You should do a vid on if you have a 5th wheel/tire, to also rotate that in. Gives you a significant boost in tire milage rotating that 5th wheel in your normal tire rotations.
I been doing this since the late 80’s when I had a CJ-7. I was running BFG mud terrain 33x12.50. My pressures came out to be 16 front and 12 rear. Those tires lasted many miles because of this.
Take the time & do this test! I never would have thought I’d have to run my 37’s as low as 27-28 psi for even wear. Also, dropping down from 34 to there has made a huge difference in handling / tracking.
@@jezieljaime5301 Yes, the same amount of air is always needed to hold your trucks weight, so switching to a bigger tire requires less pressure to get there. The hard part is knowing just how much less is needed for each tire though, which is where the chalk test comes in, or if you have access to a scale.
I've been doing this test for years and it's a good visual reference. However, I chalk all 4 tires b/c weight distribution is not even front to rear. The OEM settings for my '15 GMC Sierra 2500HD requires 65# in front and 70# in the rear, but I run them at 60#/65# respectively when I'm not towing/hauling to try to eek out a little more mileage. Also, as mentioned in the video, alignment could be off on one side or the other (or both) and chalking both sides may point out issues on one side that doesn't show on the other. At very least, chalk one front and one rear tire to see if you need different tire pressures front and rear. Also, an alignment shop owner showed me years ago a quick & dirty method to check wear is to simply run your palm over the tire. You will easily feel cupping or poor wear, whether it be on the outside or inside of the tire. I do that often to determine when it's time for an alignment. You guys at TB are putting out great content! Keep up the good work.
The tire pressure on the door is for fully loaded. When not loaded, you can use math ratios to calculate the equivalent tire pressure for the lightly loaded vehicle. It would be handy for vehicle manufacturers to provide printed information for this. Also, for myself, I use an old heavy duty, single cab for winter transportation. Even though it is a rear wheel drive I have experienced no problems in a heavily snow-filled area. I use light weight tires inflated to the empty truck weight. But these tires are studded ice radials.
As a commercial truck driver, doing routine vehicle inspections before, during, and after driving has become a habit. It's something I think every driver of any vehicle should be in the habit of. Ya never know when something is gonna happen out on the road or a trail. Aside from more random failures, you also never know when some A hole is gonna tamper with your vehicle while your away. I've seen it happen over the road as a trucker plenty of times. People releasing the locking jaws on some other drivers fifth wheel, cutting or unhooking air/brake lines, stealing fuel, stabbing tires, loosening lug nuts, ect.. I've had it happen to me a few times, so it's always good to double check the critical things before getting behind the wheel.
Only thing i have yet to see in these chalk test videos is whether the tires need to be warm or cold. I know the pressur can change by 3-4 psi after driving for a bit.
Im finding it harder and harder to get a good alignment. The mechanics running alignment are often the least trained and lowest seniority in the shop. I tend to run slightly higher pressure. The center wears down a little faster until the edges start touching. However I get a little better mileage. I also seem to have better longevity. For example, on my f-150 the door calls for 35 psi, I run 42. Now I get the tires rotated every 3000 miles and do my best to keep the truck aligned. I generally get new tires right at 80,000 miles. However, Ive had a set of BFG’s (first generation) last 118,000 miles. The tire store said I had another 20,000 left in tread. But I changed them out. Even with the tread looking perfect, I didn’t feel comfortable with the amount of wear the steal belts and internal components had obviously taken over the Ohio roads. I’ve been driving since 1975. I don’t have crazy miles under my belt, approximately 2,000,000. Truck drivers and professional drivers have far far more. That being said, I’ve owned a lot of cars, pickups, SUV’s and accordingly tires. Here is my 2-cents of opinion. (1) make sure alignment is perfect. Find a local shop that cares about this critical service. (2) find the right inflation number for your vehicle. I prefer the edges barely touch. Cornering will make sure they wear down faster anyway. My F-150 loves to eat the edge of tires. I find adding enough Air Force the fat edge to not quite touch works best for me. (3) make sure your running good shocks/struts etc. If these components are worn… expect faster wear and less capable vehicle when emergency maneuvering. (4) wash and us a high quality UV block on tires. (5) coast to a stop when possible, try to time your coasting with stoplights so you don’t have to come to a stop. Finally, take sharp turns slower. My wife and kids drive like batts out of hell. I maintain their cars for them. They get 75% of the life I get out of the same tires. Why, because I understand what is happening when a tire is subjected to fast breaking, acceleration and making tight fast turns. Finally… buy good brand tires. I have found that tires continue to improve, even budget brands are better than the best tires made 29 years ago.
Chalk test is good for tire foot print contact with the road but the vehicle manufactures recommended pressure is based on maximum load "GVWR". So for instance, you chalk your tires and lower the air pressure. Then you load up with four of your fat buds and all their camping gear. Now the tire is over loaded because the pressure is to low. Hit the hiway at high speeds and now the tire is getting hot from the load and high speed. BLOWOUT! Best to stick with the factory PSI recommended.
