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Equal tire pressure?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by LDB, Sep 17, 2015.

  1. LDB

    LDB Member

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    Anyone running the same tire pressure in all 4 tires? Just curious about the 2psi differential and how important it may or may not be.
     
  2. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    The rear is much lighter than the front end. It makes sense to have a lower pressure in back.
     
  3. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

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    If you look at the door jam sticker for axle limits, you will see the front axle is rated at 2270 lbs and the rear 2175 lbs. So the front axle supports about 95 pounds more than the rear, thus the justification for adding 2 psi to the front tires.
     
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I run the same pressure on all four tires, no issues. Been driving FWD (Honda) vehicles since the early '80's, they're always front-heavy, and this is the first car I've seen where they spec a lower pressure in the rear. My main motivation for setting them the same is to avoid the need to adjust them when rotating.

    Plus, I've got so much junk in the underfloor tray, maybe it all balances out, lol.
     
  5. LDB

    LDB Member

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    ^^^^ That is exactly what I was thinking. I originally went 39/37. I think I'm going to go 40/40.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    With our original low profile 17" I set them around 34~35 psi all around, higher is too rough. With our 15" snow tires higher pressures don't seem to affect the ride feel that much, so I use around 38~40 all around.

    I'm a little conservative on pressures: I've been finding little difference in mpg with higher pressures, and keep thinking higher is rougher on the suspension.

    For reference:

    Capture.JPG
     
    #6 Mendel Leisk, Sep 17, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2015
  7. giora

    giora Senior Member

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    I am setting them 37 front 35 rear.
    Adjusting them after rotation is not a big deal for me compared to the rotation itself (PiP comes with no spare but I have a donat one.
    Euro PiP spec is BTW 35/34.
     
  8. qdllc

    qdllc Senior Member

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    Equal pressure all around.

    The only vehicle I've had where I'd justify less pressure in the rear is a pickup truck that's normally driven unloaded. Makes a difference on wet and slick roads when braking and accelerating (rear-wheel drive only).
     
  9. Munpot42

    Munpot42 Senior Member

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    The 2lb difference probably makes no difference, except perhaps when you are in a critical crash avoidance maneuver when you need every ounce of traction, then maybe a difference. I follow Toyota's recommendations, I think their engineers know a bit more than I do about handling...........
     
    #9 Munpot42, Sep 17, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2015
  10. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    My goal is for the same pressure all around. If they are within a pound or so of max sidewall that is good enough. The tires on the sun side of the car are going to be 1+ psi higher than those on the shade side.