Front NVP Tires at 80 psi?

[Jeremie Conley]

New 2016 NVP from the dealer. I noticed the other day the front tires were sitting at 80 psi, but the load and ratings sticker on the driver door area says the front tires should be at 50 psi, and the rear at 80 psi. I can see why the rear would be at 80 psi due to towing (which I will be doing, 6K+), but the front? I wonder why the factory or the dealer set the front tires to 80 when the sticker says 50? By the way, I let out the front air and now I am sitting at 52 psi. I wonder how that is going to change my wear rate and pattern on the front, compared to if I had left them at 80.   

[vanguy]

You should be fine running the recommended PSI in the fronts.

If you use a weight distributing hitch you may want to bump up the fronts another 10 pSI. But if you use a standard hitch you should not notice any different wear on the tires.

 

I pull a 7500 lb trailer and have run 60 in fronts and 80 in rears for years with no adverse effects. (hey I'm a poet and didn't know it).

[radin2son]

This happened to us when dealer service rotated the tires, but didn't change the psi or reset the TPMS. We had 80 psi in the front and 50 psi in the rear.

 

Since TPMS only registers low psi, you and the dealer had no idea a sloppy pre-sale prep was done. When you have your tires rotated, make sure they reset the TPMS. 53 psi is what the dealer will set, so you are fine. Still complain to the dealer if only to make him aware that these vans are not Altimas with the same psi front and rear.

 

Anyone have the $99 dealer nitrogen tire option? The dealer here pushes it, and it is on the msrp sticker as an add on.

[axulsuv]

As a old school mechanic and racer , Nitrogen belongs in track cars ...  It was introduced into the consumer market because of tpms sensors.

pure nitrogen doesn't expand or contract much, if any with hot & cold , So your tpms doesn't come on , on cold mornings . Alot of the early tpms systems would lite up with a 3-5 psi drop .newer ones have a bit more range . I've been running plain old air in mine since new , checking psi COLD biweekly , and at 73k , Im still waiting for my tires to wear out ... Nascar uses pure nitrogen to control the tires shape and deflection , when you hear the comments about the tires getting getting to temp etc. , they are referring to the contact patch temp , those tires get quite sticky @ race temp .If your gonna run nitrogen in your tires , set them about 5 psi above the sticker rating to get the same wear , not slightly under-inflated wear. If the manufacturer figured the loads and psi for nitro , they would come with it from the factory ...  

Just my 2 pence ., and someone is making BANK because of tpms systems & nitro ! Consumers ain't what they used to be , Most folks 20 yrs.ago checked their tires at least every other fillup , But big brother is watching out for us now ...............................

Glenn.  

[radin2son]

Our 2012 NV came with air in the tires and no mention of nitrogen.

 

When I asked the local dealer what was his best price was for replacement tires, out came the $$$ nitrogen package. It included a warranty similar to the the extra warranty you can buy with tires. Still have air on the tires and tread life after 57k.

 

although not related to nitrogen and psi, I am keeping track of the years on the tires and being more prone to failure in the middle of nowhere. (As an aside for cyclists using Stan's No Flats or similar product in their tires: Co2 cartridges will decrease the effectiveness of the sealant. Use Big Air or pump. The power of air.)

Edited April 28, 2016 by radin2son

[Mark Rogers]

I just got a new NV on Friday. It came with about 72 PSI in all four tires. The van was so new, it was still in storage mode from the factory. I wonder if the factory, not the dealer, inflated the tires like that.

[radin2son]

Just goes to show you that the only Nissan employee up to the task is the person who installs the paper floor mat and plastic seat cover. Give them a decent tire gauge and the job will get done.

[fenderfatstrat6]

This is my first truck coming from all tiny cars I always set the psi at max cold psi when tires were cold of course for best MPG. 

the stock Tires rate max psi at 80 Psi there shouldn't be any adverse affects to this since they are within' the manufacturer's specs though right? 

 

:) 

[ASD Dad]

This is my first truck coming from all tiny cars I always set the psi at max cold psi when tires were cold of course for best MPG. 

the stock Tires rate max psi at 80 Psi there shouldn't be any adverse affects to this since they are within' the manufacturer's specs though right? 

 

:)

 

You should never inflate to max cold PSI unless it is needed.  You are asking for increased wear in the center section of the tread, worse traction and a harsher ride.  All tires are rated for carrying certain loads (weight).  The tires should be inflated to carry that load for the best wear and traction.  If you cant find a load chart for your tire you can go by the tire placard that is stuck in the door jamb or the owners manual.  

[fenderfatstrat6]

what psi is going to give me the best mpg and no premature wear on say the stock tires?

[radin2son]

Stick with the factory specs: 50 psi front and 80 psi rear.

 

Oops! Edit. This discussion WASN'T about dealer error BUT IT WAS about recommended psi. Some people will go 5 psi under for what ever reason, but I wouldn't.

 

Dealers will put in 3-5+ psi more to be sure the tires are correctly inflated when cold. Your gauge in the morning should read 50 psi front/80 psi rear. Adjust accordingly.

 

Oddly, when we drove 490 miles on 80 psi front and 50 psi rear, I didn't feel any difference in driving. TPMS didn't alert me that there was a problem. Ignorance is bliss... we were an accident waiting to happen. 95* on mountain roads. For whatever reason we decided to bypass Moki Dugway to the top of Cedar Mesa. (Bears Ears country if you have been following the news.)