If you don't jack up the vehicle correctly to check ya ball joints (unloading the ball joint) you won't get a accurate ball joint test and ball joints have a spec range. Some wiggle room for each vehicle. But yes if there's a lot of movement. Please replace it. Any front end parts that are weak are bad replace. Most of them can actually break and cause a wreck
Could that side be toe-out in alignment? I see more wear on the inside possibly indicating it being dragged. I'm curious now. Thank you for this fancy tool. I'm seeing other implications this could help for. 🙂
It's a good idea to get a rough sense of how the tyre pressure needs to change by thinking about a vehicle of the same weight being supported by roughly the same amount of air regardless of tyre volume. So if the tyre volume is bigger then the same amount of air will be at a lower pressure. If the tyre volume is smaller then the same amount of air will be at a higher pressure. For instance, if you make the small change of increasing the tyre width by three quarters of an inch then the volume is a little bit greater and lowering the pressure 2 or 3psi usually sorts things out. However, if you fit two inch larger diameter rims and two inch wider tyres with increased tyre diameter then volume is much greater so lowering the pressure a bit more, like 5 to 10psi, is going to be necessary. This isn't a linear relationship and there are many variables but thinking about it in this way will help you develop an intuition about tyre pressures and things like a chalk test are a helpful measure.
Run the recomended psi or a couple of psi more. People run 40 to 45 psi (not diesel) and that's just simply too much. You can blow a tire easier, your brakes don't work as good if you were to get in a bad situation. Also it will actually ruin all of your suspension components way faster. The tires are designed to absorb some of the impact and running 45psi when your car is suggesting 30 is just stupid. Also cupping has nothing to do with worn suspension and all to do with lack of tire rotation on at tires or more aggressive. I bought my truck brand new and installed nitto ridge with some 6112s/ 5160s and I still got cupping because the dealer never did the tire rotation.
Buddy you do rotations because the alignment, wear, and suspension integrity isn't ever exact on all 4 corners... Hence why your rotations were helping - you're not ideal on your suspension/alignments
Thanks for the video those are great tips. I am shocked by your price mark ups on tires mainly the cheaper overseas tires. Great example 265/70/17 milestar Patagonia m/t your price $1,134 or just about anywhere else online as low as $650 and on the higher end $800 for 4 tires. Come on you can do better then that.
In addition to that I've heard a Milestar Patagonia representative claim this chalk test does not work on their style Tire their style tire is designed to run on the center tread while on the road giving it a smoother quieter ride
Well i dont have to worry about wearing them out cause my cheap ass kenda klevers are rotting off the rim and there not even that old. They have always been a lil smaller than brand name tires same size suposedly so i think like most things you get what you pay for....
@@TrailBuilt they still hold air but there are some pretty nasty looking decent sized cracks in the tread. Sidewills are mint, but the tread inbetween the lugs is gonna be rough soon. Tires probably have less than 10k miles on them, but are probably 4 ish years old, but i have tires on my other jeep from the 90s made by good year. Granted the past 20 years of those spent all there time in a barn not sun, the kendas i park in a slightly sunny part of my yard in the grass. Moisture from the dirt doesnt help, but it shouldn't get cracks a inch long and that big that quick.
This doesn’t work unless you have radial tires. Otherwise the tire is designed to ball up in the center so more wear in the center of the tire. That would be normal for a non radial tire. What do you think? Am I right?.. Am I wrong?
@@bigskinny42 bought new sensors for new wheels,, just curious if they would continue to work, or just not use them,, Thank You,, made decision easy,, put new sensors in !
Yeah that little bit of chalk on the edges still means to much air? Also, I did this the other day and now that my pressures are 10psi lower I feel my truck with a vibration. Could the lower pressures cause the balance of the tires to be off now, and they need redone?
Yes. The tread is bubbling out from the center. And as for airing down, you should just get them rebalanced but tell the person doing the balancing to keep the air pressures set to what you want.
Wider/taller tires typically will require less pressure because there is more surface area to distribute the load. Unless it's a truck that tows, the majority of vehicles with bigger tires will require less psi than factory even if you include aftermarket accessories that add weight.
Interesting test. Never seen that one before. I always use my tread gauge to keep an eye on my tire wear. Let's you know if the pressure is too high or too low. It takes longer though, must drive a few hundred miles, and recheck. The chalk method is quick. The chalk method won't show how your tires are wearing, and if a alignment is needed. Measuring each groove will tell if a alignment is needed. If the depth of the treads are not the same, ex. : outside tread is deeper than inside tread, means you need a alignment.
I would venture to say, the best time to do this method is immediately after getting new tires installed. At the time of new tire installation, one should always get an alignment. I also get an alignment once a year. This too would be a good time to run this test. Just my thoughts.
Thanks for this. I did the chalk test before and I still have about an inch of chalk left on both outer sides. I assumed that was okay, but I'll deflate it and try again 👍
speaking to the Tire pressures @8:19 keep in mind that your tires have a MAXIMUM PRESSURE rating. If your tire says 32 Max Psi when cold.. DO NOT put 40 psi in it as it will create a dangerous situation because the tire was not designed for that pressure. If your tire says 50 psi Max when cold, and your sticker says 32.. then YES .. between 32 and 50 is best.
