Calling all Prius V owner's with Michelin tires!

I have yet to fool with tire pressure settings since taking delivery on my car 3 weeks ago. Can you all share with me what pressure you have your front & rear set to and any MPG changes by doing so?

Thanks,
Scott

Scott:

I have a 2007 Prius. After going thru the OEM tires in 22K miles, I put on a set of Michelins. I have 27K miles on them and they look like they can go another 20K. I am running 42 PSI in the front and 40 PSI in the rear with no unusual signs of tire wear on the outer edges. I immediately noticed a 2 MPG increase doing so.

I posted a Thread on this a while back when we first picked up our V which was equipped with Michelin's, and I discovered the Michelin's are EXTREMELY sensitive to tire pressures and their effect on ride comfort.

I explained that the Dealer pressures were set at 37.5psi Front and 36psi Rear, which gave a firm, yet sporty ride on the 195 mile trip home. Once arriving home I decided to try higher pressures (39psi Front and 38psi Rear) to possibly improve mileage, the ride at those pressures was bordering on harsh. I then set the pressures at 35psi Front and 34psi Rear, the ride was somewhat soft. So we finally settled on pressures of 37psi Front and 36 Rear, which gives a ride that is quite comfortable yet gives an ample amount of road feedback and better performance.

I am unable to give you any input on its impression on Fuel Economy because we've logged less than 400 miles to this point.

David (aka Blind Guy)

My manual suggests 42-40. Good enough for me

What kind of manual suggests 42-40? I must have missed that one.

Hydroedges, still have 3 out of 4, have been somewhere over
50 PSI all their life. 60K on them so far and still plenty of
tread left all the way across.
.
_H*

Your best bet is to go with the tire pressure recommended by the door sill sticker.
That is your safest bet.
My 2010 V says 33 front and 32 rear.

are yall all using AIR? i was thinking about doing N2 fill in them like my hybrid RX

Mine had about 38 to 39 PSI as delivered from the dealer. I set them at the sticker pressures of 33 front and 32 rear. The ride comfort improved and were reasonably quiet at these pressures. I plan to check the pressure often as these are known to wear quickly.

For the N2, Don't they put on the green valve caps?

yeah they do, just wondering if anyone changed the air to Nitrogen

We run 789.5% N 19% O seems the comb workd fine.

Nitrogen is the biggest scam in the auto industry.

There is some truth to the use of nitrogen. Nitrogen air is more stable than regular air. It maintains air pressure on a consistent basis. Regular air tend to expand at higher temps and deflates at lower temps.

Oh boy here we go again!!!

I use between 78 and 79 percent nitrogen in all of our cars. It provides excellent performance and tire life, and is thrifty.

If worried about the Oxygen permeating out so much, put 28% extra regular air (which is 78% Nitrogen) in your tyres, wait for the oxygen to permeate out, then you have 100% nitrogen left.
E.g. if tyre pressure should be 33 psi, put 42.5 psi in, 22% of that (the oxygen) permeates out, leaving 33 psi. (28% addition equates back to a 22% loss) ;0)

I haven't a clue how long it would take to achieve this but after nearly 40 years of driving, I've found that, apart from temperature fluctuations (and leaks of course), tyre pressures tend to settle after the first few checks, probably a couple of months if that.

To the OP, I find an extra 2-3 psi up on standard pressures a good compromise. It gives the steering a sharper feel without adding too much harshness to the ride, mpg is pretty much the same as standard.