Well I found out that my tire pressure monitoring system is working. Had a fault light this morning when starting the car up. Had to look it up in the manual and saw that it was the low tire pressure warning. All four tires were between 25 and 30 psi... 33 psi was the recommended pressure. I filled them back up and the light went out after driving a mile or two down the road. I guess I need to check the pressure more often. :roll:
TPMS works
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TPMS seems pretty worthless until one or more tires are low (especially if you have a slow leak). Then, it saves you untold miles of running under-pressure tires with resultant tire wear and poor gas mileage 
! I actually liked it so much I bought an aftermarket kit and installed it in my older car
! I actually liked it so much I bought an aftermarket kit and installed it in my older car
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old school! here
i dont have the TPMS on the car, i left them on the oem wheels i just looked and eagle eye the tires
i dont have the TPMS on the car, i left them on the oem wheels i just looked and eagle eye the tires
I thought I was old school but I was proven wrong!damian666robin said:
I had TMPS light on a couple of weeks back.
I could see no problems by my eagle eye.The looked all the same to me.
Pressure test found one tire at 30 the rest at 33,32 and 31.
Pressure back up to 33 TPMS light off.I am glad to have this feature. :yes:
Even though it seems very sensitive.
QED
Cheers.
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what I find interesting is the Nitrogen is there due to its slow escape and maintenance. The oldest cube in the us is only 5 months old on the 5th of Oct.
I just aired mine up this week, I aired it up to 36 PSI. Some say 40 PSI but it makes for a rougher ride but less rolling resistance.
I just aired mine up this week, I aired it up to 36 PSI. Some say 40 PSI but it makes for a rougher ride but less rolling resistance.
Makes for less rolling resistance, but once the tread ceases to be flat from side to side, it's also speeding tire wear. The high MPG gang promote shoving the tire pressure up considereably, but my last tires didn't seem that cheap to me, guess it's a trade-off.
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That would require considerably more than 7 PSI over recommended to do that. The tires are rated way higher, actually at 51PSI operating with 1168 pound load. The cube is GVW 3858 for my model so it is 814 pounds under max load range for the tires so you can go to 51 PSI with no damage or excess wear to the tire. But again the ride would be harsh.
You can go to 51psi without the tire blowing -- True! But that's not the same as without excess wear! The higher the inflation, the more the edges of the tire are lifted, resulting in accelerated center wear. If we make the presumption the car manufacturer recommended tire pressure is intended for even tire wear, that's one thing. On the other hand, it's always possible they are recommending a lower pressure to promote comfort. If the second, then it's certainly a budget saver to bump the pressure; however, if it's the first, then we're sacrificing tire life for MPG. In both cases, a compromise.
I read this thread on Saturday night and my warning light came on the very next night! So strange. It surprised me because my cube is only 2 months old, didn't expect an inflation issue so soon. And how convenient that it was raining when I had to pull over to the gas station air machine. All of my tires were between 28-30psi so I pumped them up to 38psi. I figured I had plenty of cushion against the 51psi max labeled on the tires but when I read the 33psi reco in the manual (after getting back in the car) I was worried I had overinflated. Honestly I think I hit a good compromise between the two.
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The TPMS warning came on last week on a colder than normal morning. It's funny, the light tricked me into thinking my cube had a near flat tire the way it handled (I swear i could feel a wobble) and the pressure was fine after warm-up and continued driving. I don't like warning lights in the morning on my way to work, so I stopped and put a couple extra pounds in each tire. I am running at 36 Lbs and have not had another warning.
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I have 15's and 33 psi seems too soft - I've gone up to 36 as well and can feel the difference.
Regardless of its size, every tire's load capacity, durability, traction and handling is dependent on using the right inflation pressure for the application. Since both too little and too much inflation pressure sacrifices some of the tires' performance, maintaining the "right" inflation pressure is very important.
While a wide variety of tire sizes are available to fit the many different vehicles in use today, almost every tire size can be used on more than one vehicle. It is the vehicle manufacturers that ultimately determine the tire inflation pressures they believe best fine-tune the tires' capabilities to their specific vehicle makes and models.
The pounds per square inch (psi) pressure number branded on the tire's sidewall identifies the maximum cold inflation pressure that specific tire is rated to hold. However, the tire's maximum pressure is not necessarily the correct pressure for every vehicle upon which the tire can be used (almost all vehicle manufacturers' recommended tire inflation pressures are less than the tires' maximum pressure).
Therefore when checking and adjusting tire inflation pressures, the "right" inflation pressures are those provided by the vehicle manufacturer, not the "maximum" inflation pressure branded on the tire's sidewall. The vehicle manufacturer's pressure recommendation can be found on the vehicle's tire information placard label, as well as in the vehicle owner's manual.
Manufacture recommended tire pressure should be followed for many reasons including wear, ride, and most importantly “SAFETY”. Underinflated tires will over heat, overiflated tires could cause a loss of traction.
While a wide variety of tire sizes are available to fit the many different vehicles in use today, almost every tire size can be used on more than one vehicle. It is the vehicle manufacturers that ultimately determine the tire inflation pressures they believe best fine-tune the tires' capabilities to their specific vehicle makes and models.
The pounds per square inch (psi) pressure number branded on the tire's sidewall identifies the maximum cold inflation pressure that specific tire is rated to hold. However, the tire's maximum pressure is not necessarily the correct pressure for every vehicle upon which the tire can be used (almost all vehicle manufacturers' recommended tire inflation pressures are less than the tires' maximum pressure).
Therefore when checking and adjusting tire inflation pressures, the "right" inflation pressures are those provided by the vehicle manufacturer, not the "maximum" inflation pressure branded on the tire's sidewall. The vehicle manufacturer's pressure recommendation can be found on the vehicle's tire information placard label, as well as in the vehicle owner's manual.
Manufacture recommended tire pressure should be followed for many reasons including wear, ride, and most importantly “SAFETY”. Underinflated tires will over heat, overiflated tires could cause a loss of traction.
Just remember, the 51 psi rating on the tire has absolutely nothing to do with your vehicle, it's only the tire. Exceed 51 psi, and there's a distinct liklihood the tire will fail. But it's your vehicle weight distribution between the tires that determines the correct pressure, not the tire failure limit. Don't consider the failure limit as part of any compromise -- it isn't.whtbst said:
Cooler outside temperatures result in lower inflation pressures -- that's normal gas behavior (our "air" being made up of gases). Consequently, you can expect to have to add air to your tires as the weather cools. Likewise, you can expect to have to reduce air going into warmer conditionsHRWatson68 said:
!Wasn’t the TPMS requirement a result of the whole Ford Explore/Friestone tire mess? I’m not sure the technology for the sensor’s is as good as it could be, but it’s a start, and if it gets people to check their tire pressures a little more often that’s probably not a bad thing.
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