Do Underinflated Tires Kill Your Fuel Economy? Let's Find Out! | Ep. 1
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( www.allTFL.com ) Check out our new spot to find ALL our TFLstudios content, from news to videos and our podcasts! It's a question that's often asked: How much will deflated tires hurt your MPG. Is the difference even noticeable? Andre finds out in this real-world test!
DISCLAIMER: Regardless of the results, we obviously don't recommend deflating your tires when driving on pavement for your safety and that of other motorists. We conducted this test strictly to see how fuel economy would be affected if your tires were at a far lower than the manufacturer-recommended PSI rating.
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#ram1500 #tiretest #mpgloop
You guys should do over inflated tires also
Mileage will probably go up due to lower rolling resistance BUT, the tires will wear out faster on the crown of the tread.
Its not that it will cost you 9 dollars more to fill up, but that you will have to fill up 46.8 miles sooner.
I was laughing when he said that. Glad you made this comment. It doesn’t matter the MPG. Still costs the same to fill up😂
Yeah, their math is generally a little fuzzy... to the point it's not true/borderline lying, ESPECIALLY when it comes to their EV coverage. They estimate/round and jump to conclusions that aren't true, the equivalent here would be saying 22.6 MPG is closer to 25 MPG, and 20.8 MPG is closer to 20 MPG, so your getting approximately 5 MPG LESS with underinflated tires! 🙄🙄 Uhh... no...
@@LVLifeguard - You are exaggerating yourself!! 😂😂😂. Forget your biases and learn not to hammer on someone in a man where what you are saying may be worse!! Too funny!!
Don’t forget the irregular tire wear
I think what Andre should have said is "It will cost you 10% more to go the same distance." Cost of fill up is based on fuel price and fuel capacity. Neither changed in this test. Only the maximum distance per tank is effected like you stated. 10% less distance is the result which will cost you over time.
I love the series and reviews of basic trucks. Sure the Hummer is awesome to look at but there's zero chance of me ever buying one. This series will inform my next truck purchase
It would be interesting to have a temperature guage to see what the tire heat was after each run. It would be much warmer on the under inflated tires and that would lead to increased tread wear.
I believe this was just a test since most ppl will not air up in winter season.
"How much is it costing you in the winter "
with TPMS on most vehicles, I say 40% of drivers will freak out and hit up discount tire for a free air check or their local dealership to avoid being outside freezing.
Ii
I think they should stick a couple layers of bed sheets or something over the bed and see if it improves fuel economy
@@TheAnnoyingBoss
I believe the spoiler on the tailgate is supposed to help improve. that little plastic spoiler
on the other hand, I just brought a bed cover, and I didn't see no improvement on the MPG for RAM 1500 V8
the only way to gain more MPG is to drive slower. 55mph to 60mph.
if you don't like going that slow, 65mph will do it with no cruise control
i just did 55mph on the 22 MDX and i was getting 32mpg for 115 miles.
turn around and did 70mph it come down to 19mpg.
gotta drive slower for higher MPG, same goes for pulling trailers
GM's TPM sensors in their products (and I'm sure other brands) can read temperatures and pressures. In the Camaro and Corvette for example the DIC can show tire temperature in "cold", "normal", "hot", etc. You can see this with GM's latest TPM diagnostic tool as well on all their sensors (pressure and temperature). If you read the data in the vehicle with GM GDS2 diagnostics you can pull the actual temperature data that it is referencing.
So with a good OBD Scanner that can read the TPM data, and as long as it shows pressure AND temperature then you could read that data.
@FScott Gray And those higher temps is the leading cause of tire blow outs (more so then over inflated tires).
Happy you guys are having so much success with the "Stubby" series. Here for it!
I thought it was decided shortbread 😬
That was interesting. I thought it would have made a bigger difference than 10%. Under inflated tires are costing efficiency for sure, but also they’d wear out a lot faster too.
I thak you for your comment! I know not to waste the extra minutes of my like wating til the end!! But, the 6 cylinder engine vs a mowr powerful engine?
Deflating the tire increases rolling resistance, so it takes more fuel to turn to overcome that, resulting in less mpg. Great content!
