What is the recommended tire pressure for HCH II 2006 ?
I see the owner manual that recommended tire pressures is 32 psi
< from owner manual >

But I see many members here said that the normal tire pressure is about 40-43 ??? How is that ?

 

Look on the tire itself. Most say MAX PRESSURE 44 LBS. one brand can go to 50 LBS.

Honda has a ride quality requirement that feels best at 32lbs. I did not like the ride as too mushy and it felt like the parking brake was on all the time. At 32lbs the hybrid gets crappy mileage compared to over 38lbs. At 44lbs, I felt the civic wandered on the road. At 40lbs, I got the best compromise for handling and gas mileage.

If you bought a hybrid just to say I have a hybrid, then the 32lbs will do you.

If you bought a hybrid to get better gas mileage, then you will up the air pressure in the tires and use hyper-mileing tricks to get better MPG's.

 

We keep ours a bit over 40. The max sidewall pressure on our OEM Bridgestone Insignia SE200 is 44 I think, and the Nokian WRG2's we have on in winter has max 51. It helps with mileage but:

Raise your pressures and you will be feel the bumps, ruts, speed bumps etc, a lot more. Speed bumps in particular really get to me, roll through a parking lot festooned with them and you feel like a pop-up puppet. IMHO they should be scraped off the face of the earth. They are bad for mileage, suspensions, noise levels, air quality, and so on.

 

I started off like everybody at 32. Then, I learned a bit more and took it to 42-44. a few years after I'm at over 50psi and I simply dont wanna go back. I may even go higher cause my sp31 dunlops just seem to be lasting like for ever.

ks

 

I tend to run my tires at 90% of the Maximum Tire Pressure listed on the tire's sidewall. I drive about 800 miles a week and am on my third set of tires. I ran the OEM Dunlops for about 50K and then a set of Nokian I3s for about 60K without any abnormal treadware. I have Bridgestone Ecopia 100s on the car now and they also appear to be wearing well running at that inflation.

The ride certainly is harder but I've never had trouble with handling (especially with the Nokians and now the Bridgestones) through all weather conditions.

 

Thanks guys for answers...

So it's safe to rise a pressure to 40 and I live in a country the temp may reach 100 F ?

 

I was told by a source I trust as reliable that tire temps typically only rise by about 2-3 degrees when heated up. So I run my Civic at 39psi with the Max Sidewall being 44. I give more margin for expansion than others on the forum, just because this is the first time I have gone past the manufacturer recommended psi and I am not comfortable going higher. Quite possibly I could go higher safely, but its outside my comfort level.
39-40psi seems to get the sidewalls off the ground pretty well.
However, if you are not comfortable going as high as the Max sidewall pressure or near it, you also should consider getting some Low Rolling Restistance tires that will also help a lot with gas mileage.

 

I learned after joining greenhybrid that bumping up the pressure makes the tires run cooler not hotter. I thing some hch people have tire pressure monitors that measure temperature and they checked that up. I reckon the tires only get hot when sitting under the sun.

ks

 

The problem is people fail to use their brain to see why.

Take a wheelbarrow let the air to about 2/3 of the tire rating (this would be 40lbs for a 60lb tire - this is what the car makers tell you to do with your hybrid).

Fill the wheelbarrow with rocks and push it 100 ft.

Now up the air pressure to the rated pressure ( usually 60lbs) and push the wheelbarrow with the same rocks another 100ft. - WOW - that was easier.

The Hybrid feels the same way when you push it.

Tires flex very little with higher air pressure than when with lower air pressure. That flexing is what causes the tire to get hot and pop.

For all tires the max pressure is when measured cold (defined at 70 to 77 degrees) - they can get much higher when warm or hot without any danger of failure.

Almost all tires can got much higher than the sidewall rating, but most will fail the puncture test at higher pressures. ( fill a balloon til it almost pop and touch it with a ball point pen - it might pop. fill a balloon half way and you can write on the balloon without popping it.)

95% of all tire failures were caused by tires not having enough air in them and getting too hot from flexing. 5% were manufacturing defects.

 

well said larryr.

ks