I have played a lot with tire pressures over the years, and after much time and effort, I've decided the manufacturer's recommended pressure really is the best.

Lower the pressure by 6 lbs or so, and you'll notice a cushier more comfortable ride. Which is nice, since I would call the Fit's factory ride "extra firm". But your MPG will suffer a bit, and your tires will wear faster.

Raise the pressure by 6 lbs or so, and the car coasts easier, the steering is more responsive, and you MIGHT see an additional 1 or 2 mpg in city driving - maybe. But you'll feel it - and the added ride harshness isn't just bad for your butt - it's hard on the car. All those tiny solder points in your electronics are gonna feel each bump that much more. All those snap together plastic pieces of the interior are gonna vibrate more and start creaking and rattling that much sooner. It's just not a great idea for your car in the long run.

 

Just out of curiosity, how many sets of tires on the 09/10 Fit have you had on your car? (can't go by any tire shop because they don't actually know what pressure is over the life of a car - only the owner does) I'm guessing you are on your 1st set so there's no real way to determine better wear. The more air you put in the tires, the more the center of the tire bulges and that will wear first . Also lowers your handling capability as less tire is actually in contact with the road. 3psi above normal won't affect much if any other than a slight bit more harshness in ride quality.

Oh... and I'm referring to Cold PSI, not after it's been driven for 10 minutes and then checked... there's a difference there.

6PSI is alot, especially in a tire the size of the Fit's. Dropping to 27psi (for the sport) will get a driver into a very sloppy feel and potentially dangerous areas of handling. Going the opposite direction in pressure has an adverse (yet similar) effect. Tires are rock hard and handling is again diminished due to the fact the contact patch has gotten smaller. On a hard corner or a swift lane change when an inside tire begins to lift, every little patch of rubber touching the ground is important and a tire with too much pressure will have a smaller contact patch which again is dangerous (the dangerous aspect is the "similar" part).

/

In General...

33psi might not be the 100% best for the fit in terms of performance or economy but it's not going to be off by 10%. 33 for the Sport is going to be the best compromise of handling, economy, ride comfort, and most importantly, Safety. With lawyers chasing every ambulance, and every review targeting in on safety, automakers are very aware of what's best overall for the car (and the driver).

I've got a 3 year old in the back of my car and to think that there are alot of people out there with tires that are low (or high) and that they think they know more about what's best for their car than Honda does is a scary thought.

Everyone's an expert on everything they own and everyone is a great driver... Me, I'm an expert on knowing that Honda knows more than me about the Fit.

..and naturally, I think I know alot

~SB

 

I'm on my first set of tires on the Fit, and only 6400 miles, so it's too soon to tell. However, the recommended pressures on my previous car, a Subaru Forester, led to much more wear on the shoulders of the OEM tires, which were completely shot, and badly cupped at 25,000 miles. Upping the pressures 10% resulted in more even wear across the tread, less cupping, and ~40,000 miles per set. Cupped treads are very noisy.

 

My past experience has been with the cars listed in my sig plus my Parents VWs. (Bus, Vanagon, & Diesel Rabbit Pickup) I've only had one issue with treadwear on any of the cars and that was because of a bad Pressure gauge I had. The Gauge always ran about 5psi low so my tires were consistently 5psi high... (Had I only known...) Those tires were badly worn in the middle after not too long. Underinflated by a few lbs for a little while, then back up to normal, and got 40K miles out of them... I replaced them (and the Pressure gauge - It was the Acura branded Freebie that came in the glove Compartment kit with the free pen) and ran the factory PSI. No issues after that. I've run all vehicles at the Recommended Factory PSI (which has ranged from 32-34) and have never had anything other than even tire wear. I also Inflate the Ridgeline when towing or loading up the bed with heavy stuff. On average, I've run between 40K & 60K depending on the vehicle and tire.

