Me again! My BMW E46 2002 330Ci has always been funky with tire pressure I posted a while back about why it has two different tire pressures listed for the car, one for max weight, and one for 2 people. The consensus was it was because of the Autobahn. Now I found another peculiarity. The manual says to inflate the tires to different pressures than the door jam! And it’s not just 1 psi difference. It’s 29 front 33 back vs 32 front 36 back for two people in the car. My front tires are 225/45ZR17 & backs are 245/40R17. So the triangle and circle on the door jam. I have included pictures. What source do I trust? Also my dad’s 2006 E46 330Ci has the same discrepancy. Thanks!
Your 33/39 calculations would probably be fine for use except when at max vehicle capacity.just my opinion, not an expert.
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Door sticker.
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The door sticker supersedes anything in print.
Tester
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Eek and I’ve been doing 29 33 since I got the car years ago. Good that I haven’t blown a tire and died in a horrible accident.
LOL. It’s a) not THAT different and b) not something that would lead to a blow out. For that you’d need to seriously over-inflate past the TIRE’s max (not the car’s). Or get so far below either spec that you were seriously underinflated.
@cigroller OK good to hear. Hydroplane maybe?
Owner’s manuals sometimes offer more tire pressure options and details.
A variance of 3 psi is not a big deal, I find that most vehicles in the shop for maintenance are 5 to 10 psi under inflated.
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@Nevada_545 What’s your opinion? Follow the manual or the door jam? Getting some conflicting info here. I’m a computer guy and sometimes you ask 10 computer guys the same question and you get 10 different answers… plant guys too. We humans are funky monkeys 
My Jewish mother-in-law was always fond of saying that if you ask 10 Jews a question you get 12 different answers. I’m in academics - it’s the same in the academy.
No need to overthink it. Shoot for the middle between whatever the extremes of different spec listings are. Adjust to taste according to how the car handles and rides. Just don’t ever exceed the tire’s cold max pressure (listed on the sidewall). And don’t go below whatever the lowest that is given. (I guess that’s 29 according to the manual - I would have said no lower than 30). If you don’t exceed the tire’s max and don’t go under the high 20s, then you’re just talking handling and fuel economy. Not danger.
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I prefer the higher pressure, I don’t need the soft ride. The lower minimum pressure for two occupants is intended for a soft ride.
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Can you please post a photo of the placard just visible to the left of that tire & load sticker?
Thanks!
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Figure the Germans to over-complicate things. Increasing the chance for a mistake.
If I were a US Federal government employee, I’d look at the door placard as the official value and the manual as advisory.
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I am surprised most of all to hear such a statement from you.
Afterall, you provided motive for my screen name!
It may be the presentation of the various cold tire pressures that might confuse some drivers, but the goal is to ensure that neither vehicle nor its tires are overloaded - by weight or by speed driven.
I am German, 5 percent by blood and the rest by inspiration 
.
I check my pressures at every fill-up, adhere to door placard specs.
When I seem the same exact car, in different countries with different front and rear tire pressures specified, yet in America the same pressure at all four corners, I get it -
Americans like things simple and straightforward.
I guess I’m not your typical state-sider.
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The OP can count me as one more vote for using the inflation pressures listed on the door jamb. I hope that your doors don’t jam.
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He’s commenting on the conflicting pressure recommendations, sticker vs owners manual, I think. And German engineers are well known for creating wonderful designs whose complexity causes problems. Several German WWII weapons were the best, until they broke down due to their complexity, for example.
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I’ve always went by the door sticker. Many vehicles (especially trucks) had different options for wheels and tires. The owners manual sometimes didn’t cover all the different options…but the sticker was for that vehicle the way it was built.
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Lets add to the fun, what about the Volvos that had the tire plaque card on the back side of the B pillar, so you had to open the rear door and look between the hinges to see it…
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And I remember some of the Mercedes Benz that had 3 different plaques with the correct, or normal tire pressure in the gas cap… Who the heck is going to check their gas cap door for the correct tire pressure?? That is German engineering for ya…
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Some recent Mercedes models are good examples of that needless complexity.
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