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Date:         Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:02:34 -0400
Reply-To:     David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Re: Tires - Why oh why NOT?
Comments: To: Rob <becida@COMCAST.NET>
In-Reply-To:  <vanagon%2009031515140571@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

At 03:13 PM 3/15/2009, Rob wrote: >manufacture know what the tire is designed for. If you put a tire on >that calls for a max of 60 psi and you are running it at 40 psi it >has 30% less pressure than it should, that adds up to heat.

I have to disagree there, Rob. It only creates excessive heat if there's excessive sidewall flex, and that depends on the vehicle running on those tires. The tire manufacturer specifies the maximum cold inflation pressure, and the maximum load at that pressure. The vehicle manufacturer specifies the minimum tire specs, and specifies an inflation pressure which is sufficient to sustain the vehicle load with (usually) a 10-20% fudge factor; and is otherwise a compromise among tire life, ride comfort, handling, fuel economy, phase of the moon etc. for the particular vehicle. That includes differential pressures between front and rear in our case. If you're willing to sacrifice a bit of comfort, I believe adding a few psi to the recommended pressures will help all the other qualities. *Over*inflation -- for the particular vehicle, not for the tire -- will cause accelerated tread wear in the middle as well as a nasty ride and perhaps other difficulties. Changing the front/rear differential pressure will change the handling.

If y'all really want to get into the meat of this stuff, here's a place to start, with a guy (tireman9) who designs tires for a living... http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=15003&page=1 http://www.eng-tips.com/faqs.cfm?fid=1148

-- David Beierl - Providence RI USA -- http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/ '89 Po' White Star "Scamp"


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