~SB

 

I am astounded at how intollerant some on this forum are for anyone who has an opinion different from their own. Some are seemingly personally vested in getting everyone to adhere like robots to Honda's specs, from tire pressure to oil change intervals. There are actually people out in the world who can think for themselves, and have enough experience to make their own decisions based on their own knowledge and needs. They do not need Honda's permission or permission from anyone else. They have no idea what I drive, how, what my tires are or what my experience has been, yet they seem obsessed with getting myself and others to toe their line of thinking. To each his own. You do it your way, and I will do it mine. They are, after all, my cars, my tires, my engines and my oil.

 

Not sure if this was aimed at my responses but Part of the problem is that most people reading this thread (and many others) are Not knowledgable, have not had enough experience, and unfortunately, take what they read as gospel. On The Ridgeline forum, there is the same discussion going on and people cannot believe that they should run anything less than what the max is on the sidewall... because it says it's there. They can't believe that a company such as honda (or toyota, or nissan, etc...) could know more about what works best for a specific car than the tire manufacturer, let alone themselves. Naturally, there are a few people that do actually have experience but that is for specific tasks/needs and realistically won't suit the next person. I'd rather not have a 16 year old on the road with 45psi tires because they read it somewhere.

They are your tires, your engine, your oil... It's my Child in the back seat of the car next to yours so my voice ends up being louder than many might like. Everyone's opinion is there own and as I said before, My opinion is that Honda knows more about the Fit, Toyota knows more about the Yaris, and both of them know about the tires that go on their car than 99.99% of drivers.

~SB

 

I'm astonished how intolerant that post is. Nobody seems to have as much difficulty in letting other people have their opinions as you.

 

Virtual...your post makes no sense. At no time do I attempt to keep others from having their opinions or doing as they please. It is some others who get hysterical at those who do not do as THEY say.

 

Specboy...You having a child does not allow you to be heard more than anyone else. You do as you please. You have no right to demand that others do as you say. (36 psi is WAY below the tire rating on MY tires)

 

I agree with you 100%, just look at what was done to me at the beginning of my thread, I'm 63 years old and have been playing with cars since I was 17, building engines, autocrossing, you name it, I have done it. I've bought at least 15 sets of new tires in all the cars i've had and from my own experience I can tell you the factory tire pressure doesn't work 100%, specially when they want you to inflate the rear which has very little weight the same as the front which has all the weight of the engine and transaxle, I always overinflate the front by a few pounds and underinflate the rear by a few pounds and rotate every 7500 miles, in the Fit's case they want you to rotate when you change the oil which is OK by me, but the important thing is to rotate to get the best wear out of your tires. By the end of all my tires life they are worn evenly from edge to edge.

There is a saying that goes like this:Experience is the most useless thing there is because you can't give it to anybody else, you can only use it yourself.

 

Me too.....

 

Miamifit...I wonder, with these posters who are obsesssed with Honda specs, how many of them have non-Honda wheels. Were they approved by Honda? Made by Honda? If not, they should not, by their own statements, be on their Hondas. How many have after-market lights, lightbulbs, steering wheel covers or pedal covers. Were they approved by Honda engineers? Made and supervised by Honda? I doubt it. That would, by their statments, make them a hazard to themselves, their children and the public. If not approved by Honda engineers, all these and any other aftermarket items should not be used as they are not per Honda specs. Yet they presume to tell others that they must adhere to Honda specs for such things as tire pressures and oil change intervals. Interesting people.

 

Oh please... I do not claim (nor have I claimed) that I am demanding you to change because honestly, no matter how wrong someone might be, they won't change until they are proven wrong and honestly, that won't happen 99% of the time on a forum. If you are running 40+ on your car, you are a danger to others on the road and I have every right to call anyone out who is being a danger to others and you bet your sweet aspercreme I'll be louder than most when my family is involved because my son IS more important than you or anyone else in this forum, or on this planet.