Great test! Actually, before watching this I had actually checked my tires yesterday on all 4 of our vehicles- 2 Jeeps, a sequoia, and a crew cab Silverado, and all had gone down about 8lbs in the last 2 months because of the significant temperature drop we have seen in North Mississippi already. Nice to know the stats now 👍
1 psi per 10 degrees F drop in temp. Also maybe a tiny bit of loss over time.
How about a comparison between running at the maximum inflation pressure on the tire versus the recommended pressure on the vehicle?
I wish you added 1 more loop with overinflated tires, say 55-60psi. Thanks for the video!
Probably not a good idea if it exceeds recommended psi. The tire can blow up.
Okay as long as not to exceed the max pressure written on the sidewall of the tire. I use that as my max and the door as min.
now that you have underinflation data, perhaps you can over inflate them 15 or so pounds & do a comparison to see if you milage increases by a similar percentage.
My car always drives better when the tires are inflated correctly. Sometimes I don't check my tires because I don't have an air compressor, it's too cold out, I'm lazy etc, but when I finally adjust them I can definitely tell the difference. I'll try to keep up on them now, thanks for posting the video guys I enjoyed it
Thank you for a real world test of something I have always wondered about!
Glad to see the mpg improved since they brought it home. Great video Andre
Should have done over inflated as well
I think the test you should do is : one(1) loop with +5psi from sticker , and one (1) loop with -5psi from sticker.
I own two(2) different Chrysler products with that 3.6, on both vehicules airing up to the prescribed psi door-jam sticker wears the tires in the middle and 'fast' , within a year the tires are done. So I run them 2psi lower in order to wear the tires evenly from one sidewall to the other.
You have good common sense! Hard to find! Haha. Small adjustments are fine, especially you are no hauling any weight generally. If in the same scenario you always has the vehicle full of occupants, especially adults, the you want to be closer to the maximum PSI to avoid wearing the shoulders first.
Nice comment.
I was wondering why on a ~4800 lbs. truck with a ~1500 lbs. payload they would recommend a 40 PSI tire pressure; that seems awfully high for a P-rated tire. Normally 1/2 ton trucks with factory P-rated tires take 35 - 38 PSI, depending on tire/wheel size and vehicle weight ratings.
@@voided3 Pickups come with quite a range of tire sizes. For example you can get the Ram 1500 classic with 17" wheels like the one they are driving or 20" wheels. The bigger wheels have bigger tires which will have a lower pressure. That is despite the fact that the trucks with the 20" wheels are heavier than the 17" wheel trucks due to more options on the trucks with larger wheels.
@@todddunn945 I can only speak for my F-150, but it has the same tire size (265/70r17) and the sticker recommends 35psi.
@@ALMX5DP Different truck. It all comes down to the weight of the truck. If your F150 is one of the newer ones with the aluminum body it could be quite a bit lighter than the equivalent Ram. That is why the manufacturer puts a tire pressure sticker on.
One psi change per 10 degrees Fahrenheit change (up and down accordingly), so check your pressures when winter sets it. And you should be checking pressures regularly anyway.
I think this test should be done on highway only, thet city driving changes the whole equation, the friction of the tires rotating also changes with speed but still good content, thank you guys for all you do.
That sounds about right. I studied this on my 100 mile commute and found you could change it 5-10%, depending how much more or less air pressure I had.
Worn out tires also help, but it was 5% at best
Worn tires may show that you traveled farther than you actually did because they cover less ground per revolution due to less tire height which slightly changes gear ratio.
@@thomastessin1663 100% lol
Makes sense that handling would be worse with underinflated rubber. I doubt that you would do the test with OVER-inflated tires, but if you had, I would have given this experiment more credence.
Thanks for the content.
Keep up the good work.
בס״ד
Not only will you get more MPG's with properly inflated tires you will also get a longer tread life out of your tires as well, a definite win win.
Nice experiment! I always check my tires every two weeks. Obviously tire pressure also affects ride/handling.
The general rule of pressure is 1psi = 10 lbs of spring rate. This is why in racing, crew chiefs will make air pressure adjustments even by 1/2 lb.
Small differences in vehicle setup and driving technique can make huge differences at the pump. I started keeping a eye on the current efficiency bar for a few tanks. It barely made a difference on my speed at all but added 80-120 kms to each tank.
