Tire pressures
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Junior User
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 54
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Tire pressures
I have a 2001 F-250 4X4 Lariat Crew Cab. Tires are Michelin MTX LT285 75R16, load range D, on the stock aluminum wheels. Truck is my hunting, fishing, and horse trailer towing vehicle. The sticker on the truck specifies tire pressures as 55 psi front, 70 psi rear. Max rated pressure for my tires is 65 psi, so I have been running them 55 front, 65 rear. Horse show season is over 'til spring, so the truck will be mostly used to drive to the hunting camp and light off-roading until then. I assume that the pressures specified are for the vehicle at max loading. I wouldn't mind a little softer ride on the interstate, and lower pressure is better for off-road, so can I just back off around 10 psi on each end? Thanks
Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,059
Likes: 426
From: Too close to Houston
There are lots of ways to determine the correct pressure. You can weigh the truck on a CAT scale and use an inflation table to determine the correct pressure. You can also draw a chalk line across the tire and drive a few tire revolutions and adjust until the chalk wears evenly. My favorite is to inflate the tires to sidewall maximum and put a strip of wide masking tape across the tread. I'll look at the tape after 10-15 miles and see how it's wearing. I'll reduce the pressure 5# at a time until the wear pattern is just slightly biased to the middle. I figure this shows real wear from cornering, speed, and everything else you see in your daily commute. If they wear on the sides at maximum inflation (they won't) you really need to go up a load range.
Last edited by Sport45; Dec 14, 2006 at 02:06 PM.
Post Fiend
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 10,007
Likes: 4
From: Central Florida
I like about 10% less than max. It rides comfortable, but I have never warn out a set of tires so I don't know how it effects wear. Really for the comfort factory I'd rather replace tires every 5-8 years than try to squeeze out every mile they are capable of.
