely be 44 or 51 PSI. Check the tire pressure at the coldest part of the day on the coldest day of the week if possible (look at the weather forecast for the days and times that will be close to the minimum temp), let the car sit for 4 hours or so before that time and make sure that the car isn't getting heat from one side (keep it in a garage, under a carport, on the shade side of a building or tree).

Feel free to pump air into the tires up to the sidewall max while the tires are cold. No more than 1 PSI difference between front and rear for the Leaf. No more than you can accurately measure between left and right (try to make those equal).

I drove my leaf on the Goodyears the used car dealer put on it in the low 50s PSI, switched to Dunlop tires and am now setting it in the upper 40s.

You can make minor variations for ride if you don't like it at 50 try 48 or 46 or 44 or 42, whatever you like (if you want to use odd numbers instead of even or pick your lucky number go for it 1 PSI over or under isn't going to break anything).

Pros: Higher PSI improves range, improves resistance to hydroplaning, improves cornering
Cons: Higher PSI past a point causes more wear on the center tread, increases risk of picking up foreign objects like nails

Just be sure to monitor tire pressure with leafspy and adjust for the seasons or check the cold temp PSI every couple of months.

My current wheels make it hard to reach the valve stem covers so I'm leaving room enough that I don't have to bleed air out for the summer and pump it back in for the winter. On the stock wheels I'd just adjust it several times a year because it isn't a hassle.
 
I pump mine to 42 PSI and I find the range to be quite improved as is the wear. Make sure you rotate them regularly as well. I have a co-worker who bought a Leaf a month before me and we both have 30K miles on our cars now. He had to replace his tires already and I have about 15-20K left on mine. He only rotated the tires once and ran them at lower pressure. Also he didn't buy the standard issue tires as replacements and says he's taking a range hit as a result. Keep them pumped up, check them every week or two, and rotate as needed.
 
I think the safer compromise is to inflate to 40-42psi, with an accurate gauge. 44psi is usually safe, but if the gauge reads several psi low and the tire is marginal...
 
LeftieBiker said:
I think the safer compromise is to inflate to 40-42psi, with an accurate gauge. 44psi is usually safe, but if the gauge reads several psi low and the tire is marginal...

If you are using leafspy the TPMS sensors are good for about .25 PSI accuracy. Way more accurate than any hand held gauge Ive ever owned.

I've seen hand held gauges that could be off by 2 or 3 PSI easy.
 
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I didn't notice the ride being any rougher after increasing PSI.
 
Leafspy gives me wild psi numbers. My tire gauge on all four says 44psi, but leafspy gives four different numbers, sometimes up to 7psi variance. Multiple tire gauges have made me decide to just ignore that LS feature.
 
If your Leaf Spy numbers don't agree with a gauge, don't blame software. :) It's the sensors in the wheels that vary.

Just as tire gauges can vary from model to model, from unit to unit, and from new to old, internal tire pressure sensors can also vary. The four that are on my car are very good. Others have said the same thing. Yet others have seen variation.

These sensors vary statistically with most being excellent and a few being off like tails of a standard normal distribution or like outliers. Even though they are calibrated at the factory, shocks from driving, material aging, and other factors increase tolerance beyond initial calibration limits.

Bob

YPMV (your pressure may vary)
 
I might worry about this for longer trips, but for my usual around-town driving I barely scratch 50% battery on a busy day.....so optimal range isn't a worry.

But for those runs to a town 120km away to get to a rapid charger......I'll be checking my tire pressure. :)
 
Linuxluver said:
I might worry about this for longer trips, but for my usual around-town driving I barely scratch 50% battery on a busy day.....so optimal range isn't a worry.

But for those runs to a town 120km away to get to a rapid charger......I'll be checking my tire pressure. :)

I like the handling better at the higher psi too, so that's a consideration as well as tire wear.
 
When I first got my car I was running around at 30psi. I have since pumped them up to 42. Using LS I didn't see a change in m/kwh and I can't tell the difference in handling. This weekend I'm going to cut back to 36 and see what happens.

