Overinflating your tires save gas, but actually costs you more

Overinflating your tires costs far more than the fuel savings

Fact: Overinflating your tires will save a marginal amount of gas. That’s because a higher inflation pressure slightly reduces the tire’s rolling resistance and that saves a small amount of gas. But the story doesn’t end there, because in the grand scheme of things, overinflating your tires actually costs you more in terms of tire wear, suspension wear, and your safety.

Overinflating your tires wears them out faster

When you overinflate a tire, the extra pressure lifts the inner and outer shoulders off the road and that reduces the size of the tire’s contact patch; the area of the tire that contacts the pavement. Instead of spreading 1/4 of of the vehicle weight across the recommended contact patch, overinflating your tires puts the load on a much smaller area, causing it to wear out faster. More weight on a smaller area = faster wear. And keep this in mind; when gas prices go up, so does the cost of tires. So whatever you save in gas due to overinflation, you’ll spend much more by replacing your tires more often, and at a higher price.

Overinflating your tires causes accelerated suspension wear

This one’s pretty simple; more pressure means a harder tire. A harder tire means less road shock absorption and more suspension movement. So the tires bounce more on bumps and potholes and transmits more movement to the control arms, ball joints, tie rod ends, and CV joints. These are expensive components and you’re wearing them out much faster by overinflating your tires.

Overinflation means less traction and increase stopping distances

Again, this one is a no brainer. With more vehicle weight riding on a smaller contact patch, you have less contact with the road. That means you have less traction to take off from a stop AND less stopping traction.

Overinflation causes more hydroplaning on wet roads

The tread blocks and sipes are designed to squeegee water off the road and pump it out to the sides of the tires. That’s what keeps the rubber in contact with the pavement. When you overinflate the tires and lift the inner and outer tread blocks and sipes off the pavement, you reduce the tire’s ability to remove water and that causes hydroplaning.

Overinflation saves gas but causes more wear and tear and makes you less safe.

Whatever gas savings you realize from overinflating your tires, will be minuscule compared to the added wear on your tires and suspension and the lowered traction and stopping ability.

©, 2022 Rick Muscoplat