Tire pressure?

My eGolf came with tires rated to 51 PSI max (as I assume all eGolfs come with?). When checking the pressure off the lot, they were ranging from 35-40 PSI. I bumped them all up to about 45 PSI. However, I'm wondering if I can push it a little more to improve efficiency & range? What are you guys running your tires at?

My door column has a label that reads "41 PSI" is the the recommended front and rear pressure, I've heard of eGolf owners getting vehicles with tires other than the Continentals my vehicle comes with and so maybe there are different variations of the label...push comes to shove, stick with what the label reads.

I don't know if running higher-than-stock tire pressures would benefit the eGolf, but the OEM Bridgestone Ecopias that came with the Nissan Leaf were notorious for not only fast tire wear (bald tires at 25k miles or less was common), but uneven tire wear as well. These tires would wear prematurely around the outside edge, as if there was a toe-in or a camber problem. Many Leafers have found that bumping up the tire pressure to 40 or even 44 (from Nissan's recommended 35 or so) mitigated these problems, especially the uneven tire wear. Of course, that was at the expense of a harsher ride.

My eGolf was one of those that came fitted with the Bridgestone Ecopia E422 "Plus."

Besides the harsher ride, other downsides are a bit more susceptibility to road hazards, and possibly increased tire wear along the center of the tread. If you do this, slowly increase the pressure a few PSI at a time, and carefully monitor tread depth using a tire tread depth gauge (very cheap and available at most auto parts stores). If the center is starting to wear more than the outside treads, reduce the pressure, and for safety reasons don't exceed the maximum pressure that's molded into the sidewall.

You should first check the tire pressure ratings on the tire sidewall, THEN check the door jam. Always go by the tire sidewall rating first and foremost.

I've made a habit of adding 4 to 5 psi over recommended tire pressure settings on every VW TDI I've ever owned. I've never had a problem with uneven tire wear, yet. I've done the same on the e-Golf.

SpdLmtNA said:

You should first check the tire pressure ratings on the tire sidewall, THEN check the door jam. Always go by the tire sidewall rating first and foremost.

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The tire sidewall rating is the maximum safe cold tire pressure as determined by the tire manufacturer. The ratings found in the door jamb/glovebox/center console lid/owners manual is what the car manufacturer recommends, and is almost always if not always lower.

Except in a few cases like the Leaf, inflating to the max pressure on the tire sidewall has more disadvantages than advantages.

My vote - I've been doing 46psi in the eGolf, which is 5 psi over the door jamb recommendations (41), and is still 5psi below the sidewall max (51psi). I'm still running the stock Continentals.

On all of my cars I've always tended toward going over door jamb recommendations because I like a bit more direct steering response and don't mind a bit rougher ride. I've always suspected that manufacturers think American tastes run toward a "cushy" ride more than crisper handling, so my suspicion is that they tend to make pressure recommendations that cater to those tastes. I realize that on a car like the eGolf the manufacturer may well go the other way (recommend higher pressure) to increase efficiency; I also realize that I run the risk of wearing the center of the tire faster than the edges, but I've always worn out the outside edge before the inside or center anyway

dublectric said:

I've always suspected that manufacturers think American tastes run toward a "cushy" ride more than crisper handling, so my suspicion is that they tend to make pressure recommendations that cater to those tastes.

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They can't bias it too much towards comfort, because fuel economy will suffer.