As long as I could remember, people said when in doubt, inflate tires to 32psi. That,s what I was doing. I have 235/45/17 and after reading posts concerning tire pressure, I thought I would do something different. I kind of figured that I would try 28/29 psi. Holy sheet what a difference in ride. BTW I forgot to mention I have Progress springs installed also. Certain bumps that used to shake the car and beat the @$#%&* out of it is not NEAR as bad as before. Although the front end is still lower than I would like, I will just have to deal with it.

 

But then that decreases gas mileage and puts uneven wear on your tires

 

I agree that it will decrease mileage, but it shouldn't cause uneven tire wear. The factory recommended pressure is 29psi. If anything running continuously on 32psi will wear the center of the tires before the outer edges.

FWIW, I change tire pressure to suit the circumstances; 29psi around town, 32psi on the highway, 40psi for autocrossing.

 

I've heard that replacement tires of stock size should be inflated to the recommended psi stated by Nissan (e.g. 33psi front, 32psi rear for '95). This is because of the car's specific weight characteristics.

If you inflate less, you will get lower mpg and faster wear. And depending on your load weight, you could unevenly wear them as well. You have to decide if this is worth the trade off of slightly better handling.

 

when you have larger rims and thinner sidewalls...be careful about lowering pressure. It helps save yourself from bending the rim. What i do is take the max psi on the tire add what the max requires and divide by two (get the average) and jsut use that pressure.
anyone have a better suggestion?

 

The label on the console lid of my '95 indicates 29 front, 29 rear.

 

One of the mechanics at my dealer said 32psi for the front and 30psi for the rear. He explained that the front should have a little more air to account for the engine, which makes the front end heavier than the back end.

It sounds logical...

 

You're kidding? Mine says 33/32 front/rear. My SE was manufacturered in the spring of '94. Maybe they changed the numbers later on? Weird...

 

j/k.
I remember reading on TSW's website that for every plus size, you should add 2psi more to your factory recommendation.

 

Perhaps the series tire size (45,50,55 etc) will depend on what inflation is proper for you. I,m not sure if it matters or not but would be nice to know. Wonder of Dan B. Maxima would know this.

 

My '97 says 32/28 for the 16" rims. Does Nissan change it every year just to drive us crazy?

 

Maybe they change it every month. My '97 5-speed says 32 front, 29 rear, 60 for the donut. I have the 16" wheels, too.

 

They probably do, mine is 29/29. 15" rims

 

I think the sticker on the car only works for stock sized tires. I've heard that the lower aspect the tire (hence larger the rim), the higher the pressure you need. I used to run 33/31 stock for 15" tires. But now I have 17" rims with 235/45/17's, and I run 38 front, 34 rear. That's what TireRack recommended, telling me that the higher inflation pressures are necessary for such a thin tire.

Personally, I've noticed that at 32psi, my 17's look horribly underinflated. So using the 38/34 method, I've so far put 20k on these tires and the wear is completely even.

But it is true that lower inflation pressures smooth out the ride wonderfully.