Yes, keeping RPMs low and not downshifting unless you absolutely need to, helps with efficiency. Coasting wherever possible also helps a little. What other techniques can you add to this list?
@@clutch7366 I would add being light on the throttle. Obviously one should keep up with traffic, but not flooring it makes a big difference. Also just generally try to hold a reasonably consistent speed as traffic allows. As Kevin said just general awareness of driving habits makes a big difference to overall efficiency
@@clutch7366 Avoiding unnecessary braking and excessive speed are the two main things that will help efficiency. Accelerating slowly doesn't help much, since the energy required for a given increase in speed is the same whether you achieve that increase quickly or slowly.
Heavy footed acceleration probably leads to a higher enrichment ratio.
@@johnhoover7869 True.
I would not have thought that it would have made that much difference in mileage also I would like to say it's nice to see you guys using a truck that the average Joe can afford instead of the 80-100,000 dollar truck
Why would u not think HALF the pressure would have an effect?! Please tell me u arent in charge of any vehicle maintenance.
@@crazyhass84 Good burn.
@@crazyhass84 It's not half the pressure. Please tell me you are not in charge of statistics.
Right!!
I had a 2014 Ram with the same drivetrain except mine was 2WD. 3.23 rear end. I averaged 22.5 to 23 MPG combined. I set it up as a highway cruiser and it was great for that. I did road trips through Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, so similar experiences to you guys. Unladen on a flat road it was great because it could stay in 8th gear. Get into terrain, at elevation, sustained speeds above 65 or get any load in the back, and three things happened. Fuel economy dropped to high teens combined, the transmission hunted for the right gear, and the engine really struggled. It was a good rig but don’t ask it to deliver more than it was engineered to do.
3.23 or 3.21?
If it was ... hunting.... for a gear ,you should have had it in ...tow mode. I always run in tow mode so my tranny isn't hunting for a gear or jumps back and forth between 8 and 4 cylinder running.
A more important consideration when running on underinflated tires is safety. The tires will get hotter which can lead to things like tread separation or sidewall failure. This leaves the possibility of being stranded or having an accident. The best thing, check your tire pressure regularly. You will save money and be safer.
Exactly right. This was the cause of the Ford Explorer / Firestone tire failures and subsequent rollovers back in the late 1990’s. Ford recommended only 26 psi at the time.
Hahahaha
@TheMrDudiness hahaha good one
As long as the load range is higher than the factory tire that was on the vehicle I don’t see a problem my 98 5.9 1/2t with a slightly oversized tire at a 265/75r16 vs 245/75r16 I get about epa level I run about 25psi in California these tires are load range d I have 37’s and a leveling kit that will be installed so I think it’ll make a sizable difference in efficiency and mileage
I would also like to see with tires at maximum inflation pressure just to see if there is a small gain there. There should technically be a little less resistance at max inflation over standard inflation and it would be nice to see the result of that.
Not with radials. It puts more load on the engine at slower speeds. It also reduces traction.
Over or under, either way will lead to abnormal tire wear and shortened life of the tires, as well as increased wear on bearings and steering components.
@@pohldriver Right; and don’t forget the harder ride too!
Some people are so cheap
Good analysis and useful efficiency info. Thanks for not focusing only on power.
Pretty much my experience as well... Loss of 2-3 MPG. Not huge but the cat definitely handles differently with low tire pressure. It's dangerous IMHO because if you drop below 20 PSI I think there is a real risk of the tire unseating from the bead, delamination, or rollover as you pointed out. I normally run my tires about 10 PSI below factory spec for comfort when I'm the only one driving. At about 15 PSI below factory I can start to feel vibration and know it's time to fill them up.
I really like it when you do these experiments, saves me the trouble.
I always slightly overinflate my tires to allow for pressure drop due to cold. More air also should improve tire life.
More air will increase the balloon effect on the tire, placing more weight on the center of the tire, causing increased wear on the center of the tire. Slight over inflation of 3-5 psi probably isn't noticeable, but more than that may be. Trucks that often carry loads are difficult because a half ton of payload in the bed will, under ideal conditions, require more pressure in the tires.
@@mikecleveland823 cold air takes care of that
@@mikefoehr235 negative, inflating to the correct pressure takes care of that.
