Recommended tire pressure

[Z71]

The recommended tire pressure for my 20133 Sonic sedan (stock 15" wheels and tires) is 38 psi for all four wheels. This is clearly designed for maximum fuel economy and makes for rather stiff and harsh ride, especially when driving on a poorly maintained road with a lot of potholes.

When I first bought the car, it had only 32 psi pressure in the tires but it rode much softer, especially on a rough road. Here in Florida we have mostly smooth roads, so 38 psi in the tires is not a problem and that's what I inflate my tires to. However, if I had to drive over rougher roads all the time, I would explore lowering the tire pressure just a few psi to make the ride less harsh. It cannot be good for suspension components such as struts and bushings, and sway bar links. However, I always follow the manufacturer's recommendations on tire pressure so I am not encouraging anyone to lower the pressure in their tires.

 

[The Champ]

I don't know that I'd drop the pressure that much for safety reasons.

Remember the Ford "Exploders"? The factory set the recommended tire pressure at 26 pounds, when most similar vehicles were recommending 32 pounds. Why did Ford recommend 26? It was an attempt to provide a softer ride.

Many people, mostly in hotter parts of the country, died as a result of the underinflated tires.

If the firmer ride bothers you, maybe drop the pressure 5% to soften it a little. But a 16% drop (38 to 32) is rather severe.

 

[busterbrown]

42 lbs cold on Detroit freeways...I'm a risk taker.

 

[The Champ]

42 lbs cold on Detroit freeways...I'm a risk taker.

Max pressure is 44 pounds for the OE tires - you're safe...

Under inflated tires are a very serious issue.

 

[Z71]

I don't know that I'd drop the pressure that much for safety reasons.

Remember the Ford "Exploders"? The factory set the recommended tire pressure at 26 pounds, when most similar vehicles were recommending 32 pounds. Why did Ford recommend 26? It was an attempt to provide a softer ride.

Many people, mostly in hotter parts of the country, died as a result of the underinflated tires.

If the firmer ride bothers you, maybe drop the pressure 5% to soften it a little. But a 16% drop (38 to 32) is rather severe.

In case of Ford Explorers, there were several factors that contributed to these accidents;

1. Severely underinflated tires, way below the recommended 26 lbs. This was before the TPMS was mandated by the Federal Government so many were not warned.

2. Inherent vehicle design which makes it very prone to rollovers in case of a blowout.

3. Overloading of vehicles, especially placing heavy luggage on the roof, further shifting the CG and making the situation even worse.

4. Poor SUV roof safety standards, which were based on 1976 standards and which are a lot worse than roof safety standards for passenger vehicles.

5. And finally the biggest problem and the largest contributor to these accidents - chronic speeding and aggressive driving, which is completely incompatible with the vehicle purpose and design, but which is encouraged by a false impression of safety because the driver sits higher than in a passenger car.

And following the tire blowout fiasco, Ford quickly redesigned the Explorer and replaced the solid rear axle with independent rear suspension and I believe they widened the track of the vehicle to make it more stable.

 

[laborsmith]

The sticker on my drivers side door jamb specifies 35lbs front and rear. Per my memory my Sonic LT was the same.

Laborsmith

 

[Z71]

The sticker on my drivers side door jamb specifies 35lbs front and rear. Per my memory my Sonic LT was the same.

Laborsmith

Do you have 15" wheels? Optional larger tires may have a different pressure specification.

 

[Papasonic]

The 17" wheel/tire combination on the Sonic has a recommended pressure of 35 psi.
(LTZ trim level)

 

[Brad Ferrell]

I run 37 psi on my 17's.

 

[laborsmith]

The LT came with 15" wheels which lasted 101 miles.

The RS 17" wheels lasted 4, the miles on the odometer when I took possession.


Laborsmith

 

[Papasonic]

The LT came with 15" wheels which lasted 101 miles.

The RS 17" wheels lasted 4, the miles on the odometer when I took possession.


Laborsmith

That's the worst service life for wheels/tires that I've ever heard of!

 

[laborsmith]

That's the worst service life for wheels/tires that I've ever heard of!

Says more about me than the wheels/tires.

But on both vehicles the 35 on the door jamb sticker remained unchanged. :blankface:


Laborsmith

 

[$ub$onic]

I ran 40 on the stock tires, 38 on the good years and I run 35 on my track tires.

 

[River_Rat]

For the record, my 2012 LT with 15 " wheels says 38psi on the jamb.

 

[The Champ]

In case of Ford Explorers, there were several factors that contributed to these accidents;

1. Severely underinflated tires, way below the recommended 26 lbs. This was before the TPMS was mandated by the Federal Government so many were not warned.

2. Inherent vehicle design which makes it very prone to rollovers in case of a blowout.

3. Overloading of vehicles, especially placing heavy luggage on the roof, further shifting the CG and making the situation even worse.

4. Poor SUV roof safety standards, which were based on 1976 standards and which are a lot worse than roof safety standards for passenger vehicles.

5. And finally the biggest problem and the largest contributor to these accidents - chronic speeding and aggressive driving, which is completely incompatible with the vehicle purpose and design, but which is encouraged by a false impression of safety because the driver sits higher than in a passenger car.

And following the tire blowout fiasco, Ford quickly redesigned the Explorer and replaced the solid rear axle with independent rear suspension and I believe they widened the track of the vehicle to make it more stable.

I fully agree that there were several issues involved.

First of all was the fact that Ford put the same suspension and tires on the Explorer that they had used on the smaller and lighter Ford Bronco (600 pounds lighter).

Ford own internal documents showed the company engineers recommended changes to the vehicle design after it rolled over in company tests prior to introduction. With only a few minor changes, the suspension and track width were not changed.

Instead, Ford lowered the recommended pressure to 26 psi.

As to Ford acting "quickly" to redesign the Explorer, well the Explorer came out in 1990, and had it's first redesign in 1995. It wasn't until 2002 that the 3rd redesign happened - so it appears that a redesign was way overdue.

The handling issues made the tire blowouts much more difficult for an average driver to handle properly.

So the combination of Ford's design flaws, improper tire inflation recommendations in an attempt to mask a poor ride and driver inability to deal with the first to is what led to the problems.