What tire pressures are people running/recommend in the rear on stock 245's when you don't have a load in the truck? Manual says 55 front and 80 rear, but don't see the need for that pressure in the back when it's not loaded. Better ride and still good tire wear at 55 PSI in the rear?
Well, there's a lot of varying and personal preferences on this issue - as I'm sure you will see as the replies come in. Personally, I have a big beef with the factory recommended 55 psi for the fronts. It's a BS recommendation to "soften" the ride characteristics at the expense of the tires. I ran my original Firestones at that pressure and the weight of the engine/front end ATE THOSE PUPPIES UP! You're absolutely correct about the rear pressure, 80 psi is only required when loaded and will quickly "crown" your tires (wearing the center of the tread prematurely) if you run around empty at that pressure. I've settled on 65 psi all around and I adjust my rears accordingly when carrying weight in the bed or pulling my utility trailer. So far, my Dunlop Radial Rovers have worn evenly and performed great at that pressure. Unless you want cupped/scalloped/prematurely worn out front tires - DO NOT run them at the recommended 55 psi!
I settled on 65 rear & 55 front but some posts have me questioning the 55 front. We'll be hauling a 12000 lb 5th wheel. The pressures are what I ran on my old 3500 single wheel hauling a 10000 lb 5th wheel.
I've experimented a bit using some of the recommendations on this forum. You can do a search and see the details. For me, the truck seems to run best empty with 55 lbs in the front and 50 lbs in the rear. When I am towing I put 65 lbs in the rear.
The tire web sites have charts you can down load that show the recommended tire pressure to load recommendations. That's what I followed. According to the charts I could go lower than what I am running.
Since new, I've run 50 PSI on all 4 corners empty, bumping the rears up to 80 PSI when towing my 5er. The OEM Firestones 245's are at 57K and are now due for a change.
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