When I had my AT/3's installed, the tire store set my pressure at 30 psi, which is what is listed on my Tacoma's door panel plate. After Googling around on the Internet, I found a lot of examples of AT/3 users going with 40 psi when loaded and lower psi's when empty.camper101 said:OK, I went with E rated Cooper AT3s. It was a toss up between those and BFG KO and KO2, but the BFG wasn't available in my size (I wanted to stick with the stock size to keep it simple).
So now I'm curious what kind of air pressure you all use? The tire place put them at 40 saying I'd be good there, and my understanding is that higher pressure gives more load capacity (at the expense of a rougher ride).
I can feel the slightly rougher ride but that doesn't bother me. Only complaint is there seems to be more porpoising on cement sections of highway, but I don't expect to spend much time on those sections.
Interested to see where this goes. My understanding is as noted above--max TP as noted on the sidewall is required for max load in lbs as also noted on the sidewall.
Toyota issued a recall on the Tacomas that were equipped with light truck tires from the factory to revise the door sticker to a higher tire pressure- I think 40 lbs from memory. Since I put LT tires on after the fact, I took the truck in to the dealer and they put the new sticker on for me and recalibrated the tire pressure sensors. Now when the truck is serviced, it gets the higher pressure in the tires. I have noticed a harsher ride when the truck is empty, but it doesn't bother me and drives fine. It feels better when the camper is on and loaded.pvstoy said:Air pressure is unique to each combination. Factory door sticker has what is "recommended" for stock tire size and rating. It may have loaded weight and empty values. Once you change anything from stock like going from a "C" to "E" rated sidewall then now you need to make a new door sticker for you. It could be as easy as a simple chalk line across the thread and drive straight forward on smooth surface and see where the chalk wore off. Wear on the middle, then too much air. Wear on the outer, than too little air. You can do this test for every day driving unloaded and loaded. Now you have a better "recommended" door tag that is closer to reality for what your combination is now.
After all that you still need to watch the tire wear to make sure wear is even and adjust as necessary. Rotate your tires to help them all wear out together. And notice your driving habits and where you drive. If you drive a lot of mountainous roads or city driving with a lot of turning, then you may wear the fronts out faster and rotate tires more often.
Thanks camelracer. It didn't occur to me that one would sacrifice side-wall height with a larger diameter rim, so will definitely stick with the stock 16s.camelracer said:I believe larger wheels may be great on a Porsche but not a good idea on a truck that may see a rough road. The larger rim means a lower stiffer sidewall which is great for cornering but sucks on most trails or rough roads. The bigger the sidewall you have the better the tire will air down for improved ride and better traction.
And, as the article points out, one loses low-end torque with a larger diameter wheel. Also, a “plus 1″ tire size increase is a reasonable way to get little more height. (But you guys probably already knew this.)MidAtlantic said:Thanks camelracer. It didn't occur to me that one would sacrifice side-wall height with a larger diameter rim, so will definitely stick with the stock 16s.
As both a Tacoma and camper newbie, I found this page about Tacoma tires quite useful.
http://www.tacomahq.com/161/original-tacoma-tire-size/