What PSI

[2011 KX-S Cosmos Blue]

MY11 4WD KX-S what PSI are people running?

[CROCO]

Mate im running 40 psi in all tyres and I find that its the best pressure for ride and handling and also offers a goodcompermise for pressure for economy.

[Jhiony TKG2010]

Same here mate! 40 PSI on all tyres = fuel economy and smooth handling...

[Milo 10]

38.

Might try 40 one day

[11/16Aurion 12Kluger]

40psi here too. Tried 36 & 38 but not quite as good all round. 40 was recommended by the dealer also.

Edited August 18, 2012 by KX-R & ACV40R

[exJeeper]

Folks I assume this 40psi is on the OE Dunlop ST30s or similar spec tyre?

[CROCO]

Hi danny, yeah mine are tyres are the OE bridgestone duelers, im not sure what brand of tyres are on the 17 inch kxr wheels, hopefully somone should be able to put you on the right track.

[2011 KX-S Cosmos Blue]

Interestingly Bob Jane wanted to do 36, I asked for 38, maybe back now to get 40

[Jean]

The manual says 30PSI. I did that for the first 5000 kms and I almost wore all the outside of my tyres. Then in my first service I complaint about this and Toyota Service advised to put them up to 38PSI. Now I have them all 4 at 40PSI and it's the best.

Wouldn't recommend anything different than 40 PSI.

[John123]

Just had new tyres fitted ( Kumho). Checked tyre pressure after fitting and noticed it was at 46 psi...!

I did reduce to 36 psi but surely this isnt standard for the car or the tyre..?

[CROCO]

I think 46 psi a bit extreme for a passanger car like the kluger, it would make the right to bumpy and choppy and the handling and steering to floaty, I think 40 psi the best pressure for ride,fuel economy, handling and tyre wear, but 36psi should be ok, what I would do is keep a eye on the outside shoulders on the tyre for uneven wear, if there starting to wear a bit more on the outside shoulder a bit quicker than the rest of the tyre, then pump them up to 40psi and you shouldnt have any dramas.

[Ronnyboy]

anything between 36 and 40 PSI should be fine.

[Ratheesh Kumar]

I tried 32,34,36,38 and 40PSI on my Kluger Grande and i like to drive with 40Psi when the tank is 30-100% full.The ride is too comfortable and handling is really good.But when low on fuel,i felt a bit bumby even during a city ride.

[mags]

Have done nearly 90K in mine and always had 40PSI.

[ImSkitzoAndSoAmI]

Just had new tyres fitted ( Kumho). Checked tyre pressure after fitting and noticed it was at 46 psi...!

I did reduce to 36 psi but surely this isnt standard for the car or the tyre..?

Were the tyres hot when you checked pressure? You should be checking them when cold, as the pressure will increase greatly during use.

[Double Klugger]

Just had new tyres fitted ( Kumho). Checked tyre pressure after fitting and noticed it was at 46 psi...!

I did reduce to 36 psi but surely this isnt standard for the car or the tyre..?

Were the tyres hot when you checked pressure? You should be checking them when cold, as the pressure will increase greatly during use.

This is interesting. If tyre pressure should be checked when cold,how do we do that as most people need to adjust it at the service station so we have driven and made the tyres hot.

What effect does it have? ie if I put 40 psi in the tyres at the servo am I really running them at say 35psi cold temp and causing excess wear as experienced by some other forum members or should we have 40 psi cold temp which will be much higher when driving? Will the higher pressure be beyond the manufacture recomendation ?

Does anyone know?

[Colonel]

My KX-S came with 50 psi from the dealer. For best performance obviously 50psi is probably best but for comfort I keep it at about 40. When checking pressure at the service station I always put about 43 psi to allow for the fact that the tyres have heated up a bit from driving. @ 30,000km now and looks like I'll only get another 5,000km out of them. Maybe should have kept them at 50 psi. 50 psi makes for a harder ride though.

[Hiro]

My KX-S came with 50 psi from the dealer. For best performance obviously 50psi is probably best but for comfort I keep it at about 40. When checking pressure at the service station I always put about 43 psi to allow for the fact that the tyres have heated up a bit from driving. @ 30,000km now and looks like I'll only get another 5,000km out of them. Maybe should have kept them at 50 psi. 50 psi makes for a harder ride though.

50psi sounds way too high to be driving on, the dealer would have set the pressure that high to stop the tyres flat-spotting whilst the car sits on the forecourt for months on end. Same thing happens with cars in transport - tyres are pumped up to the extreme so that they don't deform when the car is strapped down.

[matt_kluger]

Hi everyone,

My car is going to sit for approx 3 months while I am on deployment with work. What is the best PSI to use when sitting in a garage?

