Is It OK To Up The Tire Pressures?

I usually run what the tire manufacturer's recommended pressure is listed as.

ed1948 said:

On all my cars I usually run 2 - 4 psi higher than on the door sticker. I'm new to my Monte where the sticker indicates 32. Can I run 34 -35 lbs?

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I'm not hating here, I'm just curious, why do normally run your tire pressures a little on the high side? I'm also with Qdub here, I usually try to run right at the recommended pressure.

As long as you don't exceed the max cold inflation pressure branded on the tire sidewall, you'll be OK.

The pressure on the door sticker is an all-around compromise for best average ride, handling, mileage to satisfy the myriad of new- car purchasers expectations..

Higher pressure allows slightly more load capacity, marginally better economy and steering response.

+or- 5psi won't hurt anyone. Lower air pressure will give the tire a softer side wall. Slushy cornering but softer over bumps compared to higher psi. Higher psi will have a better steering feel because the sidewall is stiffer.

Higher tire pressure is going to ride harder and eventually wear the center of the tread more than lower pressures.

The Tire pressures on the door jam sticker are 30 year old recommendations for tires that aren't made any more, for non enthusiasts to get the recommended CAFE mileage and have lots of safe understeer. Adjust tire pressure to suit you ride/handling desires.

On our 2+2 we'd found that 28psi in front and 32 psi in back reduces understeer and improves handling... but every car and every wheel/tire combo is different. The tag is a good starting point but beyond that is pretty meaningless.

If you have Front/rear sway bars and negative camber in front, and the car still doesn't want to turn in or plows in turns, reduce the air pressure in front. If the car want to swap ends or hops on bumps, reduce the air pressure in back.

I run 35psi on all my cars, and depending on the brand, sometimes 40psi. I get a better ride, with less squooshy feeling. So far I haven't seen any abnormal wear down the center. In fact, quite the opposite. I see less side wear so that makes me feel I am doing the right thing.

I really think a lot of it depends on the tire profile, composition, suspension design, etc as well. I try to run the recommended pressure, however on my Cutlass i started to notice the rear tires were only wearing in the center, the tread on each side of the tire didn't seem to be wearing evenly. So I dropped the pressure down from 30-28 and that solved that issue. I guess you could say its a case by case scenario.

I have a particular problem with my rear tires. They seem to always spin when I hit the throttle too hard... LOL

I found 32 in the front and 35 in the back was my happy spot. 35 all way round was firmer but I didn't like the way it rattled over potholes and railroad tracks. 235/60/15 all way round with MT St's. I also deleted the spare tire but run appx 100 lbs of stereo gear over the rear axle