Winter tire pressure?

Okay, so I was wondering if any of you guys run different tire pressure in the colder months as apposed to the rest of the year.

I tire pressure is supposed to be lower than optimum so that when the tire gets heated up you'll be at the optimum pressure. Well, now the tires aren't getting as hot, so should I be running my tire pressure closer to the optimum?

Just curious what peoples thoughts are on this.

Tire pressure, which as you're probably well aware should be checked cold, as in many hours cold (cold meaning vehicle not driven), can drop significantly in low temps.

I wouldn't think diff pressures should be run at diff times of year; after all, a tire is designed to be run at a specific pressure regardless of ambient temp. Improperly pressured tires won't last as long and can peform differently than properly pressured tires.

So, check your pressures every couple weeks with a guage (visually and with hands more often, though I know hand checking won't necessarily indicate low pressures) and when you find it's low, air up!

I personally keep my tire pressure's abit lower in colder temps. It helps the tires heat up faster, and get abit more heat in them.

Usually around 30/30 to 32/32 I would not go any higher than that in cold weather. But that is just me.

Originally posted by manhattkat
So, check your pressures every couple weeks with a guage (visually and with hands more often, though I know hand checking won't necessarily indicate low pressures) and when you find it's low, air up!

I think that this might be the key. If I'm checking the tire pressure when its colder, I've already compensated for the colder whether, and there already is MORE air in the tire. The tires temperature still raises, and probably raises a similar amount as in the summer, but you're just dealing with a lower starting point.

As far as running lower temperatures in the winter, I'm not sure what that would accomplish. I know that in theory, it would make the foot print larger, and thus create friction over a larger area and perhaps induce more heat. However, I doubt that would make enough difference to compensate for the extremely low pressure that you're starting out with.

I heard that with my tires (BT010s) 32/32 is the lowest pressure you'd ever want to run, and that's at the track. You're going to generate much more heat at the track, and you're pressure will in theory then be at the optimum higher pressure.