Nuts to this! Higher tire pressure isn't producing favourable results for me. On the negative, the harsher ride is provoking squeak and rattle. I plan on keeping this car for its lifetime and I don't want to cause additional mechanical wear from the shake. Anyone who wants to preserve their A/C refrigerant charge (R-134a) would do well to think twice about making a harsher ride from inordinate tire pressure; It is a gas that leaks easier.

 

Huh? I lost you there.

 

Hoses, pipes, clamps.. Anything that can shift or wiggle, especially around joints, is an opportunity for the most miniscule hole to develop for the R-134a gas to escape. It can be invisible to the naked eye and sometimes only a sniffer device can find the leak.

I have gone from a smart car -- a vehicle notorious for shaking out its A/C charge year after year -- to a more reliable Honda Civic. Just be warned.

 

A/C? What is this you speak of?

All joking aside, being in Toronto might be why you're not seeing much of an improvement. If you have to deal with nothing but stop-and-go, then whatever efficiency you gain from the reduced rolling resistance is probably lost in all the braking and accelerating anyways. For my drive (and a lot of other peoples') it's a huge net plus. But just like everything else in life, it's the circumstances we're given that make the difference in the outcome.