Winter tire pressure

I have a new Tundra Trd Pro with stock tires. Im upstate NY and its very cold. Noticed last night my TPMS light was on, even when the tires warmed up after driving a bit still they were all off. I stopped and adjusted the pressure based on the info in the door. 33 PSI back, and 30 PSI front. any ideas why they would be different pressures between back and front, never owned a vehicle before that called for that.

Also during winter should I over inflate by a few pounds ? just wondering what other people do.
Temps in winter here can get down to -10 but typically during the days are around 10-30.

 

Higher pressure in rear is to compensate for any load or towing. No need to over inflate, however I found that the truck rode and performed better on the stock tires a couple lbs higher than the door sticker.

Once it gets cold and you adjust the pressure you should be good to go for a while. Need to check air pressure whenever there are big ranges in temps, hot temps expand the air=higher pressure in the tire, cold temps make the air denser= lower pressure in the tire.

 

Thanks for the info. When you say a couple lbs higher, so should I bump up back tires a few more than the front, lets say 35psi rear 32psi front ? or just all 35psi all the way around ?

 

Okay, first, what tires came on your truck? If they are the Michelin LTX A/T, the max psi is 51. Do yourself and your tires a big favor and DO NOT follow the recommended psi on the door sticker. That sticker was placed there by the manufacturer (Toyota) and those low tire pressures will give you a softer ride, but will kill your tires and your fuel economy. Read the sidewall of whatever tire you have and go from there. Do not run the max, as the pressures will build as the tires become warmer. I have the Michelin LTX A/T's and I run 44 front and rear, and they ride smooth. Yes you will see your pressures drop when it's cold, that's completely normal. Warm air expands, cold air contracts. I'm not blowing smoke up your @ss. I owned and operated a tire & alignment shop for many years. Pump those puppies up to at least 40 psi and I promise you will be happier. And your tires will thank you.

 

Yes I have the Michelin LTX A/T tires that came with the truck. You pump them up to 40 all the way around ? wouldnt that give a rougher ride ? and woudnt it make the inside of the tire go bald faster ?

 

No sir, 40 psi in that tire will NOT give you a rough ride, absolutely not. And as for center wear, these are modern radial tires, not the old bias ply tires of the past. You would have to run way more than 40 psi to get any wear like that. Try it, if you are not pleased, drop the pressure. But I promise you I'm not giving you bad advice. You will thank me later.

 

Ok, thanks. I'll give it a shot. 40psi all the way around. Thanks for the info. Glad I posted it on here.

 

The car dealerships always post those LOW pressures on the door sticker because "naturally" it will give you a softer ride as the tire is part of your suspension. But if you ran those tires at the recommended psi, they will go away much sooner. Trust what's printed on the tire itself, not the sticker on the door. Try the 40 psi, I believe you will be very pleased.

 

I also live in upstate ny but I have nitto ridge grapplers. I put them at 40 cold in the summer which usually ends up being 45 after I drive for awhile. I haven’t touched them and now with temps below freezing they are around 35 cold and 40 when warmed up.

Like others said, don’t over inflate too much. Supposedly lower psi has more tread on the surface which gives you more traction. Like how people air down when going off road. I have no first hand experience with how effective it is though.

 

You are correct, lower psi will of course give you better traction, but unless you are on ice, or serious off roading, you don't want that. That larger contact patch creates more resistance bringing your mpg's down. I'm not suggesting to run max pressures, but stay away from the door sticker recommendation. These are heavy trucks, running light truck tires, and mine wear like a hogs nose at 44 psi. Meaning, they show NO wear, and she rides like a Cadillac.

 

I just drove it, warmed up the tires until they were at the standar 33/30 the I filled them all to 40. We will see. expecting 18 in snow tonight, will see how she handles with them inflated to 40.

 

I haven't done the chalk test but I run mine at 45 front/41 rear when I'm not towing since the front of the vehicle has a fair amount more weight over it than the rear. If I was towing something heavy or had a lot of bed weight I'd balance it with 45 also in the rear. For wet conditions I'd be dropping mine to 35 front/32 rear

 

You will be fine.

 

Man, I like the way you think. I use to run my fronts with more psi than the rear, but I tow a 23 foot center console pretty often, so I keep them all the same. From the weight of the trailer, those rear tires get pretty warm in the summer, like 48 psi, and she still rides and handles like she's on rails. Modern tires are much more flexible than in the old days. No need to air down for wet roads, you still have a very good contact patch going for you at 40-45 psi. These trucks are heavy.

 

Question for @Bad Cow (don't mean to hi-jack thread):

Is a small amount of steering wheel shimmy at highway speeds (67 to 73 mph) acceptable/expected for these trucks or should steering wheel be perfectly steady all the time - not counting rough surfaces.

Brand new Michelin Defenders LTX M/S - stock size 275/65/18. Balanced, installed and aligned by dealership. They ride great, very quiet, handle well. Only complaint is the occasional steering wheel shimmy in that small mph range. I run pressures around 35 cold. I'm thinking of airing up based on your recommendation to see if it has any impact on shimmy. I don't think they were road force balanced. Truck will be going in for inspection in a few months - I can mention it then - if necessary.

 

Hope I can answer your questions. There should be NO shimmy or vibration at any speed. Your steering wheel should remain smooth from 0-80+ MPH. If the wheels were balanced properly you should not experience any sensation, other than normal road vibes from bumps and the like. So the answer to that question is NO, not acceptable. I have only had my truck up to 80 MPH, but even then the steering wheel as well as the seats were slick as glass. The air pressure will not have any effect on shimmy or vibes unless you are WAY under inflated or WAY overinflated. Even then it would just ride harsh or squishy. I would suggest you bump your psi up to at least 40, but that will not change your problem. From my experience, sounds like your tires need to be re-balanced. Question for you. Have you lifted the truck?

 

When it gets to -40 here I just run with the TPMS light on, the roads have so little traction I'll take the little extra. Usually around -10 C I set my tire pressures to 32 front 35 rear roughly, and ride it out for the winter.

 

No lift. Stock TRD Off Road suspension with the Bilstein shocks put on by the factory. Exhaust and TRD rear sway bar are the only mods on the truck.

Not sure if my dealership has road force balancing. Should I pursue that or is a competent spin balance enough.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

Any good "computer balancer" will give you good results. Have the tires been rotated recently?

 

They were just installed a week ago. Only have a couple hundred miles on them. Not rotated yet.

 

Well then, my thought is that they were not balanced correctly. At least that's what we hope for. Have them balanced again. They more than likely used "stick-on" weights on the inside of the wheel, and they may have slung off.

 

I appreciate the information. I’ll have the dealership re-balance.

In your opinion - because I don’t want to be that guy - should I request road force balancing or just tell them about the shimmy and let them do their thing.

 

I have been running KO2 for about 10 years now. I always air them up to 45 psi when I get them. Today they all read 38-39...25F. Never had a problem with them wearing funny. I rarely rotate them. Just buy new ones after they get well worn down. Usually 50-60,000 miles. 1.5 -2 years.

 

A road force balancer is great if they have one. Ask if they do, if so request it. That will help eliminate the possibility of a tire tread separation. You could have a bad tire, but not likely since you don't feel the shimmy all the time. Don't worry, you will get to the bottom of this, hopefully sooner than later.

 

Another smart man right here.

 

I run 36 front and 39 in the rear. They wear good, ride good and I don’t worry about the cold. I have dedicated steel rims and snow tires. We do get our fair share of cold and snow in New Hampshire.