PSI for winter

[NYSUPstater]

Couple trucks back, a tech at tire shop said I could lower the PSI in tires during the winter and still be okay....even when towing my snowmobile trailer. Went from 80 to like 60-65. Now w/ the dually (75 front/65 rear), I plan on tossing in about 500# of tube sand (like that will really be noticed w/ it LOL) and still yank the sled trailer at times. Can one lower the PSI for winter use on duallies and still be ok? If so, how low?

 

[Gaffer]

Look up your tire on the manufacturer's. Website. Search for inflation charts and find your tire. You will then know the exact answer to your question rather than someone's wild *** guess.

 

[sengli]

Mine just because of winter temps dropped like 10 psi all the way round. Same say the lower psi, makes it ride better too.

 

[JohnDar]

Couple trucks back, a tech at tire shop said I could lower the PSI in tires during the winter and still be okay....even when towing my snowmobile trailer. Went from 80 to like 60-65. Now w/ the dually (75 front/65 rear), I plan on tossing in about 500# of tube sand (like that will really be noticed w/ it LOL) and still yank the sled trailer at times. Can one lower the PSI for winter use on duallies and still be ok? If so, how low?

For a while, I was carrying 400 lbs. of bagged sand during the winter, just in case we got a big snow. At that time, I was still on call for the FD and might have to get out before they plowed. Even in the snow, I can't say the sand did much and without it, moving in snow with it in 4Hi was just as good. I never adjusted the tire pressure, though.

But then, I live in the city and not in a rural area. Being fully retired now, I can wait until the roads are clear before venturing out.

 

[Sniper]

According to the owners manual and truck supplement that came with our truck they say ALWAYS inflate the tires to the Ford recommended "cold" tire pressure located on the Safety Compliance Certification or Tire Label found on the B-Pillar or drivers door edge. They go on to explain "cold" pressure is checked at the temp you are operating in with the tires having been stationary for at least an hour and out of direct sunlight.

Safe travels.

 

[ksucats]

Keep the pressure up - even in cold climate running under inflated will cause excessive heat and stress on the tire(s).

 

[Gaffer]

Look up your tire on the manufacturer's. Website. Search for inflation charts and find your tire. You will then know the exact answer to your question rather than someone's wild *** guess.

Take the time to find your exact tire and check out the load chart. You will find what you are looking for. And that will be quite different from some of the posts on this thread.

 

[Lynn1130]

Look at it this way. In cold temps your tire pressure will show lower. It happens every fall here. My warnings go off on the first cold day because what was 70 is now showing as 60 to the vehicle computer. So, if you drop the pressure by 10 lbs your tire pressure will then be 50 in the mornings. Two problems here, one of which is now your may be running on the sidewalls and that really in not good for the tire, and while it may help if it snows you are running way under pressure with a load and your gas mileage is going to be crap.

Always inflate to recommended pressure.

 

[NYSUPstater]

I spoke w/ Michelin and they said they recommend only a 5 PSI drop from Mfr door label. So Ford says 65, 60 is least amount of air. Right now according to the dash message center, the tires have 58-60 PSI between the 4 of them. This will be a work in progress, but probly at some point in time just simply single things out.

 

[mlpeloquin]

If you look at the manufactures pressure weight tables and your trucks payload rating, you will find that the air pressure for the tires are set by the manufacture for the maximum payload. That being said, with dually tires you must maintain the proper distance between them. So I always have stuck with the recommended pressure.

 

[RickL]

First of all tire pressure changes 1lb psi for every 10 degrees temp change. Second of all the nonsense of dropping psi for the season is just that. The recommendation of using the load inflation chart is an industry standard in setting pressures. One must know their weights to find the ideal pressure.

Keep in mind as you talk to tire sales people many of them have very little training. Training from tire manufacturers is almost non existent. And what training they do via computer based programs has little if any value. Even the tire reps who work for the tire companies are sketchy at best.

There are very few of us remaining anymore that were trained in classroom settings and then trained in the field. For an old tire guy it’s sad to see what the industry has become. The manufacturers have decided its about shelf space not salesmanship so they don’t feel the need to train.