[RichCapeCod]

When I picked up my Bolt (April), tire pressure, all around, was 41 lbs (shown on front screen). Now they are, roughly, at 43 lbs cold (summer is here). I noticed today that there is a sticker inside the front door, showing 38 lbs cold for both front and rear tires.


Having read numerous threads on OEM tires, and their pressures, I know it is not unusual for Bolt owners to run up to around 44 lbs in tires. None the less, the factory standard is 38 lbs. Any thoughts?


Rich

 

[GregBrew]

When I picked up my Bolt (April), tire pressure, all around, was 41 lbs (shown on front screen). Now they are, roughly, at 43 lbs cold (summer is here). I noticed today that there is a sticker inside the front door, showing 38 lbs cold for both front and rear tires.


Having read numerous threads on OEM tires, and their pressures, I know it is not unusual for Bolt owners to run up to around 44 lbs in tires. None the less, the factory standard is 38 lbs. Any thoughts?


Rich

I cold fill mine at 40PSI. They then tend to run at 41-42PSI. I recall reading somewhere that 42PSI should be the max. The ride does tend to get a bit more harsh at 42PSI.

 

[redpoint5]

I'd say this topic has been talked to death in other threads.

Manufacturer recommended pressure is what they considered to be the best compromise of the following:

Overall safety
Stopping distance
Tire wear
Stability
Road noise
Ride comfort
Wheel protection
Cornering traction
Minimum, typical, and maximum anticipated loads
Susceptibility to punctures
... and probably dozens of other considerations affected by tire pressure

I prefer my tires inflated above manufacturers recommendation because I place a higher value on efficiency and cornering feel. Another benefit is my wheels are less likely to be damaged by a pothole. Increased road noise bothers me a bit, and the harsher ride is the price I pay for better cornering feel and connection with the road. I run about 15% over manufacturers recommended pressure.

It's all personal preference, and my recommendation is to experiment for yourself. There's nothing magic about the recommended pressure as it's a subjective best compromise of objective criteria.

Just as an FYI, the burst pressure on a tire is several hundred pounds, so that's a non-issue.

 

[XJ12]

I run 37 on the DIC because of my high altitude and the resulting error in the sensors. Gauge pressure is 38 psi cold. I prefer the better ride. But if I was on a road trip, I'd probably run them up to 42 on the DIC which is close to 44 psig. My dealer had pressurized the tires up that high and I really couldn't tell the difference. The Bolt suspension is a little harsh to begin with.

Years ago an oil change place put 45 psi in my Suburban tires and I didn't get two blocks down the road before I noticed the very harsh ride. They just looked at the tires for the full load rating for what are truck tires.

 

[wvblt]

I used to inflate my tires to 42 psi, thinking I would improve mileage a bit. After a year or so I began to hear more road noise, a rapid bup-bup-bup, which I thought at first might be a wheel bearing. My local tire dealer checked. His diagnosis was that the tires were "cupping" which he attributed to my over-inflating them. He showed me the little indentations along edges of the treads, the source of the noise I was hearing. As a result, I've gone back to the recommended 38 psi but too late for my current tires. They still have good tread though, so I'll put up with the noise until replacement time.

 

[shocker]

38 cold for me. I'll take ride comfort over a tiny increase in efficiency.

 

[RichCapeCod]

OK, I'll drop my pressure down a couple of pounds.


Rich

 

[rgmichel]

38 cold for me. I'll take ride comfort over a tiny increase in efficiency.

I have been filling my tires to 38/39 when they are hot after a longish drive. So, when cold they are at about 35/36. I have found by experience that a couple of pounds lower than recommended prevents tire wear in the middle of the tire. My tires look good after the first 20,000 miles so I am not concerned. I have never had any issues with the efficiency of my Bolt EV, as it seems normal compared to others that have discussed efficiency on here.

 

[One1whaoo.]

39 cold for me, for my priority - twisty roads.

 

[gern_blanston]

42 front, 40 rear (cold)

 

[psyflyjohn]

Also 38 for me corrected for ambient temp. Over-inflating may get you slightly better mileage, but increases the harshness of the ride, which is plenty harsh anyway. The increased harshness may also cause excessive wear on the suspension, plus vibrating the battery and components - with accompanying coolant leaks and cell failure. This is just my opinion. At 38, the tires seem to be wearing very evenly, suggesting correct pressure...

 

[wesley]

I've been maintaining my Bolt's tire pressure to be at least 264 kPa (38.3 psi) at cold, for any given season, ever since getting the car more than a year ago. I'd like to have it right at 262 kPa (38.0 psi) but my Bolt EV's TPMS only reports in exact multiples of 4 and only in kPa, so it's either 260 or 264 on the screen and I decided to err in the slightly larger value. It'll naturally go up to 280 kPa (40.6 psi) maximum and that's only about 6% higher. Wearing is happening evenly and I had no issues with efficiency or comfort.

 

[redpoint5]

I used to inflate my tires to 42 psi, thinking I would improve mileage a bit. After a year or so I began to hear more road noise, a rapid bup-bup-bup, which I thought at first might be a wheel bearing. My local tire dealer checked. His diagnosis was that the tires were "cupping" which he attributed to my over-inflating them. He showed me the little indentations along edges of the treads, the source of the noise I was hearing. As a result, I've gone back to the recommended 38 psi but too late for my current tires. They still have good tread though, so I'll put up with the noise until replacement time.

Cupping isn't caused by over-inflation, and certainly not by 4 PSI over. I'd go to a different tire guy.

 

[Loco]

Here in the desert, I stay at 38 cold max, leaning towards 37.5 since my gauge does 1/10ths. We're at 100+ by 11am when I might drive somewhere (work from home), so starting out in the 40's cold would be ill-advised for me here.

 

[GlenandhisBolt1!]

I don't care about efficiency and traction is much more important to me. I run my tires at 35 psi.

I took my Bolt into the dealer for the firmware update last week. He rotated the tires too, and bumped up the pressure to 38 psi. I immediately noticed the lack of traction.

 

[hatchy]

38 cold, seems to get up to 42 hot. I've tried lower and higher for more than a few miles. There doesn't seem to be a worth while trade off either way for me. I care about both traction and efficiency.. 38 seems about right.

 

[GregBrew]

Cupping isn't caused by over-inflation, and certainly not by 4 PSI over. I'd go to a different tire guy.

I agree. That comment struck me as odd. IIRC, cupping is caused by improper balancing? Over-inflation should cause excessive wear in the middle of the tread.

 

[redpoint5]

I should have made a more useful comment that cupping is usually an out of balance issue, or other alignment/suspension issue. Perhaps that can be exacerbated by higher pressure, but shouldn't be the underlying cause itself.

The test drive I took of the Bolt had a firm ride, and I assume tires were at manufacturers recommendation, so I'm not sure I would go much over that myself, despite running higher pressure in everything else.

 

[raitchison]

I run mine with the fronts at 44 and the rears at 43, cold, so they go higher than that at operating temps.

It helps offset the efficiency hit I take from running non-LRR tires (I estimate about 10%) but gives up a bit of grip. Still my tires have way more grip overinflated than the OEM tires did on their best day.

 

[drdiesel1]

60 psi in all for the last 2.7 years!