 

Think:

90s Explorer+Firestone+underinflated=fatalities

 

ASD Dad is correct. You will wear out your tires faster if overinflated. We have 60k on oem Firestone transforce tires. Axulsuv had 75k on his before he sold his NV 1500.

Edited January 2, 2017 by radin2son

[radin2son]

Fenderfatstrat6 Back to your question regarding optimal psi for best mpg. Check Axulsuv's prior posts under maintenance. Although the above post doesn't mention specific psi, he has the best inclass mpg (NV 1500 "barebones V6") of 21+. He used his for carrying his motorcycle and camping. It also may have been a daily driver, which is now a KIA Soul.

 

I don't know what the best mpg for the current V8 is. A barebones low top cargo should get this. (Bamps?)

 

I've read your posts about your 2012 NV. I am not sure if this is an impossible dream or you can pull this project off. At least the winter is long in Syracuse and you will have plenty of time to work on it. When you can, fill the tank, get on the road and see what you get.

Edited January 3, 2017 by radin2son

[fenderfatstrat6]

Fenderfatstrat6 Back to your question regarding optimal psi for best mpg. Check Axulsuv's prior posts under maintenance. Although the above post doesn't mention specific psi, he has the best inclass mpg (NV 1500 "barebones V6") of 21+. He used his for carrying his motorcycle and camping. It also may have been a daily driver, which is now a KIA Soul.

 

I don't know what the best mpg for the current V8 is. A barebones low top cargo should get this. (Bamps?)

 

I've read your posts about your 2012 NV. I am not sure if this is an impossible dream or you can pull this project off. At least the winter is long in Syracuse and you will have plenty of time to work on it. When you can, fill the tank, get on the road and see what you get.

Thanks for reading Post about my Project and it's planning.  I am not the type to enter anything that I can't complete. I knew exactly what I was getting into and while I dream larger than life! Generally, my heavy amount of research before hand doesn't yield anything but top notch results :)

 

I spent 6 months researching probably 40hrs a week (late nights) every single option for what would best suit my needs- Fullsize, Reliable, Tall, Solidly Built rig that could house my big heavy motorcycle inside and still have a bit of room to move around and not duck down EVER!, that looked good ( I know some of you say the NV is ugly, but I love it) looks way better than anything else in the category and its not a cramped,HOT cab chevy box truck! :)  

KNOWLEDGE TRULY IS POWER, MY FRIENDS! :) But it does get exhausting looking for all this Info and Stuff.. 

 

I drove it home with squishy 40psi tires up front and 60 in the back and got about 15mpg babying it like crazy .....it was about 4hours  up and down mountains half the way.   

 

I came home filled up the tires to 80 front and back, put MOBILE 1 full synthetic oil in 0w30, mobile 1 oil filter, AEM Dry OEM Drop in "Dry" lifetime air filter, said some nice things to it ....you know ( told it was pretty and that I would love it like the previous owners didn't) I did 100 miles highway and sat at 17.8-18mpg at  65-70MPH ( indicated)  

I think I am going in the right direction I still have some more thing's to Farkle to see if I can squeeze some more out of it. I am going to be the best MPG Tall top rig by time I am done with the exception of the high altitude guys :) 

[radin2son]

This forum is not the easiest to dredge up prior posts. Many of the questions you ask have been well documented by ASD Dad, Axulsuv, Chris_cm, KMG and others. If you have read these posts, ask them directly for additional info.

 

Chris posted a build link. There also is a link to Nissan parts.

 

Good luck with your project. It will be interesting if you can maintain 17-18 mpg.

[ASD Dad]

With mileage as low as we get any increment is just bragging rights to be totally honest.

 

I drove 25,000 miles last year 

15 mpg @ $2.00/gallon

vs.

17 mpg @ $2.00/gallon

 

That comes out to a whopping $390/per year difference or $7.50 per week.

 

Even if oil spikes and reaches $4/gal which probably will not happen anytime soon that is still $780/year

 

I am all for getting better MPG but this van just is not something that was designed for it!  Once I added my larger all terrain tires and roof rack my MPG went down into the 12-13 range.  That comes up to around a $1200/year difference vs. 17 mpg or $100 month.  That is starting to get significant but is still not enough for me to panic just yet!  I knew going into this that the NV would not be a MPG machine.  

 

What bums me out is my neighbor bragging that his 2016 Cummins 3500 Ram is getting 20+ on the highway!  Granted his truck cost tens of thousands more than my van.

 

EDIT - just realized this got waaaay off track of the OP!  Sorry about that...

Edited January 4, 2017 by ASD Dad

[radin2son]

ASD Dad, this topic has become ambidextrous... Bragging rights are ok but I agree not worrth much.

 

What psi did you run the oem Transforce? Did it differ between daily and towing use? I get why you went to AT tires. We got caught on a rain

soaked clay road. I couldn't hold a straight line no matter what gear or mpg... mph not mpg.

Edited January 6, 2017 by radin2son

[wollip]

ASD Dad - I get what you're saying. I "gave up" 2.5 mpg when I went from new empty cargo van to fully loaded conversion. With my current usage that means I "pay" approx. a $20 a month premium in gas consumption for having things like I want them. Not bad considering I would have no reason to even own it if I was going to keep it empty.