Tire Inflation Specs 2004-2007 Silverado 3500HD

[mkirsch]

I just finished putting 6 new sneakers on my '02 Silverado 3500 DRW.

The door sticker specs out Load Range D tires with a max inflation of 65PSI. My selection of D-rated tires was poor to nonexistent.

New tires are Load Range E with a max inflation of 80PSI.

I am hoping Chevy went to E-rated tires on their DRW trucks some time before they went to 17's on the new body style in 2007.

Can someone with a 2003-2007(classic) 3500HD take a quick look at their door sticker and let me know what the inflation specs are for E-rated tires?

[Phancy]

On my 2004 Duramax dually the door sticker says for cold tire pressure,
Front tires lt/21585R16E rim size 16-16.5J ......70psi
Rear"..".......".........................................................65psi dual
SPA.......................................................................80psi

[mkirsch]

I realize all of that. That's why I was simply asking for numbers as a starting point.

My new Hankooks are rated the same as the Michelins linked to above, so I gotta imagine the inflation/load charts are similar if not the same.

Hankook does not provide an inflation chart for their 16" tires that I can find.

I ran the old tires at 50PSI, but I'm going to start the new tires at 60PSI and see how it rides.

[Grit_dog]

If they're little E rated tires like stock size on duallys the door sticker will say 80 psi.
Capriracer is not correct that you should always follow what the door sticker says.
There are multitudes of tire, wheel and load combinations that make the door sticker completely useless.
Now the newer trucks with Tpms make the situation even worse because the max psi is typically programmed into the ECM which does not allow for airing the tires to match conditions or load without getting an idiot light on the dash.
As well over or under inflated tires can and will wear substantially faster depending on the conditions they are subject to.
In short if you have E tires on the back of your dually good for around 3klb each then air them accordingly to the load. Running empty I wouldn't have more than about 30-35 per tire. Loaded pressure depends on the weight.
Don't use the door stickers to tell you he right way to air your tires, learn what is right for he conditions you're using them under.
I was frustrated enough on my newer F250 that I found a dealer who'd reprogram the tpms trigger pressures and had them all set to 30 psi. Now I can air down on ice or sand or air up for heavy loads without affecting the tpms sensors.
Your truck is old enough to not have to mess with all that.

[mkirsch]

All I want to know is what it says on the door sticker for a Chevy Silverado 3500HD DRW truck equipped with E-rated tires.

E-rated tires are E-rated tires, so GM's door sticker will put me in the ballpark.

From what I can see in searching, typical door stickers spec 60PSI up front and 80PSI in back, but that's for SRW trucks. Can't find any dually stickers.

The tire shop pumped the new ones all up to 80PSI, which is way too much. The tires don't have any "cheek" at all on the rear, even with the camper loaded! It's going to ride like the Flintstone car, and smash everything to pieces if I don't let some air out.

[CapriRacer]

Sorry, but woodhog's and Trackrig's answers are wrong.

If you use a Load Range E tire in place of a Load Range D tire of the same size, then you inflate it just like the Load Range D.

The reason those other answers are wrong is that the tables being referred to are MAXIMUMS (or minimum, depending on how you look at it). They are NOT recommendations.

At the very least, the tire should be inflated MORE than those tables indicate. Notice that the truck manufacturer uses more inflation pressure than needed to cover the GAWR.

Is tire wear affected by over or underinflation? Yes, but not very much. Other factors have a greater affect. For example, steer tires tend to wear on the shoulders and drive tires tend to wear in the center and both of those are more prevalent than inflation pressure.

[Old-Biscuit]

Are your rims rated for 80# ?

[Lantley]

I have E rated Michelin's with 80 PSI in them.
I agree use tire manufacturer info vs. door sticker

[Trackrig]

Go with Woodhog's answer. The inflation specs on the tire are a lot more relevant than what the truck mfg has. I say that, because you could put some light weight tire on the truck like a C rated tire might not even hold 65 psi so therefore what the truck specs say to air the tire to aren't appropriate. Whereas the tire mfg will give you the inflation pressure you should put in their tire. My E tires (Perrlli/summer and Cooper/winter) both require 80psi when they have a full load on them.

Bill

[woodhog]

I may have misunderstood your question, but your tires should be inflated per the tire manufacturer's inflation tables.

Proper way is to weigh the axles and then adjust the tire pressure for that load, too much is not good and too little is not good for tire wear.

Sample Inflation Table