What tire you running saying that low psi? Door spec is manufacturer psi spec not max tire spec. It's all based on epa fuel economy shit that they have to meet for regulations
I run BFG AT KO2s P265/651R17 for a 2006 Toyota 4runner. Techs did 35psi after an oil change and I watched as I burned through gas. Brought the PSI to 45-47 and found that my gas millage seemed to go up. Seemingly consistent wear all around. Seems counter intuitive but, . . . .Had the tires for over 5 years and they have not disappointed with mostly road miles in cold MN. You are going to get road noise, . .that comes with the territory. Just turn your radio up and quit whining. Going to try TOYO Open Country AT3s next.
This man just popped up on my suggested page , 5 +hours ago….. I just keep clicking next because this channel is so informative and funky fresh! Wheel on dudes and dudettes!
I have 40x13.50r17 cooper discoverer stt pros. On my 2022 jeep jlur. I have them down to 25 psi and there still is an inch of untouched chalk on the outside of the tires. Any ideas?
Stop looking at chalk marks to properly inflate your tire!!! Download the load chart for your specific make and size of tire…..highway inflation is determined by the amount of weight on the tire and the CONSTRUCTION of the tire….P rated tires have less plies and support less weight and generate less heat (great for mpg)…..LT tires have MORE plies to support more weight and create more heat (bad for mpg)…..heat causes failure so how do you reduce heat? More psi…..how do you support more weight? More psi…..size does not matter as much as number of plies and amount of weight carried…..download the chart for your tire and it will give you the proper psi for your weight of vehicle and accessories…..stop playing with chalk in the driveway like 4th graders our wonderful tire companies have done this for us already…..can’t tell how many issues I’ve fixed by educating people that run LT tires at P rated air pressures they are wrong…..an LT275 will require MORE air than a P275 to carry the same weight…..no chalk needed just download the load charts and start there not much adjustment needed
You didn't go all the way to show what tire pressure you ended up with. I did this for my 2020 Tundra when I got my Duratrac 285/75/R18s when it was about 35 degrees outside & had to go to 32PSI on the rear and 36 on the front to get a totally flat tire patch of chalk on the pavement.
Depends if they are in stock, if they were available at the purchase with out any notice of a backorder you should expect them within 7-10 business days!
Cupping happens on all aggressive tires if they are not rotated. The tire pressure will vary from the tire being heated from driving or day time increased temperatures.
Any good tire manufacturer can tell you exactly what pressure to run given the weight on each axle. get your vehicle weighed at a truck stop and reach out to your tire dealer and they can find out exactly what pressure to run.
@@jdreaper2176 - um, no. He's right - but maybe you misunderstood. He said to have the TIRE MANUFACTURER give pressure recommendations... and based off of the actual weight the tires are carrying. This is exactly the best method- though you can very likely Google the info rather than calling the tire company. But it's all a load vs contact patch ratio, and that's the most important part.
@@Broadpaw_Fox 25 psi is great. Sometimes I drive at 14 psi on pavement heading to another trail. I also run over alot of garbage on the side of the road on purpose. Mud terrains like a variety in there diet Mud, snow road debris, road kill they eat it all.
@@jdreaper2176 - ok, but that's the point. You're running much lower than stock, and that's because you changed tire size. The manufacturer is going to take that into account if you ask like mentioned above. To be clear (for anyone else who reads these comments) - the whole reason for changing tires on these trucks is two fold - to increase clearance, and to increase traction by having a larger contact patch. Due to physics, the contact patch size is controlled by the air pressure, not the tire size - the size of the tire only determines how low you can run before the tire is squatting too much. Bigger tire can squat more (more sidewall height). More squat means larger contact patch, which means more traction. Hopefully that helps people that read this. :)
I have 2021 Big horn Ram with 35x12.50r20 Mickey Thompson Baja boss a/t. I do all city/highway driving. What tire pressure should I be running in these bigger tires
This is bad advice and is different for every tire. It's highly dependent on the default carcass shape. I have some 37inr17 ko2s C rated on my jk and to get them like this guide I would need to air down to 20psi as they are heavily crowned by default. If I were to air down to 20 it would induce excessive heat, soften the rubber and prematurely wear out the tread. This test only focuses on contact width and not contact length which is equally important. On the flip side I have some 305r20ko2s E rated on my GMC truck and they are very square by default and even at 45psi they make full contact width wise.
For trucks you want a little more psi in front for normal driving. Once you put a load in bed or a trailer on then you can air up your rears to match the load.
So the bigger and taller tire requires less psi for even wear what about if you go from factory 17s on a 2019 f150 to a 18 rim and tires like 265/70/R18s factory requires 36 psi so will I have to put less air like around 34 or 29 psi
I run 60 psi In my 285/65 r18 tires. I have a 22 150. They're Yokohama geolandar X/AT load range E my tires have 46k on em and they're smooth and perfect I rotate every 2500 miles but no chopped edges or cupping and ever since I switched from 35 psi to 60 the ride quality is outstanding and the wear is great too