Wheels / Tires: New tires PSI question (pic)

[62champ]

I finally got the rear brakes back together on my 7E7 and was able to put the truck's new "shoes" on to give it that nice, original look. I am wondering about tires and PSI.

According to the owners manual, 6.70x15 4-ply tires are to have 26 PSI all the way around. In the manual for my Lark, there is a different amount for the front and the back (24 in front and 20 in the back).

I am wondering if I should do something similar for the truck - 26 in the front and then 22 in the rear. There will never be much more than a spare tire, tool box and jack in the bed so it is not going to be doing and "heavy" work.

Thoughts?

This is how they turned out.

[PackardV8]

26 in the front and then 22 in the rear.

Try it and see how it rides and drives. About 60% of the total weight is on the front just going down the road. On a hard stop, 80% of the weight transfers to the front. Unloaded, all the rear tires are doing is just following the fronts around. They aren't carrying any loads.

jack vines

[StudeRich]

I think I would try it at 32 front and 30 rear, but first I would read the Tire sidewall, it will be way more in keeping with current reproduction bias ply Firestone Repops than the factory info, which is very old and always tended to lean toward soft ride not maximum tire wear.

[62champ]

Sidewall of these newer tires states that maximum pressure is 32 psi - might try the ride thing first and go from there.

[JJB]

IMHO the reason for more psi in front then in the rear is with less weight in the rear of pick ups the rear tires will wear more thru the middle of the tread. So with less psi in the rear tires, tread wear will be more even across the width of the tread. But if you plan to carry a heavy load in the box, you had better add air to the rear tires.

[62champ]

But if you plan to carry a heavy load in the box, you had better add air to the rear tires.

Think that is the big difference between trucks sold then and now.

Saw a '94 F150 a month back that a guy was filling with gas. I thought it looked nice and commented on it. He said it only had 7000 miles on it, had never been out in the rain or snow, and had NEVER had anything put into the bed. Sure enough, the paint in bed looked as good as that on the outside.