Free is fine. Air is free too. Don't pay for nitrogen. I think what bothers me most is the Honda dealer offering a service agreement that charged hundreds more for nitrogen fills when I bought the Fit. If you have to pay for it it's a scam.

Even if you don't pay for it it's a marketing ploy to get your continued business. Costco for example offers free nitrogen (and tire rotations). I've bought several sets of tires there but found the free rotations a pain, because they could never do them in less than 2 hours. I'd bet getting your tires topped off with nitrogen is a pain too. I've since switched to NTB. Their marketing ploy of alignment programs (set price for 3 years etc, unlimited alignments) is one I fell for but free rotation and balance in a short waiting time is great. I also notice they use a proper torque wrench when tightening the lugs, not the torque sticks that discount tire stripped my studs with on my previous Honda (and then had the audacity to claim all Hondas had defective studs. Stay away from discount tire). But I digress.

I keep a cheap oil-less pancake compressor in the garage that I got for brad nailing trim. It also has a cheap moisture trap. 99% of its use is maintaining car tire pressure in 4 cars, 3 bikes, all from the convenience of my garage. It's paid for itself over the years in convenience and safety. I've also nailed a few brads.

 

This is actually a great story.

After researching tires carefully I decided that Yokohamas were what I wanted to replace my tires with (I'd been a Michelin bigot for decades). Researching prices the best deal was at discount tire. They have a showroom in Kennesaw.

I had them installed on a weekday and watched through the window as the tire monkeys scrambled to mount the tires. I was surprised when I saw them remove a new tire they had just put on and demount/remount and replace on the car. When I got home I noticed the tread was directional. Apparently they had too before I got out the door. Shrug. Ok I guess.

The tires vibrated. I got lousy gas mileage. It went from an average of 23mpg to 18mpg. What the hell? After two weeks I finally checked the pressure (let this be a lesson) and one tire was at about 15 pounds. I tried to inflate it and the valve stem (new) was split at the base. Moving it caused the rest of the air to escape. crud.

I tried to change the tire in my garage, but couldn't get it off without breaking two of the studs. Double crud. Called discount tire; they don't have any mechanics or tow service but said they would pay for the studs to be replaced by a mechanic of their choice. ok...

Running on two studs didn't seem cool so I had it towed on the back of a flatbed to the mechanic they work with. Ever see Deliverance? shudder.

Picked it up returned home. I decided to see if any other studs were stripped. Every wheel had at least one stripped lug that couldn't be moved without breaking the stud including the one they had just repaired!!!!!! I drove to discount tire and and shouted at the manager. That's when he told me that all Toyotas and Hondas had soft studs and this was a common problem. (I'd Hondas and Toyotas for hundreds of thousands of miles and this was a first!). The manager also pointed out the infallibility of torque sticks. I pointed out they either used the wrong ones, used them improperly, or they were no good. He sent me back to his toothless mechanic.

After another afternoon I picked it up, brought it back home. Checked the studs. There were several more stripped. The freakin mechanic was an idiot!

Drove back to discount tire. I was frothing at the mouth at this point. Demanded my money back. Demanded he pay Honda to replace all the studs. He did agree to refund the money for the tires but I would have to go back to the toothless guy. Shudder. I did. Afterward I paid a reputable mechanic to check all four wheels and their studs. The stupid yokohamas vibrated badly at that point, so I got 4 new Michelins from NTB. And watched them torque them properly (from a distance).

The moral is: check your tire pressure weekly. And stay away from discount tire and any tire dealer that insists on using torque sticks to tighten the lugs.

 

They don't hire professionals at a lot of these tire stores. Any kid off the street who can lift an air wrench will do for them. (We finally agree on something)

 

Well the other thing is they have tire changing calculated down to the penny. I was reading charts they have posted outside the service bays and the time they allow per set of tires is too short. I don't remember exactly the wait time per customer was tracked and they were supposed to be under some unrealistic number like 30 minutes. Goddamn accountants.

I made an idiot of myself shouting down the manager in the showroom, making him promise they would spend an adequate amount of time on all their customers installations. OK I enjoyed that part a little; the showroom was pretty full.

 

My Fit came filled with nitrogen and I always checked the pressures weekly. I still found the tires under-inflated when we had our classic Texas temperature fluctuations. Not only can the temperature change 30 degrees in the span of a day, but it can happen on the same day! I have lost track of the number of times I drove to work in the morning and it was 70 degrees, only to have some cold front blow through and bring it down to 35 degrees or something crazy like that by the time I get off work. Of course the reverse has happened as well.