I will get someone to drive the car once every 3-4 weeks for 15-20kms. So I don't want the PSI to be too high because the car will actually be driven periodically.

Any advice is appreciated.

Regards

Matt

[Colonel]

check the sidewall and see what the tyre is rated for. Factory tyres on kxs are rated fo 50 psi. So 50 psi is perfectly safe and is what you should use if storing the car for a while.

[Aussie Camry]

Glad I found this post was confused by the glove box book didn't sound right to me at all so first thing in the morning 40psi they will be.

[TA74]

Ok, here's my 2 bits worth!!

NEVER rely on service station pressure gauges!!!!! they are not calibrated, and are treated like rubbish by every person before you. They are driven over,thrown on the ground and life they're short life span outside in the elements.ive seen these things over 15psi out,when compard to a calibrated pressure gauge.

Also compounding the issue is that by the time you get to the servo your tyres are warm.You should always check them cold,first thing in the morning is best.

After many years of offroading all over the country, from dirt roads to lots of beach work (were pressures are crucial, airing up and down) the best way to check your tyres is by applying the "4PSI rule".I get around 80-100k's out of a correctly set and rotated tyres,no matter what tyre or construction.

Here is the Cooper tyre 4wd drivers guide to the 4psi rule:-

"As a general rule,the following can be used-for road use only:As a startig point,inflate your tyres to the recommended tyre pressure on your vehicles tyre placard. Then to determine if you have the correct pressure for a given load,check the cold pressure and note the reading. Drive several kilometers to ensure they are at operating temperature and check again.Ideally, they should be about 4psi above the cold pressure.If the pressure is more than 4psi above the cold pressure, you should add more air. That is because there is too much friction, which builds up more heat than desirable. Conversely, if they are less than 4psi above cold pressure, the cold pressure is too high."

Hope this helps,im running 245/70/17 light truck tyres on my KX-R at 31psi(cold) and my warm psi is 34/35psi.And they're wearing perfectly.

Tyres are expensive, buy you self a good quality tyre pressure gauge(not one from cheap as chips!!!!) and with a little time and effort your tyres will last a lot longer.

Also i notice a few of you guys are running 40Psi, thats a lot! The only time i have put 40Psi in tyres is when we head Bush for a couple of weeks around the flinders and are self sufficant for a lot of it, aswe carry 130 litres of fuel and around 90 litres of water and then all the camping/recovery gear(in my 2011 Nisan patrol).

Yor ride will be hard and noisey at that pressure.

hope this helps.Grant

[11/16Aurion 12Kluger]

Oddly enough Grant 40psi is not noisy or overly rough, well not in my '12 KX-R Kluger with the standard 17" rims with the factory Dunlops. I would never run them as low as 32... 36 would be the lowest if you want a softer ride. Even at 36 you can feel the extra sidewall flex when cornering.
How do you find it running the light truck tyres?? Handling affected or noise increased?

[TA74]

HI KX_R, sorry for taking so long to get back to you bu thave just had a baby boy, so life is all over the place,Yay!!!!

ok, totally agree about the side wall flex on the factory tyres.When i had my new tyres fitted, a guy at work wanted my old tyres for some farm project. I was amased at how thin and flexable the tyre side walls were when off the rim.They would barely hold there own weight when i stood them up.No wonder they were aweful on the road.I think people putting nearly 40psi in them is compensating for how bad the tyres are.

But anyhow my Gtradial AT3 LT's have transformed my car. As soon as i drove away from the tyre shop i nearly oversteered it into the curb,it improved the steering that much.theres no more sloppy handling and wandering in a straight line.Best thing i ever did.

Ok, theres a little bit more tyre sound and a slight rumble through the brake pedal as you slow to a stop, buts normal for a chunky tread tyre.Well worth it i think, but if your not going off road like we do, then a LT tyre with a highway tread would be ideal (can recommend Cooper HT discoverer, i fitted these to my wifes Grand Vitara).

[11/16Aurion 12Kluger]

Thanks for the reply Grant... & congrats on the new arrival !!
Those LT tyres sound interesting?? Might check them out a bit more.
If your factory tyres were the Japanese Dunlops like I have on mine then they are not poor quality... far from it.
You will find all similar tyres will have thin sidewalls. Oddly enough, you will find thicker sidewalls on cheaper tyres.
I would like to get rid of the "wandering" effect though... sounds like you had it too?

Edit.. Put my tyres back up to 40 today... 36 was just too spongy on cornering and it also has cured the wandering effect.
Grant... I saw something on tv recently about LT tyres on a boat trailer.. the "expert" said they had to have 60psi!
He even pointed out that the sidewall stated that as the recommended pressure. It may have been unique to that brand / size of tyre too?

Edited May 29, 2015 by KX-R & ACV40R