Any possibility that you could repeat the experiment but this time with higher tire pressure than recommend by the manufacturer? Great video.
With a Gm 3500HD (diesel w/ 10 speed) Denali the best I've seen is 10.2L/ 100Km - roughly 23MPG. Its interesting to see the smaller motor and lighter truck do almost exactly the same.
Thanks for the Video!
Andrea would there be any interest in doing a loop with the tires topped off to their max pressure for the tire manufacturer?
I had a 2017 Ram 3500 with a 6.7 Cummins diesel single rear wheel....a couple times with the cruise control set to 70 mph My average fuel economy hit 30 mpg hyw, summer fuel 70 deg day 110 mile trip to my other property....
Best I ever did, I normally drive faster, it seemed to be an enomenally, I would normally average in the low twenties with faster and harder driving....
Diesels have better thermal efficiency/fuel economy than gasoline (and worse tailpipe emissions).
The 3.6 is also not an especially efficient engine.
I haven't checked the tire pressure in my truck in like 2 years, good reminder
Try riding a bike with low tire pressure. Then fill tires to specs and ride again. HUGE difference in effort. I think using a huge brick PU truck to show mileage change is less dramatic than a econobox car w/a small displacement engine. The higher mpg's you get normally, the more drop you'll notice w/low tire pressure.
My 2020 2.7 ecoboost supercab F150 got about that in lower speed mixed driving. Extremely efficient in the city
I have a 2014 Ram 1500 CC with the 3.6 4x4 and the 3.55 rear end. I consistently get around 22+ on the Highway running 75-80 with it loaded for vacations. Around town I can get close 17 depending on how much I drive and idle time. Recently I’ve been idling a little more due to carpools at schools and warming up with cold temps.
Running tires at lower pressure has a significant effect on a vehicle hydroplaning on wet roads. The average tire will lose 1-2 pounds per month through permeation. A few months of not checking tire pressure has numerous negative effects. It would be interesting to see some further tests with your truck regarding skid pad handling and braking, wet and dry, at various inflation levels.
Always enjoy your videos. Thanks
You need to reseat your tires if you're losing pressure that quickly, or clean the wheels before the tire is set.
I have a 1995 4Runner with a 22RE. It makes 110 hp on a good day. Plus I am at 6500' so its really making like 88 hp here if I am lucky. Basically, barely enough power to actually go the speed limit.
I can feel a pretty noticeable difference between 30 psi, and 20 psi when I am driving home after being air'd down on the trail. The engine is weak enough where it makes the difference between me having to downshift on hill that I wouldn't normally, or simply can't hold speed at all. So yes, it matters.
I think it’s important to note that 85 octane is less than the manufacturers requirement. EPA needs to mandate the minimum octane rating 87 nationwide.
Altitude changes the actual detonation point, so to have the same across the board they lower the octane at high altitude areas. But if you drove downhill all the way in that 85 you would have issues or just poor performance.
@@alexmills1329 yep, people rarely tend to understand air density changes octane requirements.
I've ran a Z06 at altitude and it ran fine on 87-89 octane with no knocking. That same octane closer to sea level would knock pretty bad.
85 octane isn't available in locations closer to sea level and I can't think of a single vehicle with the OEM gas tank that could drive from Colorado to sea-level on a single tank of fuel, so its a non-issue. At a mile above sea-level (or substantially more in many places in Colorado), the air density is so low that the in-cylinder pressures are much lower, so 85 octane is totally fine.
The 10%is significant enough BUT the real concern is in the safety as you mentioned. An accident can cost you a lot more than 10%.........and maybe serious injury or death.
I have an 18 quad cab 1500 4x4 with the 3.6. Bought it new with 65 miles on it and it now has 80k on it. Best mpg I've gotten is 27 mpg pen to paper coming down from Vegas to tucson running 70 mph. Average is about 20 on a city highway mix. I also have off road tires on it now and that affects the mpg by about 1 mpg. Worth it
I keep all my tires at 30psi for daily driving, we have bad roads where I live. However when I load up my truck or tow something heavy I will fill them all to 40psi.