The car becomes quite harsh when the tires get over-inflated to 3 psi or more. Hitting bumps and ruts in the freeway becomes very jarring. At 33 psi with the weather cooperating the Fit has the best balance of ride comfort and handling I feel. Unfortunately as I said because of the extreme temperature changes in Texas I'm often driving around over-inflated. I hate the stiff ride like that, but I would rather be 3 psi over than under any day of the week.

Also, most tire pressure monitoring systems are worthless, as they only alert you when it's 5 psi low. Meaning you could be driving around at 4 psi low all day long and it will never alert you. That's too low IMO. The only tire pressure monitoring systems worth a damn are the ones that show you pressures at all four tires at all times. Those sorts of systems unfortunately are only found in high-end cars.

 

The Solstice, in both 08 and 09 had individual monitoring showing actual psi. (accurate to within a pound on mine) The Solstice was not high end. I suspect most cars will have that type of system soon. It's not very useful to have one that doesn't warn till psi is several pounds low.

 

So,

you want to hear my PSI?

I use 50 in the fronts and 45 in the back. That's right. You heard me.

50 and 45. I don't really care if you don't like it. I do. No uneven tire tread wear, and I like the extra jarring. It reminds me that I have filings in my teeth.

I enjoy the "roll". I tried for a while at 36 all around. Yah, the ride was more comfortable...Ok, A LOT more comfortable, but I could tell the difference in steering and "roll". We don't have wild temp. fluctuations here, and I don't drive for more than 30-45 minutes at a time, and never at high speeds for all that time.

I will see how it goes on this first set of tires, but I suspect it will be a long while until they wear out, since the mileage per year that I drive is pretty low.

If you figure that the max rating on the tire is 44 psi, and the manufacturer has to allow for temp. fluctuations which will raise and lower the psi in the tire, 50 must be within tolerance. I could be wrong, and I am sure that someone will yell at me and tell me that I am Satan's spawn for running these pressures. I couldn't give a rip. Thanks.

 

If it works for you, do it!

 

because it's the internet and the douche-water flows thickly.

43.5psi on mine so bring on the haters.

 

SHAME ON YOU! You just wait till Honda finds out; they WILL confiscate your vehicle(s) from you immediately! Do you realize how irresponsible this is of you?

Good for you. traveling at not-so-high speeds will not put you at much, if any at all, safety risks. And yeah, you'll get the "roll on" effect, and an increase in MPGs. Try not to brake going into corners...and see how fast you can take em w/out sliding over into oncoming traffic, though.... ... just so you get a feel for it. I always say....pump em up till they pop! then just go get some new ones.

 

laughed out loud while reading this. excellent post! thanks for the good belly-laugh

 

Why? I mean other than the enjoyment of hearing your teeth rattle? Do people ever ride with you?

 

Sure peeps ride with me. But it's my car, so I don't worry about the "others" that ride in the car. There is plenty of other transportation around.

I have grown to prefer the stiffer ride. Sure on extremely bad roads it's not that fun, but hey...that comes with the decision.

When I "pop" a tire, I will be sure to race home and post here, so all the haters can pile on and pat themselves on the back for how smart they are.

I think that is what forums like this are for...try different things and let others know what works and what doesn't. They are free to do or not to. 50 and 45 works for me right now. Maybe that will change down the road, but for now, I choose to keep it that way.

But let me say this...if I catch anyone of you guys running around my car with a pressure gauge, someones going down.

 

You mean the Fit has brakes?

 

handymus ... you ROCK! i love it (the attitude)! Keep it coming, and don't let up! And don't the psi sneak down on ya, either!

 

I read somewhere that if you let all the air out of the spare tire your car will be 45 Lbs. lighter.

 

Using that same logic, isn't that tire at 60 PSI?
How many square inches are there in a spare?
Aren't they cubic inches?

 

Handymus ... how's the ride holding up? still got em pumped up and all? good mpg? fillings still in teeth? give us an update. Do NOT let this thread die out, soldiers!

 

It's all good. Stiff ride and all. Actually, it's not that bad - as long as you avoid the pot holes. Talk about "feather" steering...going around 70....you just breath on the steering wheel and you turn. Of course I never go that fast. That would be illegal. Silly me. My fit can't even GO that fast.

Gas mileage is good, not great considering all the hills I have to drive - very little flat driving, so higher pressures allow me to get the best mpg I can.

I think I bit my tongue the other day on a bump. Damn.

 

i've been driving for a while on 43-ish PSI. i went down to 32 the other day and it felt soft and mushy. i guess it means that i'm used to 43 now. i noticed about a 2-3 mpg improvement, which makes it worth it for me.