Car Parts Faqs - Do I fill my car tires to the pressure listed on the car or the tire?

Do I fill my car tires to the pressure listed on the car or the tire?

I've always heard that you are supposed to fill up the tires to the psi listed on the inside of the car by the driver's seat (or next to the gas cap in some cars). However, someone told me that you're supposed to fill them up to the psi listed on the tire itself. I bought a used car and replaced the tires. The psi listed on the car is 38psi for each tire. However, it is listed as 53psi on the tire. What am I supposed to fill it up to since this is a huge difference? It's a 2002 Volvo sedan for clarification.

Public Comments

go by the decal on the door jam [most cars].....the number on the tire 53 is how much it will withstand before it will explode...38 even seems high for the cars that i am familiar with
Fill to what is listed by the manufacturer of the car in the glove box or on the gas door lid or in the owners manual. The max on the tire is just that a maximum at maximum load that tire is capable of holding. The tire maker has no idea of your car weight
on the tyre is a max
because you bought new tires it should be what the tires say. what is in the car is for the original tires that the car came with.
Filling a tire to the max means if you are carring the max load rated by the tire. If it says to put in 38 and you are not pulling a trailer or have a lot of a load in it all the time. The car maker say to inflate to 38 then 38 it is.
For safety reasons go with the figure that is listed on the car. Check out the reasons here from the PBS Car Talk Radio Show. http://www.cartalk.com/content/columns/Archive/2006/January/01.html
are you sure that its 53 psi not some other sort of rating. It would help if you had mentioned the type of car, ie sports car, SUV, etc. cuz that matters. You are right about consulting the user manual, however there is a huge difference in the psi rating u've given, 53 to me sounds really high, my car asks for 35 psi, thats about average for most cars. Are you sure you have the correct type of tire on the car? Your best bet is to follow the recommended tire pressure on the tire itself because thats whats gonna blow and when and if you try to get it replaced via warranty they will screw you over for not following the recommended psi rating on the tire. To be safe though i would check with a mech. Good luck and be careful, you dont want your tire to blow on the highway cuz that = major accident.
The best thing to do is read the car's manual which will tell you to inflate the tires to the cold psi number... whatever that may be... just read the manual.
Dont go by what the tire listes as 53 psi,Go by what the service manaul says as 35 psi,I say this because my husband is mechanic for 6 years and he says that if you put what the tire listes as 53 psi then as you drive with that amount of tire pressure the tire will create a bubble on the cornner of the sidewall of the tire.Always go by what the mannual of the car listes and you will be ok.
Tire pressure is not rocket science, Set them at 40 psi
Go by what the tires say don't fill them to the max if you feel better stay 5-10 under max, more air pressure will give you better gas mileage but a rougher ride.The tire pressure rating on the car is based on the tires that came on the car from the factory .
Short version: Use the vehicle manufacturers recommended inflation pressure. They built your car, they tested it for millions of miles. They know better than anyone what it needs. If you go to ANY tire manufacturers web site they will tell you the same thing. Use the pressures recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. Long version: Your tire does not recommend an inflation pressure. If you read the tire carefully it says "maximum inflation pressure.." That doesn't sound like a "recommendation" does it? No, it is a generic safety warning telling you to never exceed that cold inflation pressure. That same tire could fit dozens of other types of vehicles, all with very different inflation requirements than your car. How do you suppose the tire maker knows what kind of car that tire is going on? A lot of people believe wierd myths like tires of different brands of tires will require different inflation pressures when mounted on the same car so you should inflate to what it says on the sidewall. I have not read any of the other answers above yet but I bet at least one person stated something to that effect. That is all rubbish. What determines inflation pressure is tire size, not brand or model. So long as the tires on your car are the same size and load index as the ones originally fitted to your car - in other words, as long as they are the same size and load index as listed on that placard inside the door - you need to use the inflation pressure recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. Over-inflation of tires can be dangerous. It narrows the contact patch (where the rubber meets the road) reducing traction. It also makes the tire more susceptible to damage from impacts with pot holes or other road hazards. And it reduces ride comfort while increasing uneven tire wear that will result in premature replacement of the tires.