And a lot of 4-letter words were also spoken
And the guy probably broke out in a cold sweat, so to speak
Wow, Iâm a tad surprised by the responses.
Apart from the ride being a bit rougher in some conditions, I honestly didnât consider that this would be dangerous in anyway.
45 psi is the maximum stated on the tire.
Yeah, these tires have been beat up quite well. Theyâre General Altimax HPâs.
Still quite surprised that this is considered dangerous, the door label recommends 30psi but thatâs a recommendation only.
Right?
@mareakin
I think that you are missing the point.
You stated that these tires, overall, are in poor condition, and that one or two of them are defective.
Inflating them to a higher pressure may be masking some of the problems, but this has NOT made the tires safe.
Are you unable to understand that these tires still present a hazard to you and to everyone with whom you share the road?
Understood. 
Iâll have them replaced ASAP.
"Personally, I wouldnât follow Hunter Thomsonâs tire pressure recommendation. "
Or lifestyle choices. Or end-of-life choiceâŚ
OP please read the last section of this article authored by an expert in the field:
Iâll have them replaced ASAP.
Excellent. And get the car aligned as soon as you get the new tires, otherwise the bad alignment will make the new tires wear faster than they should and cost you money.
â45 psi is the maximum stated on the tire.â
Thatâs the absolute maximum for the tire, not for the application. The 30psi on the doorjam is the proper pressure for the application. Exceeding that compromises traction, handling, ride, and at 45psi eliminates the margin designed into the tire to absorb large bumps and impacts.
Please, I urge you, also get your front end checked and aligned. This too could be an unsafe condition.
And now, an apology. I thought you were one of the many posters we get who would disappear after getting responses he/she didnât like. You have my sincerest apology for underestimating you. Good to hear back.
Iâve attached a link to a good site that explains all about tires and other car things in laymanâs terms. I hope you visit it. You clearly have the openness to learn, and I think youâll enjoy it.
http://www.carbibles.com/
If the door label says 30 PSI and youâre using 45 PSI, then very likely youâve reduced your traction by a fair amount, so thatâs one safety issue there. Also, youâre going to beat up your suspension components more quickly, so that might cost you money down the road, not to mention that your passengers are probably not enjoying the harsh ride in the meantime. You really want to stick pretty close to the recommended value for the best overall results.
The maximum pressure stated on the sidewall is really for tire mounting techs. This is the maximum allowable pressure to get the tire to âseatâ on the rim. If it doesnât seat by this pressure, then something has gone wrong and the tire must be dismounted and the tire and wheel inspected.
Seating a tire with pressures above the limit could result in a dangerous situation for the tire installer.
keith
The maximum pressure stated on the sidewall is really for tire mounting techs. This is the maximum allowable pressure to get the tire to âseatâ on the rim.
Iâm no tire pro, but I know Iâve seen that pressure far exceeded during that procedure many times. Doubled probably.
There are two pressure values that can appear on tires. I believe the OP is referring to the maximum load rating; Maximum load 1346 Lbs @ 44 psi.
The other is maximum pressure when seating beads, example; 40 psi (depends on the tire/manufacture). The maximum pressure when seating beads can be lower than the maximum cold tire pressure. The tires on the OPâs car will seat @ 15-20 psi, not a problem, the 35 and 40 series tire are more difficult to seat. Tire machines have pressure regulators set to not allow high pressures that can be dangerous.
The tire may be used on some other vehicle, like a farm wagon or trailer. the maximum pressure is the load bearing capacity the tire is rated for. The pressure on the door post is the best for the specific car the tire is mounted on in terms of ride comfort, fuel economy and tire lifeâŚ
The 45 psi rating is absolute maximum running pressure, but that is well beyond the pressure that a carâs tires should be operated at. It cannot absorb hits as well as a properly inflated tire and doesnât lay the tread down properly for proper traction. As doc said, there may be applications that the tire is also used for that use higher pressures than the average family sedan.
