[One1whaoo.]

I set my pressures to 39 lbs, to allow for a small margin as the tire loses pressure. I've found that much past that results in an unacceptably harsh ride on our poorly-maintained local streets.

 

[Wonginator]

I generally run 1 psi over the cold tire pressure on all my cars. ALSO, when you run too much PSI besides the rough ride, poor handling, you get premature suspension/tire wear with those rock hard jolts and constant vibrations!

 

[MarkP1454]

I have a simple question for the OP. For marketing purposes, we would agree that GM would like to get every mile of EPA-certified range that they can possibly get (currently 259). Aside from rolling resistance, as others have pointed out, there are safety, tire wear and myriad other considerations. If the engineers recommend 38 psi, why do you feel qualified to change that recommendation?

An instructor in an AAA driving course (gets me a discount on insurance) said that the recommended pressures are set by the manufacturers to give customers a comfortable ride, and he recommended over-inflating. Who knows if Chevy or other manufacturers raise the number to be able to improve the EPA numbers. I suspect not on the Bolt since the ride is already a bit harsh for the average consumer.

Regarding the uneven tire were, I always ran my 2004 Prius tires 3-4 psi over recommended and never saw any uneven wear for 120K miles. I keep my Bolt tires at 40 and there is hardly any tread depth difference @ 28K miles. Will have to start running them higher. Didn't know about the chalk check from raitchison, will have to try that sometime.

 

[MiG]

An instructor in an AAA driving course (gets me a discount on insurance) said that the recommended pressures are set by the manufacturers to give customers a comfortable ride, and he recommended over-inflating. Who knows if Chevy or other manufacturers raise the number to be able to improve the EPA numbers. I suspect not on the Bolt since the ride is already a bit harsh for the average consumer.

Regarding the uneven tire were, I always ran my 2004 Prius tires 3-4 psi over recommended and never saw any uneven wear for 120K miles. I keep my Bolt tires at 40 and there is hardly any tread depth difference @ 28K miles. Will have to start running them higher. Didn't know about the chalk check from raitchison, will have to try that sometime.

Unfortunately the AAA instruction for insurance discount has a wide range of informed instructors. I think if you told AAA what that instructor taught you about tire pressures they might have a reaction.

 

[BoltEUV]

I think running 10% above recommended pressure is a happy medium. You'll get the benefits of better range but also ride comfort and traction. I'm not willing to give up ride comfort and traction just to gain a few miles.

 

[liresong]

On my ICE cars, I run tires that are over-sized at 40PSI for excellent results. When I can afford an EV Chevy Bolt, I hope to use the same size over-sized tires on the Bolt, which will save me thousands of dollars. Should I use higher pressures on my planned over-sized tires, like so many have answered on this thread?

 

[BoltEUV]

On my ICE cars, I run tires that are over-sized at 40PSI for excellent results. When I can afford an EV Chevy Bolt, I hope to use the same size over-sized tires on the Bolt, which will save me thousands of dollars. Should I use higher pressures on my planned over-sized tires, like so many have answered on this thread?

I run my Bolt's tires at 40PSI all year round.