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Tire pressure - p-metric (stock) vs LT
March 17, 2025, 04:14 PM
konata88Tire pressure - p-metric (stock) vs LT
Not really a rant. Just disappointment.
Had the truck tires rotated and balanced. The tires were inflated at the RCTP for LT tires, which is at 43psi than stock p-metric of 33psi.
Got the truck back - all tires are at 33psi.
One would assume that a tire shop would know better. I hope that they at least used the proper torque level for the nuts.
It's not a big deal since I have a compressor and can adjust the pressure myself. A little inconvenient but no big deal. Still, they should know better and it would have been a hassle for me and them to go back to the shop to address.
Details. They matter.
"Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it." L.Tolstoy
"A government is just a body of people, usually, notably, ungoverned." Shepherd Book March 17, 2025, 05:31 PM
Rey HRHMaybe next time you tell them what pressure you want?
"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.
March 17, 2025, 05:34 PM
konata88Apparently there is now a need.
20 years and have never had to; times are changing I guess.
"Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it." L.Tolstoy
"A government is just a body of people, usually, notably, ungoverned." Shepherd Book March 17, 2025, 06:42 PM
V-TailWhen I leave a vehicle at Discount Tire (or any place else) for either rotate / balance, or mount new tires, I
always make sure that the pressure(s) I want are written on the service order.
הרחפת שלי מלאה בצלופחים March 17, 2025, 06:58 PM
konata88Yea, I guess I need to specify henceforth.
But here's the thing (that a tire shop should know):
1. The TPMS warning was set previously (at this shop) to warn at about 20% below 43psi. So, the spare, which was at 33psi, was warning about low tire pressure.
2. Upon getting the truck back, there is no warning for any tire, all of which are at 33psi. Which means they must have reset the TPMS setting.
3. The 4 running tires were each at 43psi. Which means they knew the tire pressure and had to manually release pressure down to 33psi (I'm assuming that they didn't break the bead to rebalance).
Basically, a tire shop should know what the vehicle needs for p-metric and LT tires. And they knew the pressures in the tires. And now the TPMS is likely set too low.
Anyway, next time, I will specify 43PSI and have them reset TPMS.
"Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it." L.Tolstoy
"A government is just a body of people, usually, notably, ungoverned." Shepherd Book March 18, 2025, 06:17 AM
ffipsKudos to you for knowing and caring about the difference between PMetric and LT tires. I would venture a guess that the majority don't...
March 18, 2025, 06:17 AM
BassamaticYeah, whenever I use a tire shop for any service I always specify on the work order the pressures I want them to use. Been doing that forever.
.....never marry a woman who is mean to your waitress. March 18, 2025, 08:47 AM
bobtheelfThat's a "let the manager know" moment. There's some training being missed that he should probably know about.
March 18, 2025, 11:18 AM
pbslingerWhenever I get tires rotated at Costco on my 2006 BMW 530I, I head straight to the tire inflation station to verify pressure, otherwise the flat tire warning is going off and I have to reset it. Maybe its because my car has weird inflation pressures, 29 front, 36 rear. If I run those pressures I get even wear and long tire life.
BMW went through great effort to get 50/50 front/rear weight distribution, everything forward is very light to achieve it. Maybe thats why the tire pressures seem weird.
March 18, 2025, 03:59 PM
arfmelLots of tire shops slavishly adhere to the tire size and inflation information on the door sticker. I’ve had Discount do this to me in the past.
March 19, 2025, 06:33 AM
trapper189I'm just happy if they torque all the lug nuts properly. They've failed enough on that point that I carry what I need to retorque them in the parking lot. At Sam's Club, I watched a guy torque 4 out of 5 lugnuts on both the front and rear wheels on the side of the vehicle that was facing me. No problem, they have a second guy who comes around and double checks. Imagine my surprise when the second guy checks the same 4 out of 5 on both wheels.

I checked the torque required to loosen them: 4 on each wheel require 120-130lbft and sure enough, 1 on each wheel only needed 80lbft.
I wouldn't expecting them to know the correct pressure for a tire that didn't come on the vehicle in the first place.
March 20, 2025, 01:19 PM
bubbatimeSo many people are not aware and will argue until they are blue in the face, that the door jamb sticker is the correct pressure.
What they are not aware of, is that the door jamb sticker pressure ONLY applies to the factory tires. If you change the tires to LT tires, if you change brands, if you change anything, the sticker is a close guide but no longer valid.
Yes when you install LT tires you have to bump the pressure up 8-13 PSI (or more)
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