Arrogance is quite unbecoming and No, no one MUST adhere to Honda's specs. I, and many others, have simply stated that Honda knows more about tires, wheels, and the combination on the Honda FIT than most anyone else. The Vast majority of people should not be screwing with their tire pressure, they should be following the recommendations of the people who know the car best.

~SB

PS. my Bell thermometer, V1, & Parrot Bluetooth aren't Honda Tested... Not sure about the Graco.

 

I repeat, YOU have no business telling ANYONE else that they should or should not be "screwing with" tire pressures.

 

You're 0 for 2.

Pop Mechanics on too stiff Fits. conclusion: myth

Consumer reports on tire wear. conclusion: follow manufacturers' recommended tire pressures.

You got a cite for a valid study or just opinion?



Here are excerpts: Pop Mechanics
Consumer Reports:
P.S. cheap insurance for a statistically non-existent event is 100% overpriced.

P.P.S. I've got some magnets I'll sell you. Cheap.

 

36 psi for me. anything above that is not worth it in killing the struts and shots.

Hard tires will put extreme stress on the shocks and struts.

 

Here are excerpts: Pop Mechanics
Quote:
To invoke the MythBusters, we’d now consider the myth of increased fuel economy from over-inflated tires officially busted. So why didn’t the harder tires with less drag result in better mileage? Well, you’ve got to figure that, at 70 mph or so, the aerodynamic drag of the car’s body is probably outweighing the small improvements the tires gave us.
And we wouldn’t recommend anyone try this one at home either. The vehicle’s handling is compromised when the tires are over-inflated. At 45 psi, the ride was brittle. In fact, the tires were so stiff they nearly vibrated our garage-door opener right off the sun visor. Ouch. –Ben Stewart

This just tells me that at highway speeds, over inflated tires do nothing for gas mileage. That makes sense. If, however, you do a lot of city driving - you would think that the extra stiffness would give better gas mileage. How much? I don't know.

This topic comes up every now and then, and there are some who are passionate about only inflating to Honda specs. I have always inflated 5 lbs over max and have never, ever had un-even tire wear on all the cars I have owned. That's me. You do what you want. Would I follow the same 5 lbs over if I drove somewhere else with different driving conditions? Probably not. You have to determine for yourself what is best based on your driving conditions. If you don't want to mess around with anything, just use the recommended pressure. You can't go wrong that way....

 

so... we're resorting to yelling (just a little though). All I'm saying is that No one has any business putting me or my friends, family, etc... in Danger. And I do have business telling anyone who puts the above in danger. You'd tell someone if they were about to put their hand in a wood chipper wouldn't you? I know I would... maybe others wouldn't.

I'm thinking in the city, you are bound to have more potholes which will do way more damage to the suspension and begin to loosen things inside... than will benefit from economy... especially with the Fit's economy levels.

~SB

 

Actually, exactly the opposite: higher pressure makes it more difficult for a pothole to deform a tire enough to impact the rim. At the extreme, consider driving an extremely under-inflated tire, say 10 psi. Hitting a sharp edge, such as a pothole, is more likely to drive the tread right up against the rim. Running at or above the tire manufacturer's maximum safe pressure (on the sidewall) is another matter entirely.

BMW 1100 cc motorcycles are notorious for having very soft rims, and standard procedure to reduce the risk of destroying a wheel on a pothole is to run 5-10 psi over recommended. Interestingly, over time BMW's recommended inflation pressures for newer models (still essentially the same weight and tire sizes) has crept up.

Between Honda's recommendation and the max limit of the tire, it's pretty much an individual choice, without any significant impact on safety. Tread wear may vary, and only experimentation over multiple sets of tires can determine the "best" pressure.

This is turning into an oil thread, with very little likelihood of changing anyone's mind, but at least we can keep it civil.

 

Seldon..You are right, it is beginning to become uncivilized. I say: To each his own. Do what you want to your own car. End of my part of this "discussion"