Okay, I've had my Prius over a month now and I checked my tired pressure yesterday. The first thing I noticed was how low the factory default tire pressure must be. My front Tires read 36 and 35 and the two back tires read 32 and 34. Judging by this, I am guessing the factory default is 36/34, or thereabouts. Does anyone know what the factory defaults are? Knowing that I have been getting around 60mpg the last two weeks or so, I am going to raise my tire pressure to 40/38 to see how my mileage may change to do some testing myself. I am wondering if any detailed analysis has been done comparing the relation of MPG and tire pressure. I know that many have said their higher tire pressure has resulted in higher FE, but I have not seen any graphs or reports on this topic in detail.
factory pressure is on the sticker inside the edge of the driver's door, and in the owners manual [hint: a good read]. The benefits of high pressure in terms of MPG and tread wear are well-known and much ballyhooed in the forums, but I don't think anyone's done a deep enough study to actually chart it. . _H*
For what it's worth, my rear tires were at 32 and 35. It's the first time I measured them since picking the car up about 1 month and 1100 miles ago. Keeping an eye on them, now, though I suspect they were uneven and low to begin with.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Malarkey @ Aug 15 2007, 10:49 AM) [snapback]496106[/snapback]</div> Thanks Malarkey. I too plan on watching the pressures much more frequently. Makes me glad I don't have Nitrogen filled tires, otherwise I would be at the dealer's mercy to fill them up when they start getting low.
Hello, Tek, from another Central Virginian! Using the Prius MPG Simulator, a PSI increase in Goodyear Integritys from 38/36 to 44/42 should improve fuel economy 5.5% at 35 MPH.
Thanks Jimbo! That was some of the information I was looking for. And yes, I am about 20-30min from you from the sounds of it. I sent you a PM on GreenHybrid earlier today. Given the figures you posted, at 5.5% it should increases my FE from 60 to about 63.3. That makes a difference of about 40 extra miles distance on the tank.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tekn0wledg @ Aug 15 2007, 01:16 PM) [snapback]496227[/snapback]</div> Thanks, I just responded to it!
