Topic: Proper Tire Pressures

[DeepBlueGXP]

Door placards are there for a reason. GM has designed the car with comfort and handling in mind and 29 PSI is the optimal tire pressure for the Solstice.

If you are to drag race, then I recommend you lower the rear tire pressures to 19-20 PSI to prevent wheel hop.  Don't for get to air them back up before you leave the track.

[Sly Bob]

I find the car is all over the road when my air pressure is low.

[Morfious]

You also get quite a stiff ride if you jack the psi up to 35 or 40.

[DeepBlueGXP]

You also get quite a stiff ride if you jack the psi up to 35 or 40.

You have that right.  When I ordered my replacement rims and tires from TireRack, they came mounted with 35PSI and I didn't check the pressure.  An hour down the road and I thought, crap, need to check the pressures.  Lowered it to 29 and ahhh  much better.

[lil goat]

Different tires can require different pressures. 29 is a very good all around pressure, Grassroots magazine (NASA magazine) did some extensive testing on pressures, as you go up the handling will get more precise but ride quality will suffer as will tire wear, going below 29 is almost never a good idea except for drag racing, and then only the back like Joe says. You can adjust oversteer and understeer on the car by changing the balance front to rear, increasing front tire pressure tends to reduce understeer, increasing rear pressure will reduce grip and allow the rear to break loose sooner. I run my factory tires at 29, but my Bridgestones at 31, there are reasons to run it a different pressures. I believe the Auto X guys run them up to 35 and 40 for racing.
I watched Rhys Millen set the car up before the race at Road Atlanta, he spent half a day getting the tire pressures dialed in. I remember thinking it was very odd he ended up with 25 up front and 35 in the back, but he runs 225 tires up front and 265's in the back. He adjusts the pressure for every track.

[KWhale]

I agree with lil goat about the 29 being a good guideline.  In my case, the car on factory tires is just fine at 29 psi but I played with mine a bit.  Since we live in the middle of nowhere, that means most of our driving is on the highway to get anywhere, I decided to play around with the pressures to see if I could get my mileage up a bit, without sacrificing ride, handling or tires.  I went as high as 33 during my testing, which not only made the ride a little more harsh, but the handling became very twitchy.  I ended up running 31psi COLD tire temps all around. No noticeable ride difference, and my mileage went up almost 1 mpg.

To tell the truth though, if I lived in the city and mostly drove in the city, 29 would probably be the best pressures to run.  So there you go, my 2 cents worth with the unscientific results of playing with the tire pressures

[1LILNDN]

better late then never .I have  nitrogen in my 18"wheels on my PT. 2yrs now nevers goes up or down. and they did it at a chrysler pt show in manasses Va  Free just to promote 36 lbs front and rear.

[Cheers]

Don't want to start the "nitrogen" discussion,   but if you want it for free go to COSTCO -- they will install and check/refill anytime -- for members    

[KWhale]

I don't want to get sucked into another Nitrogen thread either, but the 36lbs caught my eye!  Are you saying you're running at 36 lbs on stock tires for 2 years???  If so, you might want to check the tread wear in the center of each tire.  That is way too high, and hopefully I'm just misreading what you meant to say.

better late then never .I have  nitrogen in my 18"wheels on my PT. 2yrs now nevers goes up or down. and they did it at a chrysler pt show in manasses Va  Free just to promote 36 lbs front and rear.

[Sol Asylum]

I don't want to get sucked into another Nitrogen thread either, but the lbs caught my eye!  Are you saying you're running at 36 lbs on stock tires for 2 years???  If so, you might want to check the tread wear in the center of each tire.  That is way too high, and hopefully I'm just misreading what you meant to say.

I think he means he is running 36 lbs on his PT snoozer which depending on what Chrysler has determined to be the proper pressure may be fine.

[KWhale]

Whew lol

[spicy3480]

I run 31psi in my Sumitomo tires during the cold temperatures.  I have seen my MPG go up slightly and the ride quality really isn't affected.  In the summer, I usually run the factory recommended 29psi.

[miller11386]

I ran 32lbs in my tires last year in the sky on a DD basis. good mpg and no big issues. If I went to the track, I dropped the pressure to ab 23, but I must say my clutch wouldnt hold and the turbo would bog, so I didnt really have any wheel hop issues.

I run 50psi in my truck tires tho

[Sol Asylum]

Thats strange. My car recommends 32 PSI on my stock tires. Says so on the sticker on the drivers side of the door.

Different model years could have different pressures, I know my 07 is 29 on the door tag.

[Critterman]

Mine is 29 as well, but my replacement tires have stiffer sidewalls so using the formula I found on line (it can be found on this site) I now run 26 for daily driving and 29 for autox. 

[numbbers]

Well guys, the only issue with running 35 psi or so, is the centers treads will wear more than the outers.  Your gas milage will increase slightly, but your cornering traction will decrease.  Good rule of thumb=  70 series or higher 32 psi, 60 series 31, 50 series 30, 40 series 29, 30 series 28.  Below 28, for a non run-flat, you are risking rounding off the outside edges.

[1LILNDN]

My PT  with Hankook tires runs 36 LB recommended says 38-42  the Solstice has Cooper Zoins and I have 32 in them.  ride is semi - smooth.

[miller11386]

my dick cepek mud countries recommend 60psi FANTASTIC tires

Just go by the TIRE manufacturer recommendation.

[DeepBlueGXP]

My 07 and 09 Solstices have 29 on their label, BSS, make sure you're looking at the right vehicle, your Solstice....

[Gentleman Jack]

Tire manufactures don't recommend tire pressures generally.  They do tell you the max PSI that a particular tire is rated for, but that isn't a reccomendation.

[1LILNDN]

 I'm still looking into getting ( nitrogen )put in my Tires it doesn't expand or contract w/tempiture changes. Had it in my PT a little more than " Two Years "

[DeepBlueGXP]

I've had regular air in my Solstice for 5 years with no problems too.

[Gentleman Jack]

I've had regular air in my Solstice for 5 years with no problems too.

I have some Hawaiian air in my solstice.  I made sure I filled up during a storm that came from Hawaii so my care word always be in a good mood.

[elff]

I run 6psi in my 37" tires on my jeep.
The traction is amazing and I can literally crawl up rocks


I normally run 29-32 on the sky depending on the situation

[cbr6]

 I use xeon gas in my tires, makes them BRIGHT!!!!   lol