QuestionYes, you were correct, the load index on the tires is 87H, sorry if I left that out. On the placard it states 32psi, but that was for the 195/70/14 & 14" rims that came on my car, which have been replaced by 17" rims & tires (215/45/17 H-Rated). I called TireRack (who recommended this size to me) and they said I should be fine and that I need to keep 36 psi in these tires. I asked them about upgrading them to a tire that has a higher sidewall for a better ride and he said I can go up to the 205/50/17 or even the 215/50/17 and be fine without rubbing and the load rating is 93 on most of the ones I had checked. I guess I have just never had this issue before on any of my other vehicles.
Karen
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Followup To
Question -
The place I had my car at yesterday said that I have the current size tire on the rims that they would recommend, but they insisted on that no matter what tire is on my car it's still the same PSI that is on the placard on the inside of the door. When I had the aftermarket rims & tires installed (tirerack.com) recommended these tires and said that the 205/40/17 tires wouldn't be sufficient for my vehicle (what would have originally come on the rims), so therefore I went with their recommendation. I've since been told that I could actually go up to a 225/50/17 or maybe even the 225/55/17 to get a better ride as the current ones have a stiffer ride, which is typical with such low profile tires. Now I don't know what to do nor what tire pressure to use. How can I resolve this?
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Followup To
Question -
I have a 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse RS which originally had the 14" stock tires/rims & have since upgraded to 17" rims with tires that are 215/45/17 (H Rated). At the time of installation someone at the shop told me since they are bigger tires, they require more inflation than my past tires. On the side of the tire it says max tire psi is 44. What should my proper tire pressure be? Would it be the same as on the inside of my door even though they are not the same size rims/tires? I would like to know what is correct. Thanks.
Answer -
Karen,
What the tire shop told you was wrong - Larger tires require less inflation pressure, but your tires aren't larger. They are smaller (in load capacity) and therefore require more inflation pressure for the same load carrying capacity.
Unfortunately, I think you don't have tires big enough for your vehicle.
If I have this right, your vehicle came with P195/70R14 90H inflated to 32 psi front and rear. Somewhere on your vehicle will be a sticker (commonly called the Placard) that will list the original tire size and the proper inflation pressure for that size.
The key to this is the "90". This is the load index, and it indicates the load carrying capacity of the tire. I think your current tires have a load index of 87, and that means no matter what inflation pressure you use, you won't have the same load capacity as the original tires and that's dangerous.
Please check the sidewall of the tire and see what the load index is. If it isn't at least a 90, you need to go back where you bought the tires and demand they make this right!
Answer -
Karen,
So what was the load index on your current tires?
Also, was I right about what the placard said?
I can't answer your questions without that info!
AnswerKaren,
It looks like Tire Rack made a mistake, and is trying to minimize the impact on them.
Let me put it this way:
A P195/70R14 at 32 psi has a load carrying capacity of 1257#. A tire with an 87 Load Index can only carry 545 kg (1201 #). I think you can see the problem - even at the rated inflation pressure, the load carrying capacity is smaller. This overstresses the tire and can lead to an overloaded tire failure - very dangerous.
I think you need to convince Tire Rack that they should have supplied you with adequate tires and they should correct this problem at no charge to you.
In the meantime you need to run 38 psi at a minimum.
