I just picked up my 2008 HCH yesterday. I had to run some errands yesterday and today and my family accused me of just wanting to drive my new car.

This will be a commuter car (replacing a 2004 F150, which I still have for pulling our travel trailer).

I have one question for the experienced owners:

I haven't adjusted the air pressure from what my dealer set. I'm worried that if I add air pressure, I will have lower tire life even though I will get better mileage. Anyone have any experience with tire life at different air pressures?

Thanks.

welcome to the club...i pumped my tires up about a year ago, and only put 10K miles on them. I haven't noticed much change in the tread, so I don't think you have much to worry about in that aspect. I have noticed that I "squeal" around corners a little easier though! Especially at the McD's drive thru haha!

You weren't just wanting to drive the new car..you were testing it to make sure everything was working properly ;-)

GOOD drivers need not worry about wearing out the tires too quickly.
I have been running 42# front and 40# rear with 5000 mile rotations. I am now at 16,800mi and the tires still look good.

Congrats RobP on your new car! I take delivery on mine tomorrow!
Good luck with your new ride!

HBJ

Generally keeping your tires inflated to a higher pressure will extend their tread life. Harder tires do not tend to scrub off the tread on the shoulder as quickly as a softer tire will. They also run cooler so the rubber isn't as soft. In the past, it was claimed that an overinflated tire would wear out the center of the tread but this rarely happens with the steel belted radial tires virtually every car uses today.

I drive a twin to your new car. You will enjoy seeing how your mileage improves with some practice and the excellent information found on this site.

Your tires have a maximum sidewall pressure of 44#, however you may prefer to try a little less until you get accustomed to your new car. I've been increasing mine gradually and now run 38#.

Cheers,

Roger

Thanks for the information. I will be slowly increasing my tire pressure and see the response in handling and FE.

10,000 miles ago I started increasing mine about 5lbs per fill-up. I was able to see noticeable increases in FE and no additional wear on my tires. Matter of fact they look great. I went as high as 65psi and didn't like the ride change from 60-65psi and the mpg increase was minimal. Might say I hit the point of diminishing returns. I have since dropped back to 60psi and am very happy with the results. Now I would never recommend anyone ever go above the sidewall max psi, this is just what I have done and is not a recommendation. Do what you want but I know many that run at sidewall max and above with no problems.

~H~
Don't Click Here!

HI Robp,

welcome to the club! I'm also a new owner of a HCHII (since Dec). Following previous threads, I experimented, with some trepidation-- first raised my OEM tires to 38 psi, then to 40, now to 42. As others have discussed, it definitely improved my milage, and to my surprise, it actually improved my handling-- (even in turns on wet roads). Haven't owned them long enough to attest to tire life, but if you search threads here and at CleanMPG, there are some very good expert discussions of the advantages of doing so.

I second the foregoing comments-- try experimenting gradually, but i bet you'll be pleasantly surprised.

pcope

I raised the pressure to 37psig (from the 32 set at the dealer) yesterday. Driving today I did notice a little better handling especially on cornering.... so I'll leave them at 37 for a while and and raise once I get a feel.

I have noticed a couple of other things that I was wondering about:

With the AC on (I'm using auto AC as suggested on this forum) and when I'm braking I hear a buzz (like a bee)... Was wondering if it was the electric compressor kicking in?

I was driving today and the battery bars were full and when I braked I did not get any regenerative braking but the mechanical brakes kicked in. Is that because the battery pack was fully charged? When I used assist when accelerating after a stop, the next time I braked and I did get some charge.

THANKS.

Yes and Yes