18 IBS deflation seems a little much for the average person, maybe 5-10, my Wrangler changes only by 5 lbs in winter.
Totally agree that ~50% seems a bit more than a "slight" decrease in tire pressure. I'm surprised it was only a 10ish% decrease in fuel economy especially after seeing similar remarks about only a 10% decrease in tire pressure.
Im glad he made such a drastic deflation. It really shows if there was a difference and not margin of error type results.
The back tires likely started over-inflated, since there's no way the truck has a 50/50 weight distribution. Watching the tread contact is the only way to really know what the correct pressure is. The easy method uses chalk across the tread and watch where the chalk is removed when driving in a straight line. You can sometimes see this pattern with dusty roads as well. Ideally, the chalk line should be complete removed across the tread. If it remains on the outer blocks, the tire is over inflated and will wear the center of the tire too quickly. Under inflated will leave the chalk in the center of the tread.
You can inflate/deflate the tires to find the pressure for these two points, then adjust from there. The best fuel economy will have the most pressure in the tires, while the best balance will be toward the middle of the two bands, and is also a good point for winter tire traction.
That only really applies to trucks, and even then, mostly HD trucks that run a lot of tire pressure. You might be able to take 5psi max out of the rear tires of this 1/2 ton truck, but then are you going to add it back in every time you put something in the bed or tow something?
@@ouch1011 it works on cars as well, especially hot rods.
The very best entry music into your video. Thank you so much
Excellent test!
thanks for addressing that really only new tires would be able to put up with this for a short amount of time without pretty serious damage
I just did this today, (fill up my tires) I’m wearing out my 35” tires faster than I’d like. I’m running 36 psi
Besides the additional cost for fuel, think about the accelerated wear on the tires?
Underinflated tires run hotter which softens the rubber compound making for more abrasion of the tire.
I've seen under inflated tires on trailers wear much faster, and instead of getting 20,000 miles only went 12,000 miles before requiring replacement. I've also never seen a properly inflated tire blow out in hot weather.
this is my current favorite truck in the TFL fleet
Other things that affect MPG are winter fuel vs. summer fuel, traction tires vs. highway tires, mud flaps, lifts etc. If you can find non ethenol fuel you will get better MPG also.
I have used non ethanol fuel and it did get much better mileage and felt like more power in my 2.5 Subaru Forester
@@usualsuspectexterminator Spoken like an Iowa corn farmer.
@Usual Suspect Exterminator I believe you are mistaken. Plenty of tests and forums out there showing ethanol does effect mpg's by as much as 10%. In my experiences it was a 10% drop using gas with ethanol.
@@usualsuspectexterminator Correction, a really dumb Iowa corn farmer.
I have a 2014 Silverado four-wheel drive near Fully loaded 5.3 V8 Z71..
I get the same fuel mileage and even better I have averaged 25 mpg with the cruise control set at 74..
A 2014 Silverado WITH a V8 and 144,000 trouble free miles so far...
would be interesting to see inflating tires slightly over the manufacture number, like 5psi or something to see if that did anything
@kingschill23
Might give you a little more MPGs and a tiny bit less tire wear, but you'll get more wear to your suspension components and rubber bushings too. Not to mention an uncomfortable ride.
The other big cost to factor in is the extra wear on the tyres, that will be massive
12:45 you have no idea how many times I came off the trail and everybody wants to do 85 down the highway to get back to camp on like 18psi.
That mileage makes sense. Had a similar truck with that power train and was always decent.
I've been checking this for decades, and I've found that 36-psi cold -- in the morning without the sun hitting the tires -- is the best compromise for mileage vs comfort.
That is not a general number and depends highly on the vehicle.
Best number is what the manufacturer recommends.
@@ouch1011 -- Not always: the low recommended tire pressure for the ford explorer helped cause the roll overs; often times the recommended psi is about cushy ride comfort, not what's best for economy and traction. -- or in the explorer's case, safety,
kool vid, Ty for sharing --- lol glad these are still getting decent mpg, waiting to see what ya gonna do with this one 🍿
You are the best Andre.
in the summer i run about 40-37 psi, in the winter i run 33-30 psi. i care about grip more than mpg during the snowy months.
Should have run it at Max tire pressure as well to see what that does
What if you over inflated them.
I have 10 ply tires on my F150 that can take 80psi. The truck says 35psi. I keep them at 65 which I know is a harder ride.
