Hi all I have a new 2011 fit sport. What should the tire pressure be? The tires say 51 max but the sticker inside the driver side door says 33. The had 32 in them when I bought it but the front tires just look flat.

 

Go by the recommended pressure listed on the door's sticker (33 PSI). The max pressure (51 PSI) just lists the maximum pressure the tire can withstand, it does not mean that 51 PSI is the suggested pressure for that tire.

 

Like Hootie said - Welcome to the freakworld!

You'll soon see that many don't like the Dunlops that most likely came with your car. They do take a few Kmiles to break-in and I've found them to be an okay, but a bit noisy, tire.

After 15Kmiles or so I bumped the pressure to 35 all around and like the feel and handling. Don't forget to rotate them at each oil change. This will give even wear and maximize the life of the set. First rotation at 9Kmiles showed dead even tire wear @ the 32psi, so even though the front's might 'look' low, if your gauge is on they'll be fine.

 

i'm running 38 psi with no problems. getting 33mpg mix and 39mpg on the slab.

 

That's about as far as I would go - at that pressure you might find that handling gets a bit touchy and any gain is really minimal.
The ECO guys like to think that 50psi is where to be - NOT.
Do some objective research and you'll see that the best recommendation from any source is going to be 3-4 over vehicle recommendations, not the sidewall number. Beyond that it's negative effects on handling and wear.

 

Inflate mine to 2 PSI above their recommendation.
That way if we get a sudden cold snap at night the stupid TPMS light does not come on.
I started doing this with my wife's Mazda 5 which will come on at 1-2 PSI under the recommended pressure.
Honda gives a little more leeway, but I like to have the additional buffer as well.

 

I worked in a tire-shop through school... You would be amazed how many people would make us go by the "max pressure" on the tire as opposed to the door placard, then come back 25k miles later and complain that their tires are wearing down the center.

 

each tyre pressure is different for tyre sizes,
what is the best pressure for 205/45/16 lowered ride?

 

Well, the "best" pressure is different for everyone. Some want more mpg and so dump a LOT more air into the tires. some want a softer ride, so they have the "recommended" pressure as stated by the car maker.

Of course, the pressure affects the handling of the car, so drivers that notice, adjust to their liking.

My suggestion is... start at about 33-35 psi and adjust accordingly. If the tires look like they're low, add some air. If the car feels too soft, add some air. If the ride is too harsh, let some air out. etc.

Keep in mind, the 51 psi is a manufacturer limit on the tire... and while you could legally get away with using that much pressure, it probably won't be pleasant. On the flip side, there is a minimum pressure, and I'd stick to above 30 psi to be safe. I let out some air on the Pathfinder to soften the ride. But, because it was winter, as the tire cooled off... the psi dropped far enough that it could no longer support the weight of the SUV, the tire went flat (broke the seal and let it all out).

 

tire pressure is recommended per vehicle, not by the tire. the car needs XX amount of air to be supported. air doenst care what size tire it is in.
example: 33psi in a 245/50/17 and 33psi in a 205/40/15 is still 33 psi..it jsut requires more/less air to make it to the 33psi.

so to sum up, when changing tires on the same vehicle (regaurdless of tire size), pressure shoudl stay the same. the amount of air to get it to that specific pressure will vary though.

also note: your TPMS sensors will give you a light if your pressure is too high, not jsut low. for a daily driver, stick with the pressure recommended in the door jamb, +/-2psi based on your driving habits.

 

I run mine at 36psi, and it seems to be a nice medium.

They had over 40 when I bought the car, and the ride was noisy and rough. I dropped em down to 33, but i seemed to lose about 2-3mpg, so I bumped em back up to 36, and everything seems better now. With a 70/30 HWY/City driving, I am getting 36mpg avg. My highway driving is usually in bumper to bumper traffic too.

 

I went with the door pressure as I always do, for a while but, after six months] found my FIT runs well at 36psi. Ran highway at 38 and handling was adversely effected, in my hands. Anything over would be worse for me.

 

My experience with bigger rims/lower profile tires is, you have to run more pressure than stock. That's for +1 or +2 rims.

That said, for stock rims and tires I agree with the others: Run 2 - 4 PSI over the doorjam sticker...and check pressure frequently when the ambient temps are trending cooler (like in the Fall).

 

also should be noted that though you will probably get a minimal milage gain you will probably end up with premature tirewear. you'd be surprise of how man idiots come into to the shop and wonder why the hell their 60k mileage warranty tires are so damn warn in the middle of their tires after about only 40k when they claim they always keep their tires at 45PSI for mileage. just thought i'd throw that out there for the unaware.

 

It scares me... the lengths some people would go to, for the "almighty MPG."

One "tip"... rolling through stops. =.='

There's folks putting 60+ psi! WtF? Stay away from me... lest you blow that sucker (on a nasty pothole) and crash into me.

Last night... I saw a Prius with no lights on at night (saw a glimpse before we passed each other, but didn't fully see him until he was next to me!!!)... I'm wondering if that's yet another stupid ass idea to "save gas," or maybe the driver was just an ass, since he was ALSO within 5 ft of the car in front. *shivers*

 

Running 36psi all around with my 205/50 conti. extreme contact dw's on the stock rims. Handles really really well.

 

I'm set at 33 PSI (cold) all around. I hope you guys aren't forgetting to set your tire pressures when the tires are cold. Once you start driving and getting the tires up to normal operating temperature, the PSI will increase.

 

its funny how the guys at the tire shop would always tell me that running my tires at 40psi (instead of the 35/33 (F/R) recommended on the inside of the door) would wear out the center of the tread, but were amazed by the even wear when I was still rotating the tires at 70,000, 80,000, 90,000, 100,000, and 110,000 miles on those tires and they still had nice even (legal) tread on them when I traded in the 223,000 mile 2010 Prius on my FIT