Tire Pressure

Gaspiper

Gaspiper

Active member
I put on my winter tires today and pumped up the rear to 80 and 50 PSIG in the front as per the specs that came with the van which got me thinking how much pressure do you put in your tires? I don't have excessive tire wear and my original OEM set that came with the van lasted me 5 years ( 2006-2011 used both in summer and winter).
I now have two sets of Michelin , an all season for summer + latitude x ice for winter driving .
My insurance company gives me a discount for using snow tires in winter.
 
J

jackbombay

2003 158" shc
I find I need to run more pressure than is recommended to get even tire wear, with the recommended pressures the edges of my tires wear faster than the center.
 
GaryJ

GaryJ

Here since 2006
06 140 at 7000 lbs. 50/55. That's about 5 psi above what Michelin recommends for my weighed axle loads.

Gary
 
sailquik

sailquik

Well-known member
Gaspiping Sprinter:
You wrote:
"the rear to 80 and 50 PSIG in the front as per the specs that came with the van"
Where did you find these front and rear tire pressures?
Are they from the sticker/placard on the drivers door "B" pillar or the LH side of the
driver's seat box?
In the operator's manual from the glove box?
50 sounds like a good starting point for the front tires, but
80 PSI is the maximum pressure that the rear tires can withstand.
If your Sprinter is very heavily loaded (with black iron gas pipes and fittings) did you
weigh the rear axle and adjust the tire pressure for the normal loading
in your Sprinter?
80 PSI just seems wrong for the rear tires on a 2006 T1N 2500 unless you
are loaded to the max. or possibly over loaded.
Can you post a photo of the sticker or page in your Operator's manual the
tells you to run 80 PSI in the rear tires?
50-65 possibly even 70 I heavily loaded, but 80 PSI just seems too high.
Roger
 
GaryJ

GaryJ

Here since 2006
55/80 are the posted T1N pressures on the seat base. The placard also shows the GVWR of 8550, so I've always assumed that those pressures were for a maximum load.

Gary
 
2

220629

Well-known member
An opinion.

Too high inflation for the load can cause a rough(er) ride. A bit too high affects handling negatively less than too low a pressure.

Lower pressure can help with ride comfort. Too low a pressure for the load can negatively affect handling and can contribute to unnecessary heating of the tires.

I tend to run a bit high for some people's taste. That said, I wouldn't be running 80 psi on my rear tires unless there was a good reason to do so.

:2cents: vic
 
A

awaywego

2008 NCV3 2500
plus you run the risk of getting uneven tire wear with greater wear right in the middle.
I do run 72 in the rear but that is the upfitter's recommended pressure.
 
flman

flman

Well-known member
I was running 70F 80R in my NCV3 long and tall heavy loaded. I notice the outers are wearing faster than the inners up front, so now I am running 75F 80R.
 
cahaak

cahaak

New member
I run about 65 rear and 55 front in my passenger. For longer camping trips I run 70 / 60. With new shocks and struts, the 65 / 55 is relatively comfortable. I have Cooper AT3s on my van and it drives quite nice.

Chris
 
Gaspiper

Gaspiper

Active member
sailquik said:
Gaspiping Sprinter:
You wrote:
"the rear to 80 and 50 PSIG in the front as per the specs that came with the van"
Where did you find these front and rear tire pressures?
Are they from the sticker/placard on the drivers door "B" pillar or the LH side of the
driver's seat box?
In the operator's manual from the glove box?
50 sounds like a good starting point for the front tires, but
80 PSI is the maximum pressure that the rear tires can withstand.
If your Sprinter is very heavily loaded (with black iron gas pipes and fittings) did you
weigh the rear axle and adjust the tire pressure for the normal loading
in your Sprinter?
80 PSI just seems wrong for the rear tires on a 2006 T1N 2500 unless you
are loaded to the max. or possibly over loaded.
Can you post a photo of the sticker or page in your Operator's manual the
tells you to run 80 PSI in the rear tires?
50-65 possibly even 70 I heavily loaded, but 80 PSI just seems too high.
Roger
Click to expand...
I carry about 1200 LBS of weight in the van at any given day from tools , shelves and parts & supplies ( black iron pipes + fittings are only loaded when needed ). I did not know that 80 was the max but thought it was the norm however my tires do not wear out any faster and I stilll have one of the oem tires that came with the van that is stamped 2106 that I have been using till this past summer but it is gone to retirement now
 

