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vid6639 · 7th April 2007, 13:45

Yup what sreenivass says is correct.

If you overinflate the tyres the tyre takes on a round shape. As a result the centre has more contact than the side of the tread. This leads to uneven wear. More over the contact patch reduces and the handling is affected.

The overinflated tyres do not absorb shock since they cannot flex as much. As a result the ride becomes harder and all the shock is transferred to the suspension causing premature suspension wear. This can also lead to sidewall of the tyre getting damaged when you hit a bump at high speeds.

Also when the tyre heats up on the road we all know that the air expands so the air inside expands and automatically will result in higher pressure inside when the tyre is hot. So there is no need to actually overinflate as this will cause further overinflation when the tyres heat up.

That is also the reason it is recommended to fill air in the morning with cold tyres.

The only thing good overinflation does is slightly better mileage due to lesser contact patch and rolling resistance. The acceleration will be a little better as well.

It is definitely not recommended to overinflate by 3-4psi. At a max you can play with +/-2psi from recommended pressures.

7th April 2007, 13:45	#3 (permalink)
vid6639 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 3,839	Yup what sreenivass says is correct. If you overinflate the tyres the tyre takes on a round shape. As a result the centre has more contact than the side of the tread. This leads to uneven wear. More over the contact patch reduces and the handling is affected. The overinflated tyres do not absorb shock since they cannot flex as much. As a result the ride becomes harder and all the shock is transferred to the suspension causing premature suspension wear. This can also lead to sidewall of the tyre getting damaged when you hit a bump at high speeds. Also when the tyre heats up on the road we all know that the air expands so the air inside expands and automatically will result in higher pressure inside when the tyre is hot. So there is no need to actually overinflate as this will cause further overinflation when the tyres heat up. That is also the reason it is recommended to fill air in the morning with cold tyres. The only thing good overinflation does is slightly better mileage due to lesser contact patch and rolling resistance. The acceleration will be a little better as well. It is definitely not recommended to overinflate by 3-4psi. At a max you can play with +/-2psi from recommended pressures. __________________ \ / ][ \|) `/ [_] "!" Last edited by vid6639 : 7th April 2007 at 13:48.