Beads can be tough. For 35 and 40 series tires a belt is often placed around the center of the tread to keep it from expanding outwards while the pressure is raised to seat the bead, forcing the beads to move outwards and seat. Pressures used are often well above 45 psi. An unloaded tire not being subjected to the mother-in-law in the trunk and the potholes in the road will tolerate well in excess of 45 psi.
I wonder how many PSI have been reached while using the explosion method of seating a tire on a rim?
@the same mountainbike"An unloaded tire not being subjected to the mother-in-law in the trunk. . .- explains why the journalist and his attorney in Hunter Thomsonâs novel âFear and Loathing in Las Vegasâ were able to boost the tire pressure to 85 psi. I wonât.take Hunter Thomsonâs recommendation on tire pressure. Iâll admit to being chicken, but I,am afraid to follow his,advice that when a cop signals you to pull over, floor the accelerator and show him your driving skill. ,Make him work to catch you. You will earn his respect. If you just pull over immediately, he will have nothing but disdain for you being a wimp.
LOL, if part of my day involved escaping from the cops Iâd inflate to the optimum pressure⌠but drive a more appropriate vehicle! Truth is, in most of the country now itâs pretty much impossible to escape the cops these days. You canât outrun a radio or a chopper.
Smokey Yunick (in his autobiography) on cops with radios:
âIn the beginning we raced 40 or more times a year. We had one car with one engine (in the car). We towed with a passenger car and carried all our wheels, tires, spare parts, and tools in the tow car and the race car. Usually I had a free helper as a passenger. I think those free race fan helpers were goofier than us. Course they could quit going anytime and not be out a dime. Sometimes the driver went with us and towed all night then raced next day. Ever hear of a âyellow bar?â Well, that was the best we had ⌠a tow bar from tow car bumper to race car bumper. They cost âbout 75 bucks. (15 dollars extra for steering and brake cables) Only way you could tow and relax, was at 80 mph. Any speed under that, and youâd steer your a** off trying to hold it on your half of those skinny two lane roads that we used 30 percent of the trip. Your back would get wringing wet going from âalmostâ to âalmost.âWell, this also made another problem. Before police radios, we just kept going. By the time cops got going, weâd out-run âem. But soon came science, and them upstanding upholders of the law (as a rule some dumb st with a power complex, especially in the little hick towns in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee) got radios! Hot damn yâall! Then here come those hi-speed police cruisers with V8s and hi-speed âtars.â Man it was over. They invented road blocks and we became their worst enemy (smart-aed racers). Sirens, flashing red lights, spot lite in the roof to check âem out. A speeding violation took a minimum of two hours. Had to go to see the judge. (As a rule some ignorant son-of-a-bitch who hated racers.)â
Just an FYI:
The pressure specified on the vehicle tire placard - the sticker on the door - is a specification. Itâs a lot like the torque spec or the oil viscosity spec. It is not a recommendation.
If you asked a tire manufacturer what they recommend, they will always point to the vehicle tire placard.
Yes, there are 2 pressures on the sidewall - as has been previously stated:
a) a pressure with some of relationship to the maximum load.: This is stated as either 1) Max Load XXXX at YY Pressure - or 2) Max Load XXXX, Max pressure YY. #1 is obviously a relationship, with no max pressure stated and #2 clearly states a max, with no relationship implied.
b) the maximum pressure to seat the beads. This is usually in small print near the bead and even though it states something along the lines of âDo not exceed 40 psi when seating beads âŚâ and for some reason, many folks think this applies to normal usage. It does NOT!
More to ok4450âs point about under inflated donut spares. The pressures frequently donât get checked because of access. And even when access should be relatively simple (like, say, under the removable cargo floor in my Jeep), the manufacturers package them in a boneheaded way. To simply check my spare tire pressure I have to pull everything out of the back, pull the floor, completely unscrew the jack and flip the tire over to get at the valve stem. The only way to put it all back together so that everything fits is the same way - valve stem down. Seems dumb to me.