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J

jmwgoff

New member
Having a weird experience with the new pair of tires I put on my 2006... I had poor wear on the front tires due to an alignment issue so just got those replaced (though had Discount Tire swap the rear ones onto the front, which have a good wear pattern and only 20k miles on them). With the brand new pair on the back (Cooper Discoverer AT3s, to match the front), I'm getting a weird, sort of wobbly / fish-tail effect at highway speeds. Basically if I drive a straight line and loosen my grip on the steering wheel, I can feel it ever so slightly pulling left to right. If I change lanes, I find that it the fish-tail effect is much more pronounced and frankly pretty radical if I'm going >75. Put another way, I could usually reach over to the passenger seat to grab a snack without drifting over in my lane, but a couple of times that I tried to do that on my drive home from fresno yesterday I got a really violent fish-tail / swaying pattern in the back that freaked me the hell out.

I told Discount Tire this and they explained that they'd put 80psi in the rear and (hesitantly) lowered it to 70 to "give me more traction". But based on the above comments I'm wondering whether 60-65 would be more appropriate. It's a cargo model converted into a camper, but there's really not a ton of weight in it. Does this in fact sound like a pressure issue to y'all, or could it be something else? (already checked alignment too).

Thanks!
Michael
 
Kajtek1

Kajtek1

2015 3500 X long limo RV
DON'T GUES, or take somebody's else opinion (what often is religious) for tire pressure.
Weight your axles, or even better each wheel and use tire manufacturer site for recommended pressure.
In case manufacturer is not giving pressure chart, you can find universal charts on the web.
I like hard cornering and always end with less thread on the edges, than in the center, so I like to add about 5 psi above the recommendations.
 
ECU

ECU

2006 T1n 118 Sprinter
Recommended via the van is 80 psi. Recommended by the tire, 50 psi.
Which one do you follow?
 
2

220629

Well-known member
New tires can be squirrely until the tread wears in a bit.

That said, your description sounds pretty much off the charts even for new tires. Tires can have various defects even when brand new.

vic
 
GaryJ

GaryJ

Here since 2006
ECU said:
Recommended via the van is 80 psi. Recommended by the tire, 50 psi.
Which one do you follow?
Click to expand...
“Recommended via the van” is for a maximum load, 8550 lbs. My 06 140 empty was 4820 lbs. so 80 psi would be for a load of 3730 lbs or 1.86 tons! I weigh mine and use the tire mfr. pressure for the axle load.
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: ECU
GaryJ

GaryJ

Here since 2006
jmwgoff said:
Having a weird experience with the new pair of tires I put on my 2006... I had poor wear on the front tires due to an alignment issue so just got those replaced (though had Discount Tire swap the rear ones onto the front, which have a good wear pattern and only 20k miles on them). With the brand new pair on the back (Cooper Discoverer AT3s, to match the front), I'm getting a weird, sort of wobbly / fish-tail effect at highway speeds. Basically if I drive a straight line and loosen my grip on the steering wheel, I can feel it ever so slightly pulling left to right. If I change lanes, I find that it the fish-tail effect is much more pronounced and frankly pretty radical if I'm going >75. Put another way, I could usually reach over to the passenger seat to grab a snack without drifting over in my lane, but a couple of times that I tried to do that on my drive home from fresno yesterday I got a really violent fish-tail / swaying pattern in the back that freaked me the hell out.

I told Discount Tire this and they explained that they'd put 80psi in the rear and (hesitantly) lowered it to 70 to "give me more traction". But based on the above comments I'm wondering whether 60-65 would be more appropriate. It's a cargo model converted into a camper, but there's really not a ton of weight in it. Does this in fact sound like a pressure issue to y'all, or could it be something else? (already checked alignment too).

Thanks!
Michael
Click to expand...
I have the same vehicle with with a camper at a little over 7000 lbs loaded to travel. Its been weighed, about 50/50 weight distribution and per the Michelin tire chart about 50 psi front and rear is recommended. After a service the dealer once put 80 in the rear tires and the van was all over the road, unsafe.

Gary
 
Kajtek1

Kajtek1

2015 3500 X long limo RV
ECU said:
Recommended via the van is 80 psi. Recommended by the tire, 50 psi.
Which one do you follow?
Click to expand...
Do you have chart on the van that has different loads listed?
Did not think so.
Sprinters are build as work vans with certain payload, so the manufacturer will list the pressure for full load.
Typical for semitrucks and pickups to ride at max pressure in tires as nobody will adjust the pressure with each load change.
Sprinters, at least those written about on this forum are mostly campervans, where load change only when you fill up the water, or you dump the S**t.
Therefore for comfort you can be more precise.
 
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