I know that the military tells you to max out pressure on tires when you are in other countries. Supposedly it keeps the tires from coming off the rim if you hit potholes and other things.
I was expecting this test to be a realistic test such as what one would expect from average temperature drops due to season changes. This I would say would be around 5-7psi. Given that this was an extreme example, I am surprised the difference was less than 10%.
Interesting. Thanks for the experiment.
This is great timing that you made this video. I have been toying with the idea of sending you guys the question why the cars computer is off from the tried and true math equation. I have seen that it’s not just your car but multiple cars. Which is more accurate? Are the car companies trying to pull a fast one on the consumer? We need answers!
Very good test
BRB, gonna go check my tires. Great video!
In my owners manual it gives quite a different range of pressures for different situations. If I’m going off-road it says 25 in front and 23 in back, for regular driving I do 35 for both, and for long highway trips with decent amounts of time over 75 mph but without a heavy load in the bed it says to use 40f 38b. It’s interesting how the front tires get more air due to the weight of the engine, which helps them ware more evenly with the rear tires.
Nice boots Andre! I have a pair of Salewa boots and shoes. Some of the most comfortable footwear I’ve owned.
I am surprised Lil Stubby is not getting even better economy. Once that pentastar breaks in I hope you get even better economy.
I would like to have seen the comparison of underinflated, truck recommended pressure, and tire max cold pressure.
Agreed, the sticker on my 2020 Ranger states 30psi and on the tire it states 51 max psi
Me to
Even on my bicycle, riding on 120psi is a lot smoother than on say 80-90psi. Rolling resistance is less, but also is traction so you need to be careful not to cause tyre slip.
Who runs bicycle tires at 80-90psi? Nobody.
@@WheresHerb Road bikes are over 100psi. Mountain bikes 25-30.
Haven't watched the video but simply having driven a bike with underinflated tires tells me all I need to know.
Now I want to see that exact same test repeated with that same truck on that same loop with the tires aired to 45 PSI and see if you can score 24 MPG on the loop!
always so informative, they answer questions that thinks about but never asks
Wow a Sinclair gas station, I miss them here. The Dino is a cool sign
Single cabs are so tiny now, my 2003 ram short bed had a nearly a foot behind the seats, and more headroom as well..
Another factor is tire wear! Tires will get hotter and more tire wear if under inflated. Great test!
I think lower pressure also caused error on your odometer. But I'm surprised why it shows less miles. It should have shown more since the tires radios decreased.
Interesting point. Static the radius did decrease but when rolling at speed I’d think the difference would be minimal, not to mention there’d still be the same tread circumference needing to make contact with the ground. But yeah would be neat to hear scientifically how that works out for different speeds or scenarios.
When I got the power wagon, they come set at 65 which is just too much. I started dropping pressure to find the sweet spot and settled on 50 front and 40 rear (unloaded). Steering input stayed the same but the ride improved dramatically. No mpg change. Below that it gets heavy and the chalk test on the tires showed bad wear. Great stuff Andre!!
Dang these prices are still crazy here in Central Texas I just saw $2.439 a gallon for 87
If you've ever ridden a bicycle with low air pressure in the tires, then you know how hard it is to ride. Then you pumped them up to proper pressure, and the bike rolled so easy and it was much easier to pedal and the bike was much faster.
I would have been interested to see what a 5-8 lb difference did. I think for safety sake you went too low on the tire pressure.
Love y'all's channels and content. Noticed you're using 85 octane. You should watch Engineering Explained on TH-cam. You're not doing the vehicle justice using that fuel.
It's fine at the high altitude in Colorado
@@ouch1011 not according to science. You should watch the video.
Not only will you have a 10% loss in fuel, you also wear your tires quicker $$$, and increased drivetrain wear. Don't forget that's the only thing touching the ground! Tires are very important!
Moral of story keep tires at recommended pressure. Love that truck. Good gas mileage.
