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2016 High Altitude Tire Pressure

5K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  Stevm65 
#1 ·
Hi to all,
I noticed that the tire pressure placard on the door jamb indicates 33# in front and 36# in the rear (265 50 20 Bridgestone Ecopia Tires) I'm curious as to the reason. I've been running them that way,but I'm going on a trip and I'd like to even the front tires out to match the rears. Any ideas or experience with doing that?
Thanks
 
#2 ·
I am not sure of the actually reason they have done this but here is my discovery.

I have a 2012 and I have realized if I run 1 psi in the rear 37 as opposed to 36 the truck corners flatter and it does not list from side to side over speed bumps as much.

I have also noticed that the front tires warm up much faster than the rear tires do so maybe they have finally acknowledged that as well and have compensated by reducing the cold PSI for the front tires.

I am speculating here but: they have made small adjustments to the chassis like revising the front suspension to lighter components so due to the possible change in the tires and suspension they were able to run less air in the front to help improve the ride somewhat.

I can usually tell when my PSI has dropped in my tires by how they rebound over certain bumps or how the truck goes over speed bumps, so playing with the air pressure has been a proven way to tune ride and handling.

Earlier trucks door placards say 33 psi for 18" and 36 for 20" all around.


So I would say since they did not reduce the rear psi from previous Model years. You are best to leave it where it is. If the front feels funny try going up in 1 psi increments to see what are the effects of your changes.

for the rear I would not go more than 2 psi in either directions.
 
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#4 ·
Since we are on this topic I have a question. So I have a 2015 HA which obviously originally came with the Goodyear Fortera tires. I stumbled upon a local sale of a brand new set of 2016 HA takeoffs and I ended up buying them. So now I have the Bridgestone Ecopia tires. So the door sticker for 2016 models actually says 33 front and 36 rear? Without going outside to look I think my 2015 says 36 and 36. So I wonder if the revised pressure settings in 2016 has to do more with the new tires or the minor suspension changes, or a combination of both. I wonder what a 2015 HA owner with the Ecopia tires should run?
Any input?

The Ecopia tires are decent, although one thing I noticed is the Jeep now sort of jumps (or hops) over bumps more like a sports car for example. So I'm assuming the sidewalls are much more firm than the Forteras. Also worth mentioning, I am seeing slight fuel economy improvements with the Ecopia tires. I am currently running 38 cold all around on my Ecopias and I am wondering if I should go down a bit. The hoppiness over bumps isn't terrible, but noticeable nonetheless.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I think that you are correct that the previous pressure specs were 36 all around. I also think that the pressure recommendations go with the vehicle and not the tires. Jeep has no idea what brand of tires will be put on in the future.I like the Ecopias for that sports kind of feel and mpg has been great with them. The only complaint is that they are more of a highway/fuel conservative type tread and I may need something with a little more bite this winter.I have been running the 33 front, 36 rear for 5000 miles and I have no complaints with any aspect. I did equalize them today for a bit and honestly didn't feel any difference. I would go by the placard on your vehicle because that's the pressure that the vehicle was engineered for.That's really the only constant that you have. I put mine back to the recommendations and will leave them that way. I tried to call for some technical info from Jeep but no one there had a clue.
 
#6 ·
For sustained trip driving, you might want to bump both tires by about 3 pounds, but I'd probably stick with the 3 pound difference noted on the door.

If your trip will be one where you load the back end heavily, might want to bump the pressure by about 6 pounds, but be careful not to exceed max cold inflation pressure on the tires.

Out west, folks lose more tires from underinflation and high load than they do from running above door guide--which is a compromise for comfort typically.
 
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