New to the site. Bought a 2001 Silverado 1500 HD a couple weeks ago and love the truck, but the ride is very rough. I know there are a lot of posts on here about tire pressure and hate to be bothersome, but the recommended tire pressure for my truck is 80 psi. I read other posts on how to tell if the pressure is right, but I would like to see if any one knows about where to start. This truck is my everyday driver and I am usually riding with an empty bed so 80psi is brutal. Is there any reason I wouldn't be able to drop the pressure down a bit besides tire wear? At what point would it be a safety issue? Thanks.
Chevy silverado HD tire pressure
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on an empty truck 80 is way to high. If you look at the sticker in the door it should say 60psi for the fronts. I might start there with the E load tires. unfortunately my tires now being 315/75/16 are D rated so the max is 50psi and I set them around 40 (rear) -44 (front) unloaded. Take a piece of chalk and go across the entire tread and about 1-2" wide. drive a short distance then check the chalk. if you show no chalk on the outside and still have chalk in the center then the tires are under inflated. if its on the outside and not in the middle its over inflated. repeat until you get the chalk worn even or are satified with how it will wear and the comfort. I have a gravel driveway so I just check when I get to the end and see where the tire has been covered in gravel dust. on mine there is usually no dust on about the final 1/2" of the outside tread so I am good with that (pictured as 1/2' no dust/covered in dust/1/2" no dust). the 80psi is a cold max for fully loaded. since 60 in front is recomended for normal front psi. Make sure the tires have not been driven on for a few hours when making your initial psi check as the psi will change after the tires have been driven and heat up. the short drives for checking wont effect it. If you have been driving for a while first and dont want to wait and you have an air compressor in your garage, one way is to air the tires way down then refill them. Since the ratings are for cold psi this will give you the most accurate readings.
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