Yes, I've seen that site. It's an outfit that sells nitrogen filling devices, so not one I would trust much for an objective assessment. From what I've read elsewhere the main advantage of nitrogen is that the larger molecules permeate less through the tire wall, resulting in less pressure loss over time. Since most people don't check and correct their pressure often enough, nitrogen protects them from driving with under inflated tires. Basically it's an expensive way of keeping your tire pressure at the right level.
Moisture inside the tire can have large effect if there is enough of it to reach condensation. Then, as the tire heats up, the condensed water evaporates increasing tire pressure more than otherwise. This could be addressed by filling the tire with dry ordinary air. Nitrogen has no advantage.
Re: how high should we go? tire pressure that is...
Hi Tigerhonaker:
___At 60 #’s, you will not wear out the center of the tread but you will have a tread/tire life as much as 25 to 100% longer lasting! Most take their tires to what NASAngineer is running right now at or around 42/40 F/R. It is a good balance for ride, comfort, and handling. It is also and one I will wholeheartedly support vs. 35 #’s or less as stated on the door sticker. We just do not have all that much the fuel to waste anymore Oil shale and Tar sands as well as the emissions to mine and process that stuff not-with-standing …
Re: how high should we go? tire pressure that is...
I've got all four Dunlops in my 05 HCH filled to about 50 or so. I seriously doubt that exceeding the max sidewall rating by 6 psi is venturing into the danger zone. I bet there is a sizeable margin of safety included in that rating to cover Dunlop's butt. If a tire blows and I die a fiery death, I'll be sure to post those results on GreenHybrid ASAP so everyone can be sure to deflate their tires a wee bit.
Re: how high should we go? tire pressure that is...
Quote:
Originally Posted by hawkGT647
I believe you probably did receive some fuel economy benefit from the increased tire pressure. Some small amount.
The test you performed was done in rainy weather, which normally reduces fuel economy. Any gain from the higher pressure was nullified by the increased rolling resistance of the wet roads.
So maybe your gas mileage would have been worse. Hard to know for sure. There are so many variables that affect fuel mileage, it's hard to measure a small difference.
My tires are inflated to the cold sidewall max rating, and the handling has improved. It is a stiff ride, but not uncomfortable. The anti-lock brakes work fine.
The car has been set up this way since the second tank of gas.
Regards,
It's funny that when I try to explain one thing, somebody assumes another. My test were to show that handling in the rain did not suffer due to increase in PSI. The rain came in and I thought, hey I might as well test this because it didn't rain for a long time before that. During the non-rain period, I had 51psi (I currently have around 48psi on all 4s... for handling not FE) on all 4. The increase in FE was not there. Everything else being equal.