Recommended tire pressure

So I recently purchased a 2018 SR5. The tires on it are Michelin LTX AT2. The max tire pressure rating of the tire is 51 psi, though when I bought it from a certified Toyota dealership tire pressure was more around 36 psi. I’ve researched this a little but would like to get some conformation. Where do you tundra owners have your pressure set at with these particular tires?

 

I would usually keep it around 34-36 psi cold, meaning fire it up, drive it a few minutes for the sensor to connect to the computer.
This way, when you run hot, or long distance, it will get up to about 40 psi, which is OK, but I would recommend any higher, especially under load/speed.
I did a few runs in the winter time from Houston to Dallas, meaning it was 80F+ outside (expect that Dec run, cold front so 60F+ outside) and at one point in the trip doing about close to 95mph on 45 north, it was showing 42psi.
Most will tell you to check the door sticker, which should read something like 32 psi, but it would depend on how/where/what you drive. Some tires would look under-inflated if you just do 32 psi, so I guess just see how it goes....

 

My 21 door sticker states 30F, 33R. Mine isn't used to take kids to soccer practice. I run 40F, 43R since new and at 21K miles my tires are wearing evenly. Since aprox 40% of the time my truck is towing a 6K travel trailer these pressures work for me. I'd also think my fuel consumption is down a hair too.

 

What size are they?

 

So running 40F 43R with 6K trailer, does it make the truck look leveled?

 

I don't know of any application where running max PSI makes sense.

That number is only there to represent actual max PSI.

I personally run 38 cold and 40 hot. 36 would be fine as well if you're not towing/hauling heavy.

 

Not really but the weight distribution hitch sure does.

 

I believe I got all four tires around 37 psi.

 

I don't think that will hurt a thing with the exception of oil company executives' bonuses.

 

Something I never see/hear brought up about tires, is their shape. I always look at tires in terms of their shape and how they are deforming under load (on pavement).
They are designed to have a particular contact patch with the ground, within a certain range of psi. The sticker in the door jamb will tell you what the ideal tire pressure is for your vehicle, as it comes from the factory, with the tires that are on it. If you add weight/cargo to the truck, or hitch up a trailer, the tires will deform under load and not only will that change the contact patch and optimal traction, but it will cause excess heat and shorten tire life, or cause failure. That's why they list max psi on the tire. If you add weight, you can add psi to get your tire back to it's optimal shape (up to its max rated psi). But you don't need to run your tires at max psi, unloaded (and shouldn't). Conversely, it's not ideal for tire life to run a HD tire that's designed to run in the 70 psi range, with a max psi of 80,....at 35-45 psi (on pavement) to soften the ride. Those tires are designed to perform optimally at, or close to max psi, because they're designed to be on much heavier vehicles with heavier payload and towing caps.
Short answer:
I figure out what my work load requirements will be and run an appropriate tire, at the appropriate psi. Right now I'm still running factory tires @34psi. Perfect for an unloaded truck and commuting. I can pump them up to 44psi if I put weight in the bed or pull a smaller trailer. If I needed to do heavier work, I'd move up to the next grade of tire, with a higher working psi range and adjust accordingly.

 

The Ford Explorer is a good example of a manufacturer deciding tire pressures more for comfort than safety. In order to give the vehicle a more comfortable ride, Ford stickered the Explorer at 26 PSI. People died.

 

........
26?! For real?

 

Well, no wonder people think the automotive engineers don't know what they're doing.
I didn't take that into account. Sometimes I'm just thinking in terms of Toyota when I make comments. I would never go by anything Ford does or says.
Or GM for that matter.

 

Marketing > engineering.

 

For a real scientific answer that has some weight behind it, you would need to list what the tire’s load carrying capacity is at max weight. Then determine what weight that tire is actually carrying when you’re driving. You can then calculate the recommended pressure for that specific tire to effectively carry the load you’re putting on it. The Falken Tire guy on here is great at helping with this calculation, but you can also find a tire pressure calculator on the Google.


Or, run them in the 35 to 37 psi range when empty and bump up to 40 if you’re heavy…. That’ll be what we lovingly refer to as the industry standard!

 

I think it's hard to overinflate a tire as long as you don't go over published numbers. These numbers are rather vague if you consider that PSI number is for a cold tire. How cold? Phoenix in the summer or Fargo in the winter. It's the flexing from overloading or low pressure that causes blowouts.

 

Have the same tires as OP in LT285/55 R20. Run them at 36 cold.

 

You sir, Nailed It. I wish people would pay more attention to the what the tire says and not the sticker on the door jam. The vehicle manufacturers what their brand new vehicle to ride like it's on a cloud, hince the lower PSI on the sticker. Sure it will ride softer, and burn more fuel too, more friction equals less fuel economy. If the Max PSI on a tire is 51, like these Michelins, then you are fine running 40 to 45 PSI cold, and you will see better fuel economy. I tow a 23 ft bay boat quite a bit so I run 44 front to back no problem.

 

The only tires that are specifically designed for the vehicle they’re on are the OE tires from the manufacturer. RE (replacement) tires are universal so you don’t want to set them at the max that they’re rated for. You want to set them to what fits the drivers application best. 44 while towing a boat is great. But you don’t want 44 driving unloaded.

 

Lets agree to disagree.

 

I disagree to agree.
Everyone should always agree with me.

 

Omg, did I just become a rapper?!

 

Lol ok that’s fine. I work in the tire industry. But we’re all good sir

 

There should be a sticker with recommended PSI in the door with weight capacity per tire).

There are industry standard load tables for P Metric SL/XL LT tires and PSI ranges to get to load ranges with minimum pressures.

From a conservative safety standpoint, you should never go below a PSI that goes below the recommended load of your stock tires with recommended pressure.

Toyo has a free load table that is the same for every tire manufacturer.
https://www.toyotires.com/media/pxcjubjs/application_of_load_inflation_tables_20200723.pdf

Figure out your minimum, and then adjust upwards from there for ride, treadwear etc.

 

How messed up if one running 42psi/front and 32psi/rear….

 

Who does that?

 

street unloaded 42f/32r
makes for a nice cushy ride.

 

That’s putting science and real information out there, which we all know won’t work! Lol.

Very nice bit of info, thanks for posting this.

I read down to the LT chart and see that my current LT275/65-20 should be more than good in the 35# range for my typical load. At 35#, my tires have a load capacity of 2,080 per tire. My rear axle weighs about 3,350 with no extra gear on board. Well under the 4,160 capacity.

I typically bump up to 40# when towing the trailer, which ups my tire load capacity to 2,280 per, or 5,560 total rear end weight. I’m never that heavy.



My new tires are 285/75-18, which carry even more capacity at the same pressures.



Folks should certainly run what they feel comfortable with, but it’s nice to see some real figures on what our tires are designed to carry at specific pressures.

 

If that works for you then awesome!