Granted I'm used to 3/4 ton Cummins with a very stiff suspension, so I'm not saying I have the final word on this.
 
i'll add my experience to this. I'm not sensitive enough to notice a better ride or not. I have a 2012 SL and my wife has a 2105 S.

I set my 2012 SL to 44psi and tire wear is normal. My wife wouldn't let me inflate her tyres above the 36 and within 1 yr, and less then 12,000 miles the front's almost needed to be replaced. I did the 'told you so" and she let me raise them to 42psi and I put the fronts on the rears.
 
Does anyone have a recommendation for a cheap reliable accurate analog tire pressure gauge? I've purchased two different pencil types that had good reviews on Amazon. Each one shows me a different tire pressure with a difference of 3-4 psi. Then I took it to an automatic air pump station with an automatic digital gauge and it showed me a totally different and lower psi. I'm a bit annoyed I can't really tell what my tire pressure really is!

Also, how accurate is the leaf beep alert when it "reaches" it's recommended 36 psi?
 
It all depends on how you have your car loaded. The tires should really be inflated to support how you have the car loaded to maintain a contact patch evenly across the width of the tire. Too low and the center bows up and the edges wear with the sidewall getting hot while too high and the center bows out taking the edges of the tires off the road. In either situation traction, cornering and braking suffer on hard surfaces along with the tire being more prone to road hazard damage, failure from overheating and premature wear.

One test is to drive a wet tire down a dry flat concrete drive and note the contact pattern and if dry in the middle and wet on the edges the pressure is too low but if wet in the middle and dry on the edges the pressure is too high. The goal is to adjust the pressure until the wet pattern is even across the entire width of the tread.

Most tire companies also have an inflation chart for each tire and size combination they manufacture based on loaded weight which you can use after having the vehicle weighed on a 4 corner scale to get the exact loading figures and then inflate to the numbers recommended for the heaviest loaded wheel on each axle. When weighing it a good time to note and deal with any corner of the vehicle that is substantially heavier on one side by redistributing items in the vehicle.

There are multiple acceptable methods to ensure that your tires are properly inflated for the way you have your car loaded that don't involve guess work and waiting to see if a wear issue becomes apparent.
 
jdcbomb said:
Does anyone have a recommendation for a cheap reliable accurate analog tire pressure gauge? I've purchased two different pencil types that had good reviews on Amazon. Each one shows me a different tire pressure with a difference of 3-4 psi. Then I took it to an automatic air pump station with an automatic digital gauge and it showed me a totally different and lower psi. I'm a bit annoyed I can't really tell what my tire pressure really is!

Also, how accurate is the leaf beep alert when it "reaches" it's recommended 36 psi?

I don't know if they are still available, but pencil type gauges manufactured by Syracuse Gauge (were available from Snap On and NAPA) were consistent and accurate. I think it has been 10 years since I purchased one. I have 3 that cover different pressure ranges in my garage and one with appropriate range in each vehicle. I also have a couple dial type gauges that are accurate which I purchased from BMW motorcycle dealers, but I would not consider them cheap (nothing that says BMW on it is inexpensive)!

The tire pressure sensors in both of my LEAFs and in my SUV are/were as accurate as any digital or analog gauge that I have. Unfortunately, the batteries in the original sensors in my 2004 SUV are getting weak so the sensors will soon be replaced.

Edited to add: The beep is accurate, but it is programmed for 36 psi which is too low for best handling and tire life.

Gerry
 
Went to the dealer last week and the "Inflated" the tires to recommended. PS they did not touch the tires at all. 35 in 35 out did not think anything about it I had 3.9 kwh figured battery degradation caused this. A few days later the low-pressure gauge went off inflated to 41 out of 51 on my car and KWH jumped to 4.1.
 
I had not checked my PSI for a while. I was struggling to get in to the high 4kwhs recently. Checked them and they were down to 36. Back up to 44 and I'm in the low 5kwhs again without trying. Made the effort to drive to work efficiently and was at 6.1 the other day. PSI is very important.
 
The stock Bridgestone Ecopia tires on our '15 Leaf S have a sidewall max of 51PSI. They have excellent rolling resistance at anything above 42PSI.

The only downside with higher pressures that I think they lose startup traction in the wet.
 
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