Hi Jason;

I have the OEM Dunlops on both my HCH-II cars.
On my 06 HCH, I have my tire pressures set at 48 PSI in the front and 46 in the rear tires. I also have a direct TPMS installed to monitor the temps for each tire just to be sure.
On my wife's 07 HCH, I have the tires set at 42F and 40R.
Inflating the tires for better FE is a perenial technique that shows very measurable results for most folks. I know some folks who are running their Dunlop tires (max rating at 44psi) in the 50's and can claim much improved FE over me.

I don't do much highway travelling, but when I do, the obverved tire temps are pretty low for each tire never above 40C (even with the sun hitting on them). I would surmize that the higher inflation promotes less friction and hence less heat generation. I never go above the speed limit which is mostly 100km/h.

Cheers;

MSantos

 

Um, that's backwards. Because hot air isn't as dense, it requires less fuel charge to ignite it, so the engine runs leaner in warmer air and FE *improves* with temperature, as virtually all of us observe with these cars. (I don't think I've ever had a car where it improved *so much* -- in my car it looks like about a mpg for every 10 degrees of temp.)

But, in the department of never-something-for-nothing: power *per unit* of fuel/air is stable, so when there's denser air and more fuel charge, the engine makes more power, which is why racers like running in cool air. And you know how much *they* care about FE. Because most of us don't drive our cars around at max power all the time, we tend not to notice or miss the slight decrease.

cheers --
doug

 

So which is it? Do we follow the recommendation on the side of the different brands of tires, or the recomendation by Honda?

I also have a chevy malibu, and the Dealership says tire pressure should be no more than GET THIS.... 28 PSI. That is not a typo. twenty -eight.

I keep my tires inflated to 35 PSI year round, And like in a previous post... I caught them "deflating" my brand new tires down to 28 from 35!

under inflated tires cause excessive wear. I suppose this is so they can sell me another new set of tires allot sooner.

xcaliber
Green Bay, WI

 

there are no recommendation on the side of the tires.... they only list out ranges and max psi.

you should always follow OEM and never exceed MAX psi on side of tire.

I run anywhere from +5 to +10psi. I have also run at MAX psi just to see what would happen. MPG did not go up, nor did it drop, it pretty much stayed the same to OEM psi readings. But, handling in the dry and especially in the wet was improved. I did not hydroplane as much at MAX psi.