Tire Pressure

[Guest]

Have just acquired 1920 Dodge five passenger touring 2700lbs. Car has 33X4 Tires front and rear. To what pressure should I inflate tires.Nothing is indicated on tires themselves. Thanks for any help. Bob Norman<P><BR>

[Rick Hoover]

Bob,<BR>A 33X4 tire normally has a 6 ply rating and carries a load rating of around 1000lbs. at 60 psi. That is where I would set the air pressure for your Dodge. I would not run the tire any lower than 55 psi.<BR>Hope this helped, <BR>Rick

[Guest]

Rick ~ MANY years ago at the annual Meeting there was a seminar entitled Tires, Rims and Wheels. I seem to recall that it was conducted by Ann K. and one of her presenters made the statement that high pressure tires should be inflated 20 psi for every inch of tire width. Hence a 33x4 would be inflated to 80 psi. Since then I have always followed that rule. Was he wrong and am I wrong in what I am doing?~ hvs

[IndianaCarGuy]

My father ran a Goodyear store and service, and it was always my understanding that the type of tire and ply was what mattered, not the width. I also did some research on the early development of the Balloon tire vs. the straight-walled ones, and I seem to recall that pre-1925 (straight-walled) tires<BR>were more apt to blow out the sidewall if inflated too much, and that the advantage of the Balloon tire was it could handle lower pressure, as well as higher pressure ( more extremes) and handle more weight because it relied on the inflated shape of the tire to lock in in place, and not a thick sidewall to keep the shape. Above all things,... it was pounded in my head to FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURERS' directions, and that definitely means not get your information from the period literature and research,... so,... I will have to defer to both of the previous posts as far as experience, They are both more experienced than I, and just advise you to contact the manufacturer. I have heard both of these answers before, 60 psi and 80 for the 33"x4", but it was a straight-wall and a balloon tire comparison, and I don't recall which used which, though both were repros, I think you need to find out who made the tires and contact them for a definitive answer. <P>RS<P>[This message has been edited by IndianaCarGuy (edited 02-11-2001).]<p>[This message has been edited by IndianaCarGuy (edited 02-11-2001).]

[Guest]

Actually that 20 psi per inch of crossection of the tire came from the manufacturer of the tires. The manufacturer put on the seminar. It was strictly for HIGH PRESSURE tires and the explanation given was that the high pressure was necessary to hold the tire on the rim. It was stated that with too low a pressure the tire could be rolled off the rim on a hard turn.<P>Disclaimer: This is all from memory! ~ hvs

[Rick Hoover]

Howard,<P>As I recall, you and I had this conversation on several occasions of your running a higher air pressure in your tires while riding in the back seat of your 1913 Cadillac on the Reliability Tour last year. I still feel strongly as I did then, that this played a major factor in your having to turn around and come back to pick up Charlie and I after crossing those railroad tracks! Again as before, it is just my opinion. <P>Seriously, I checked and you are correct in hearing those air pressure specs being given at the trade seminars from years ago. However, with todays new replacement tires being sold and made in a polyester cord, the maximum load rating of this size tire in question would be placed at 60 psi. I would need to pull out some of my old spec sheets to see just what some of the recommendations would had been from years ago in using other products in the making of a high pressure cord tire. <BR>I would like to know what brand and what constuction those are on Mr. Normans 1920 Dodge<P>Rick

[Guest]

Thanks for the information, Rick. I will go and bleed the pressure down to 60 psi in the 3 cars with high pressure tires.<P>I am really sorry about the ride on the tour.<BR>I was going to install rear seat belts for your benefit, but I can now save all that money by just lowering the tire pressure. <P>Gee it's great to have smart friends!!

[Rick Hoover]

Howard,<BR>Don't lower those Cadillac tires to far, if at all. We're talking a different ballgame here with them. I remember those being 36 X 4 1/2 Rayon Cords on your Cadillac. With them, I would recommend 65-70 psi. Your Cadillac should come in at around 3800 lbs. and these tires would have a maximum load rating at about 1250 lbs. each.<BR>Rick

[Guest]

I read the postings about this topic and I am concerned about the pressure I am using in the tires of my 1928 Chevrolet Touring here in Brazil. I am inflating the 21x4,50 tires to 28 psi. Is this pressure too low for these tires ? Does the weather have any influence on tires pressure ?<P>Regards,<BR>Julio<p>[This message has been edited by Julio Albernaz (edited 02-14-2001).]

[Guest Hal Davis (MODEL A HAL)]

Julio,<P>The 21 x 4.50's on the 28 and 29 Model A's were to be inflated to 35 psi. I would think your Chevy would be very similar.

[ThomasBorchers]

<BR>Howard~~<BR>In my instruction manual for my 1912 Cadillac with its 36x4 tires, I can read that I have to use 70 psi. <BR>Huh...I must say that I am really afraid that it will make a big "BANG" with this high pressure. At the moment I am at 65 psi.<P>Tom

[Guest]

Here's the scoop. The 1927 DB Mechanic's Book says that these tires should be inflated to a minimun of 55 PSI. It actually lists 60 for the rear tires, but I can't figure out why because clearly more of the the weight of the car is on the front. This pressure seems to be right because the car handles correctly at the higher pressure and tends to wallow in the low 40s and below. My 1923 Dodge is fitted with 32x4 Universals, which I consider to be high pressure tires and certainly not balloon design, which was fitted on the 1924 and later DBs.

[Guest]

Looked at the DB Mechanic's Book last night and have this update. The tire pressures in the previous post are correct for the sedans, which were about 250 pounds heavier than the touring/roadster. For the open cars, the listed pressures are 50# front and 55# rear.

[Jay Wolf]

I have the original Care and Operation manual to my 1916 Elgin 6.<BR>The car is about 2500 LB and uses 33x4 tires the manual states<BR>"Three-fourths of all tire trouble is due to lack of pressure: there-fore, a gauge should be used to determine the pressure and the tire should be kept inflated to 20 pounds pressure per inch of width"<P>My tires are about 3.5 inches wide so about 70 Lbs.<P>The part I find odd, is my car came with all white smoothes on front so I guess width would be max width of the side wall as the smoothes had no tread width.<BR><P>------------------<BR>

[Guest]

I like what elgin 16 found in the Care & Operation manual. It makes me look smarter than I really am, as well as affirming that the memory of an OLD buzzard isn't too bad after all. ` hvs

[Guest]

I would like to thank everyone for the great response to the tire problem.By averaging your answer I now feel confident in putting 61 1/4 lbs in back tires and 59 5/8 lbs in front.I wish you all well with your projects. Bob Norman<P>

[Guest]

Bob ~ Thank YOU for starting this subject. I think a lot of us learned a great deal as a result. I know I did! <P>I think it probably got most of us thinking a lot more about our tires and tire pressure.<P> ~ hvs<p>[This message has been edited by hvs (edited 02-17-2001).]

[Rick Hoover]

Yes Bob, thanks for getting this going. Glad you could put rhyme and reason to our discussion here. It's always fun to question Howard's memory!<P>Rick

[Guest]

Memory, what memory. Do I know you Mr Hoover? <P>svh or is that hvs