Tire Experts?

Huntindog wrote:
You did a smart thing by upgrading to a higher load rating tire..... But here is the catch. You only have that higher rating if you air them up all the way to 65.
This can be important in the event of a blowout making the other tire on that side carry more load. If you only have them at 50, then there will be no extra capacity for such a event.

The down sides to running higher than needed tire pressures are minor.
You may see some faster treadwear in the center... Though in my experience, a higher quality tire is able to resist crowning and maintain even treadwear... But even if you do get the uneven treadwear, it probably isn't important to you as MOST TT tires age out long before the tread is gone.
Some will say that the ride will be rougher in the TT with higher pressures, and it makes sense that it would be... But I have been doing it for many years with no ill effects.

A little follow on to H-Dogs comments on inflation vs potential wear in the center. On my Kumho 857's on the camper, I run them at 65 psi ( max for LR D ). With four tires on the ground I have just over 7400 pounds of tire capacity. This trailer has only 3500 pounds on the axles, so I am running at approx 47% of their load rating, and even at 65 psi, the tires are wearing evenly. They have over 10K miles on them now, and have used up just a little more than 1/32" of tread. All four are wearing even, and all are even across the tread. I have rotated them once.
They ride well, and in fact, going from LR C ST tires to these LR D LT tires made the camper more stable at speed and in side winds.

I was a crash reconstructionist in my former career. Went to tire schools. Air them to the max on the sidewall. They are designed to increase if the temp goes up. Many tire failures are a result of under inflation which decreases their ability to dissipate heat...then they separate and fail.

fla-gypsy wrote:
Not a tire expert but I am an experienced ST tire consumer. The risk of a wheel failure from running over max is far exceeded by the risk of a tire failure running at max load. You have taken an acceptable risk IMO. Run the tires at max psi.

I think this may have been worded such that the meaning got confused.

I think Gypsy meant that the risk of a wheel failure is pretty low, while the risk of a tire failure is much higher, so do what you need to deal with the tire, and don't worry about the wheel.

Not a tire expert but I am an experienced ST tire consumer. The risk of a wheel failure from running over max is far exceeded by the risk of a tire failure running at max load. You have taken an acceptable risk IMO. Run the tires at max psi.

65 psi cold provided your rims are rated for at least 75 psi max. Typically during very hot days traveling at interstate speeds they will gain up to 10%.

I would read and follow the PSI information that is on the sidewall of the tire.

65# for D's, I run 80# in my E's.

Steel wheels I would run 65 psi. Aluminum I would check for a pressure rating.

Well, I bought my little 13" wheels and tires as a package deal and the max PSI on the tires are #65, so I'm pretty sure the wheels are rated for that, if not more... They are just the standard white spoke steel wheels you see all over the place... I doubt very much that they make any wheel that will explode if you put over #50 psi in them.... ;) Way too much "internet never lies" statements going on out there too... ;)

Mitch