I have a 2016 SL and keep an eye on my tire pressures, especially during the transition period between seasons.

I've noticed that...after I set the four tires to equal pressure according to the Maxima readout and a digital gauge, they then gradually become unequal.

Often one tire...usually the right front...will increase compared to the others and one will decrease (often a rear tire). The lower one stabilizes after a while (does not continue to lose pressure) so there is no leak.

Is it possible that the higher one is getting additional heat from the engine?

Since the car readout is in whole numbers only, I understand that, for instance, one tire could read 36 psi and another 37 psi, and yet the difference in pressure is actually very small (less than a pound) depending upon how Nissan rounds the numbers up or down. For instance, they could actually be 36.4 and 36.6 respectively.

A week ago the tires were exactly equal. Today...after driving a bit at city speeds...there's a 2.5 pound difference between the right front and left rear, as measured by the external digital gauge. (Since I'd been driving around, I assume no tire was always in the sun or shade, which would skew the results. In any case, this is a trend I've noticed over many months.)

Have any of you had a similar experience and/or have any thoughts on this?

Thanks!

 

You will never sleep well if you are that worried about this. It is normal for tire pressures to be uneven. Since the Maxima is FWD, the front tires are always going to be at slightly higher pressure than the rear because they do all the work to push the car forward, hence more friction, hence higher temperature thus higher tire pressure. That is the case with my 2018 Maxima (2 pis more in front). However, any minor, non-catastrophic leak in any of the tires can throw the overall pressure balance off, so you can't/shouldn't be worried about any of this unless/until you have a serious leak an the pressure keeps dropping.

 

I get the same thing and as long as they are in a range of 33 to 37 psi, I'm OK with it. By the way, when you get your car serviced > check the pressures before leaving the dealership. For some reason they put in 40 psi in each tire.

 

The only way I have found to get all four psis the same is to overfill all four tires (to say 38 or 40 psi), then park the car overnight in a closed garage with constant temperature, then gradually let the air from each tire until it is exactly where you wish to keep your psi. Using that method, I have been able to keep all four psis essentially the same for months at a time.

But, even parking the car in a place where the sun only hits the tires on one side of the car will result in the tires on that side reading higher when you begin driving away from that spot. With the extra weight on the front, and with the front tires doing all the accelerating and most of the braking, the front tires tend to read higher during aggressive driving.

Changes in temperature, changes in road surfaces, even the tiniest, slowest leak can throw the readings off. The best thing is probably to get the tires close to the same psi and not let slightly different psi readings bother you. It is more important to notice if one tire gradually continues to drop its psi. Catching a slow leak fairly early can often result in saving a tire that might otherwise need replacing.

I also check the tread depth in each groove across the surface of each tire quarterly. If the center portion of the tread is wearing faster than the shoulder portion, I reduce the psi slightly. Conversely, if the outer portion of the tread is wearing faster, I add slightly to the psi. Yes, this is ****, but old habits are hard to break.

 

They probably do that to wear the tread down faster and convince you to buy crappy dealer tires

 

Temperature of a tire has a lot to do with it's pressure too. Front tires are always hotter then the rear tires after a drive. Park a car in the sun, one side will heat up faster then the other, and pressure will be higher on those hot tires. As long as you're in the ballpark with them that's the best you can do.

 

I've been keeping an eye on pressures since I last evened them up. I don't have a garage so I waited for an overcast morning and lowered the pressures down to where they were all even.

After 10 days, they read (according to Max gauge) within two pounds usually. One is consistently lower and I'll watch it.

I recently had to replace one after less than a thousand miles on it after a pot hole sliced into the sidewall. The dangers of living in a climate with winter and a state with no/little infrastructure repair!

 

You bring up a great point. Sometimes these very low profile 40/45 tires don't tolerate the daily hits they are given especially here in the midwest with our chuck holes. Even if the tires are holding air, a comprimised tire will start to bulge on the sidewall. Checking the sidewalls of each tire is a smart move if you suspect that last thud was a bad one.

 

Careful with the one that reads consistently lower. I had one like that, put up with it for at least a month, until I took my car in for the 5000 mile maintenance, and asked them to take a look. Turns out it had a nail in it ... and I had driven the car for hundreds of miles (> 1000 miles?) including at high speeds on the freeway with a tire that could have failed at any time. If that had happened it would not have been a pretty picture. Next time that sort of thing happens I won't be waiting that long to have it looked at.

 

Good idea. I'm going to have it checked tomorrow.

 

Revisiting a previous post on varying tire pressures. In this hot NJ summer weather, I check and then set all four to equal pressure in the evening when my Max has been in the shade for awhile: no sun on the car at all.

Several have posted here that their tires will stay at equal pressure for quite a while whereas mine begin to drift within a few days, until there's often a three degree difference across the four tires.

Assuming there are no leaks and that one or two of the tires have not been exposed to direct sun for a long time (say, afternoon on the NJ Turnpike where the left tires are in direct sun and the right are not)..are such shifts "normal" (as in, don't worry 'bout it)?

BTW: I set the initial equal pressures with a digital guage.

 

Man, you are not kidding, I have gone around and around with the service manager at my dealer about changing my tire pressure- first time they did an oil change on my previous '17 SR, when I got on the highway the car felt like it was on billiard *****...I pulled off and checked the pressures- they were between 42- 44 PSI. I told the dealer to make a note in the service log to not touch the pressures. When I took delivery of my new 2020 SR, I checked the tires in the lot- they were cold and the pressures were all over 40 PSI. I, too obsess over having them equal- set at 33 PSI cold so they heat to about 37 PSI and I've learned that slight differences are normal- sleeping much more soundly now, thanks...

 

Thanks for your "reality" responses. I see that other posters have recommended starting at 35 or 36psi instead of the recommended 33 for a "cold" baseline. What do you think?

 

I think it's fine, because when cold weather comes 33 psi can go as low as 26 psi (personal experience), which is too low. And that's what the dealer does, too, when I take my car in for service.

 

I think 33 PSI is a good baseline, you will usually see a 10% gain in pressures while driving- so that puts you at about 37 PSI hot- starting at 35- 36 cold is IMO too high.

 

What I like to do is slightly overfill them to say 37/38 and then I will let it sit in my driveway for a few hours and at night when the sun is down I’ll go outside with a digital gauge and gradually let air out until I’m at 33psi all around. Usually they stay even. Maybe a pound or two difference if that.

 

Beyond what has been suggested, consider pure nitrogen fill in the tire @ 33 lbs. Nitrogen does not have the pressure swings you get with regular air.

 

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret...jsp?techid=191