Inflate to the max air pressure marked on the tire and do the same loop.
risk a blowout, and cause an accident? i mean it would be good for youtube views
Interesting experiment. I drive a RAM 2500 around the country gravel roads. I use light truck tires inflated to 30 psi. Also the tire size is a little over sized from stock. I went from 245 60 17 to 265 60 17. I went to all this bother because this heavy duty truck rides so rough. If I went to the load range E tires it would ride a whole lot rougher. I am considering eventually going to 268 70 17 tires to make it even a softer ride. The truck is a 2006 vintage and it is in such good shape I want to keep it forever. If I want to carry a heavy load I have the original tires on the original rims inflated to 50 and 60 psi. These are my reasons for liking your experiment.
42 would be too much pressure for my work trucks and 38psi would be just right for a balance of economy and safe road grip. On the other hand 22psi would cause the shoulders to overheat at highway speed, would squidge dangerously in bends and ultimately get a puncture due to shoulder damage where the tread meets the sidewall. Fine for low speed on sand for short periods only. I would never ever road a pickup at less than 28psi
@Usual Suspect Exterminator
Indeed. My trucks are rated to carry over one long ton and to tow 7700lbs and do recommend 38psi for this load. They are not Ram. They certainly do not recommend pressures anywhere near as low as 22psi on the door sticker.
I think the tires have a maximum pressure of 45psi moulded on them but that is to seat the beads when mounting a tire on to a rim.
@Usual Suspect Exterminator
I do not believe that to be correct.
@Usual Suspect Exterminator
Exceed 45 psi car and light truck tires when mounting and you run the very real risk of a massive explosion. The bead seating maximum is the same as the maximum recommended running pressure on this category of vehicle. Heavy duty trucks of course can run at 90psi or higher. Different category of vehicle altogether.
I have been responsible for the health and safety policies and monitoring of a fleet of vehicles.
Very affordable comment I keep hearing, wide open for interpretation and opinions vary. Also running tires low on air can cause unusual tire wear/faster tire wear which shortens usable tire life which means spending more money to buying new tires for best overall performance and safety.
Hey guys I have the very same truck. Mine is a '15 157k miles, 3.6 auto 4x4. I caution you on how long you intend to own it. My 3.6, which has plenty of power, has developed the dreaded #2 cylinder misfire. Chrysler knows about this and has had some recalls on '14s and below. I've replaced the plug, coil and injector to no avail. Most internet sources point to a bad head due to a cracked valve seat. No one in my area will tackle this except the dealer. The book calls for 14.4 hours at $165 an hour total of $2376 not included the head. The engine has no other issues to speak of ticking, leaking etc.... shame on Chrysler.
Nice video. However, since new cars/trucks have a low tire pressure indication, it would have been better if you stayed above that alarm point. This would show what mpg you could be losing if you don't pay attention. You showed how bad the mpg is when the vehicle has a low tire pressure alarm, but who drives that way?
I got to run like 34 psi where I live. The roads are so crappy especially in the winter. I would be bouncing all over the place with 40 psi
Have you guys ever talked about how Ford recommends top tier gasoline? I'm sure it's not a huge deal but I usually try to find top tier gas stations for my f-150.
Not sure I would have gone down to 22 even in a test. This test does show a number of things to me. Buying a physically smaller truck does help with fuel mileage. Driving the speed limit/slower/not trying to pass by everyone also helps with economy. Plus 70 series/big sidewall tires are a win all around and seeing the Perkins and DQ made me hungry.
Great video
tyre temps are the big issues when running underinflated. too much heat and the carcass can fail or simply blow out. apart from excessively old, dry rotted/cracked tyres, under inflation is probably the biggest cause of 'no damage' tyre failures/blowouts where i live, and probably worldwide. ('no damage' being tyre failures that havent been caused by a rock, piece of metal etc being at least part of the cause of failure)
Great video as always. I was surprised to see the recommended stock tire pressure was 40 PSI, as that seemed a little high for a 1/2 ton truck; as my 2020 Silverado only calls for 35 PSI.. However, maybe there is a lot of fluctuation between manufacturers.
Besides the extra fuel is the cost of tires, because under inflated tires wear out faster. You can drive yourself crazy with the pressure in winter with the fluctuating temperatures but you want to keep close to that recommended pressure.
Great video. Thank you. Now imagine how that converts to pollution if every other vehicle uses 10% more fuel for absolutely no reason. Manufacturers work hard to meet emission regulations and it’s important for our planet that consumers do their part.