OE Tires: Load index and safety?

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Charles Lasitter - 08 Apr 2005 21:48 GMT

So the Michelin MXV4 S8s on my new Accord can handle up to 1400
pounds at 44psi, and that's all great. But Honda sets the required
pressure at 30/29 for this particular car ('05 4Cyl 5M LX), and that
begs the question:

At those tire pressures, how much weight can the tires carry?

Guess what: As owners, we don't get to know.

With every PSI that you drop in inflation pressure, the max load
capacity drops as well. And this number is different for ever tire
on the market.

So I figured that since this is important safety data, tire makers
would certainly post their load index charts on their web sites so
that you could know the limits of the tire at different levels of
inflation. This is, after all, important safety information.

But no. Turns out that all this info is sent to a trade association,
called the National Wheel & Rim Association, where it's compiled, and
then SOLD at $70.50 per copy under the "Wheel and Rim Yearbook"
title.

And of course with rapid changes in the market, it is obsolete before
it's ever printed.

Consumers Union has already complained about this in a filing to
NHTSA, all to no avail.

So just in case someone has this info for the stock Honda tires, I'd
really appreciate it if you could share it with me.

-- CL.

+-----------------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------------+

Reply to this Message

Charles Lasitter - 08 Apr 2005 23:29 GMT

> At those tire pressures, how much weight can the tires carry?

I did get an answer to this already, but still do not know where the
information is on line that I could reference it without fee.

-- CL.

+-----------------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------------+

Reply to this Message

SoCalMike - 09 Apr 2005 00:21 GMT

> So the Michelin MXV4 S8s on my new Accord can handle up to 1400
> pounds at 44psi, and that's all great. But Honda sets the required
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> Guess what: As owners, we don't get to know.

its like the point that a cow might make- a moo point.

its not just the tires/wheels, but the suspension, as well. i wouldnt
overload the car. just because you set the pressures to 44psi doesnt
mean you can use the trunk to haul a pallet of sand.

id follow what they say about load, but wouldnt be afraid to play with
the pressures a bit. worst case is you get a harsher ride.

how much weight do you *want* to carry?

Reply to this Message

Charles Lasitter - 09 Apr 2005 13:11 GMT

> id follow what they say about load, but wouldnt be afraid to play
> with the pressures a bit. worst case is you get a harsher ride.

> how much weight do you *want* to carry?

First, here's the proper nomenclature of what I'm looking for, and
then why:

"load and inflation table:

A chart in the tire manufacturer's data book listing the carrying
capacity of a tire at each of several air pressure increments from
the lowest range of practical usage to its maximum capacity."

Having this info would let me safely replace the OE tires with other
tires of a slightly different load category by minor (one PSI)
adjustments in pressure.

That's because my 1400 max load tire at 44 max PSI is being run at
30/29 PSI to generate an effective max load of about 1280 or so.

With the right table data, you can jigger the pressure so that the
replacement tire has the same effective max load at a given PSI as
the OE tires did.

(BTW: Did stumble upon something like what I'm looking for:)

http://tinyurl.com/6kv5y

Why bother with this? Well, sometimes the tire you'd like to run
isn't available in exactly the right size or right load index rating
or what have you, and it's nice to have some flexibility rather than
just putting a much heavier load rated tire (and lots more unsprung
weight) on the car.

So I'm really not interested in towing anything or even carring more
than a couple hundred pounds of rock salt. Just want some
flexibility in the process.

-- CL.

+-----------------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------------+

Reply to this Message

TeGGer? - 09 Apr 2005 00:25 GMT

<snip>

> But no. Turns out that all this info is sent to a trade association,
> called the National Wheel & Rim Association, where it's compiled, and
> then SOLD at $70.50 per copy under the "Wheel and Rim Yearbook"
> title.

That's the "Tire and Rim Yearbook", not "Wheel and Rim...".

> And of course with rapid changes in the market, it is obsolete before
> it's ever printed.

Yeah, but your tire was made in a certain year, and will be included in
that year's Yearbook, which at least one of your local tire shops ought to
have.

Have you tried phoning around?

Signature

TeGGeR?

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Reply to this Message

Charles Lasitter - 09 Apr 2005 04:25 GMT

> That's the "Tire and Rim Yearbook", not "Wheel and Rim...".

Well, the names MAY have been changed to protect the guilty ...

http://www.nationalwheelandrim.com/

now the National Wheel and Rim Association (NWRA), was apparently
once the Tire and Rim Association, and published the Tire and Rim
Association Yearbook, not to be confused with the Tire Industry
Association, which has it's own slew of publications it wants you to
buy.

And if that's not confusing enough, NWRA also sells the Wheel and Rim
Manual, which isn't the now Wheel and Rim Yearbook(??).

I'm too embarrased to call them back and ask for clarification of all
this again, but anyone that wants to can call 330-666-8121, and
they'll be more than happy to sell you something.

They don't have an on-line subscription option, which is what they
really need to stay current, but if you want to go electronic,
they'll sell you the database on CDROM for just $232.

>> And of course with rapid changes in the market, it is obsolete
>> before it's ever printed.

> Yeah, but your tire was made in a certain year, and will be
> included in that year's Yearbook, which at least one of your local
> tire shops ought to have.

> Have you tried phoning around?

I don't think they'd like to hear from someone that was going to be
placing an order thru the Tire Rack, but as far as currency of
information goes, since I'm really interested in what's up with tires
on the market right now, it'd be a hit and miss proposition.

http://tinyurl.com/4bxmq

This is what every manufacturer should have on it's web site, but for
some reason, I'm only seeing it for farm tractors and trucks.

I'll keep looking.

-- CL.

+-----------------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------------+

Reply to this Message

Steve Bigelow - 09 Apr 2005 09:56 GMT

> http://tinyurl.com/4bxmq
>
> This is what every manufacturer should have on it's web site, but for
> some reason, I'm only seeing it for farm tractors and trucks.

http://www.falkentire.com/tires_512_sizes.htm

Reply to this Message

Charles Lasitter - 09 Apr 2005 13:13 GMT

"Steve Bigelow" <stevebigelowXXX@rogers.com> wrote in news:wI-
dnWvH1dRbBcrfRVn-gA@rogers.com:

> http://www.falkentire.com/tires_512_sizes.htm

Not quite what I wanted, but falken has the closest to what I'm
interested in:

http://tinyurl.com/6kv5y

Thanks.

-- CL.

+-----------------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------------+

Reply to this Message