My tire psi for my EV is set for 36 psi but most dealerships and people keep them at 40 psi. Would this have anything to do with gas mileage and efficiency?
I would think that inflating your tires more would be more efficient but also cause more wear because there’s greater forces on the rubber. But too little inflation would cause them to hit every rock and bang it up more.
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It does, under inflated tires introduce higher rolling resistance leading to the higher gas consumption. If I remember correctly, the ratio is for every 1-psi drop in pressure, and you can expect your gas mileage to lower by 0.4 per cent.
Over inflating them will make more bounce, impact drivability, and increase tyre wear.
It does, under inflated tires introduce higher rolling resistance leading to the higher gas consumption. If I remember correctly, the ratio is for every 1-psi drop in pressure, and you can expect your gas mileage to lower by 0.4 per cent.
Over inflating them will make more bounce, impact drivability, and increase tyre wear.
Your design tire pressure is determined both by the tire, and by the weight of the vehicle. Assuming proper steering alignment, an overinflated tire will tend to wear down the centerline, while an underinflated tire will wear towards the edges. Proper inflation ensures maximum contact area between the tire and the road, and the greatest possible longevity of the tire. Recommended tire pressure for your vehicle will be indicated on a sticker located in the door jamb on the driver’s side. This pressure is the cold pressure – i.e. the pressure in the tire before you start driving on it and the tire heats up.
Your design tire pressure is determined both by the tire, and by the weight of the vehicle. Assuming proper steering alignment, an overinflated tire will tend to wear down the centerline, while an underinflated tire will wear towards the edges. Proper inflation ensures maximum contact area between the tire and the road, and the greatest possible longevity of the tire. Recommended tire pressure for your vehicle will be indicated on a sticker located in the door jamb on the driver’s side. This pressure is the cold pressure – i.e. the pressure in the tire before you start driving on it and the tire heats up.
If your tire is softer, it deforms more. If it deforms more, then it suffers more wear and gets warmer. Both of those are efficiency losses. You do get more traction in certain situations though.
A train is this trade-off cranked to the max: they use almost completely non-deforming steel wheels so their rolling efficiency is at maximum. They have relatively bad grip though, so trains can’t go up an incline you would not even notice in a car.
If your tire is softer, it deforms more. If it deforms more, then it suffers more wear and gets warmer. Both of those are efficiency losses. You do get more traction in certain situations though.
A train is this trade-off cranked to the max: they use almost completely non-deforming steel wheels so their rolling efficiency is at maximum. They have relatively bad grip though, so trains can’t go up an incline you would not even notice in a car.
Slightly deflated is more contact on the ground, very useful and recommended for when you need more control like driving on sand. Also slightly more comfortable ride with stuff like bumps in the road.
Over inflated makes less contact with the ground, so basically less control, less impact absorption, but you lose less energy in contacting the road.
If you had to min-max, slightly under inflated for low speed driving, slightly over inflated for highway driving. If you stick to one of the other watch out for drastic temperature changes in weather, that could change your pressure by a decent margin and leave you higher or lower than you want.
Slightly deflated is more contact on the ground, very useful and recommended for when you need more control like driving on sand. Also slightly more comfortable ride with stuff like bumps in the road.
Over inflated makes less contact with the ground, so basically less control, less impact absorption, but you lose less energy in contacting the road.
If you had to min-max, slightly under inflated for low speed driving, slightly over inflated for highway driving. If you stick to one of the other watch out for drastic temperature changes in weather, that could change your pressure by a decent margin and leave you higher or lower than you want.
If you live in a colder climate and have someone else fill them up, they probably put them to 40 to give you some buffer room. For every 10 or so degrees the air temp drops, you’ll naturally lose a pound of pressure.
Minnesotan here. I always slightly over inflate mine in the winter so I’m not messing around with them every day.
If you live in a colder climate and have someone else fill them up, they probably put them to 40 to give you some buffer room. For every 10 or so degrees the air temp drops, you’ll naturally lose a pound of pressure.
Minnesotan here. I always slightly over inflate mine in the winter so I’m not messing around with them every day.
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