What is the true tire pressure?
- Thread starter AWD330XI
- Start date
Because the guys who prep the cars are prepping cars all day long, each with their own different tire specs. And therefore, the guys are too lazy to look and see how much pressure for each car, so they just fill em up !!!
Whenever our family gets a new car, the first thing I do is check the tire pressures...the dealerships almost always overfill the tires.
Whenever our family gets a new car, the first thing I do is check the tire pressures...the dealerships almost always overfill the tires.
The specs vary with tire size and load, people
You will notice the sticker lists tire sizes on the left and then has charts on the right. The charts are broken into rows which correspond to the tire sizes. My 3 has the tires marked with a symbol that you look up in the chart. My X5 has tables with the same number of rows as tire sizes. Just find your tire size and use the appropriate row value.
The top chart shows pressures when running with maximum vehicle load (max GVWR).
The lower chart shows pressures under normal loads. I use the lower chart 99.9% of the time as I never approach max GVWR.
I think that is how it works anyway.....someone correct me if I am wrong.
BTW if you have a mini spare, 61psi is recommended for it, don't forget to check your spare every once in a while too!!
You will notice the sticker lists tire sizes on the left and then has charts on the right. The charts are broken into rows which correspond to the tire sizes. My 3 has the tires marked with a symbol that you look up in the chart. My X5 has tables with the same number of rows as tire sizes. Just find your tire size and use the appropriate row value.
The top chart shows pressures when running with maximum vehicle load (max GVWR).
The lower chart shows pressures under normal loads. I use the lower chart 99.9% of the time as I never approach max GVWR.
I think that is how it works anyway.....someone correct me if I am wrong.
BTW if you have a mini spare, 61psi is recommended for it, don't forget to check your spare every once in a while too!!
I use 32 front/38 rear. I will check wear after a few months and adjust if needed. The higher pressures are for when you fully load your car (e.g., 4-5 people, luggage). My car came with the max pressures also. My understanding is it is shipped from Germany with max pressure. I guess some dealers just don't bother lowering the pressure.