If you drive a luxury sedan, sports car, or crossover vehicle, it uses low-profile tires. These give the car a sleek look and reduced drag for better fuel economy. Here’s a proper guide to your low-profile tires’ ideal pounds per square inch (psi).
Car tires are not made the same. Low-profile tires have thinner but wider walls than regular tires. Their low profile allows accommodating not more than 14.5 psi of air pressure. Low-profile tires give a car a sleek look and allow installing bigger wheels or brake discs for an enhanced driving experience.
Low-profile tires were introduced on the market during the late 1960s and were popular in sports cars. They have stiffer and shorter side walls which are more expansive than regular tires. Each tire’s numerical code ‘205/45-R16’ is stamped on the side, with ‘205/’ representing the aspect ratio.
The following figure means its height is 45 percent of the tire’s width. A tire with an aspect ratio of less than 50 is low profile. The lower the aspect ratio, the lower the tires’ profile.
Features Of Low-Profile Tires
Here are the features of low-profile tires that make them different from regular tires.
Thinner And Stiffer Sidewall
Tires have sidewalls that flex to absorb impact during heavy loads such as spirited driving. In this scenario, a little contact patch leads to a lower grip. Low-profile tires are thinner, have stiffer sidewalls, and are wider to maintain more contact and traction with pavement during spirited driving.
Allow Using Bigger Wheels
Low-profile tires have thinner sidewalls to allow the use of bigger wheels. This significantly boosts various aspects of driving performance, including handling, braking, acceleration, and traction. The added width and thinner sidewalls make the tires more responsive to the driver’s input. This significantly changes the car’s performance and feel.
Sportier And Cleaner Aesthetics
Thinner sidewalls of low-profile tires give the car a sleek and sportier look, unlike regular tires. The thinner side walls also make the wheels grab more attention. Because of the extra space below the fender, you can install custom wheels with bigger diameters.
There’s also enough room for installing large brake discs and calipers for better-stopping performance and a more aesthetic look.
Performance Oriented
Low-profile tires are made from softer rubber compounds to boost overall performance and handling. The rubber material also generates more grip on the road. Stiffer sidewalls prevent flex and ensure appropriate contact with the road surface.
The pressure of Low Profile Tires
Good car maintenance involves checking your tire pressure and adhering to the recommended values. The correct pressure makes a big difference to your car and tire performance, including load-carrying capacity, size, and handling.
Overinflating your low-profile tires makes them prone to damage since too much air pressure creates a smaller tread footprint. This encourages excessive wear in the middle of the tire. Underinflating the tire encourages overheating and increases vulnerability to road hazards.
It also makes the contact patch where the rubber meets the road lose shape. This puts more pressure on the tire’s round section between the road tread and sidewall.
What PSI Should Your Low-Profile Tires Be?
The ideal pressure for low-profile tires is usually about one bar or 14.5 psi. The thinner sidewalls can’t hold more pressure like regular tires. The low pressure increases the risk of getting overinflated. However, modern low-pressure tires have stiffer construction and puncture protection.
Low-profile tires need less pressure because of their short sidewalls. The rule of thumb is to check the manufacturer’s recommended pressure to be certain. Extremely low-profile tires and so much rim that extra pressure could help.
How Often Do I Check My Car Tires?
You must check your car tires at least once or twice a month because tire pressure reduces by about 2 or 3 psi each month. Routine inspection of your tires and adding pressure lessens the chances of deterioration, boasts driving safety, and improves fuel economy.
Inflating the tires when cold because inflating in hot temperatures may lead to inaccurate readings. Heat makes air expand. To inflate your tires in hot conditions, add extra two psi to compensate for the expanded air pressure in the tires.
Add another 2 to 3 psi if your vehicle carries a heavy load or extra passengers. Overinflating your tires encourages wearing down faster and becoming slippery. It also lessens smoothness while driving and significantly lowers your tires’ service life.
How Do I Tell If My Tires Are Too Hard Or Too Flat?
Most people often ignore inflating their tires or may be so anxious that they inappropriately inflate them. It significantly impacts safety and fuel consumption. Here’s a guide to tell whether your tire is hard or soft.
When The Tire Is Too Soft
When driving and you feel the car isn’t sticking to the road, your engine has to work harder and consume more fuel. You can also tell this weak tire pressure when driving fast on an uneven surface, and you feel stagnation, jumpiness, or being tossed about.
Weak tires may burst because of twisting sidewalls, causing friction which encourages expansion. You risk tire bursts when having heavy loads and higher chances of accidents unexpectedly.
When The Tire Is Too Hard
You can tell this when starting the car, and it moves with reduced traction. Additionally, stepping on the brakes may require more stopping distance. Overinflated tires encourage vibrations while driving at high speed or when you run into holes in the road. Hard Impact on the road may make the tire burst.
Tires that are too tight and hard reduce efficiency or road adhesion and may slip on rainy days or slippery roads.
How Long Can I Drive With Low Tire Pressure?
It’s not advisable to drive a car with low tire pressure. If you must, only do it when getting out of harm’s way. You must inflate your tires as soon as you realize the pressure is low.
Final Thoughts
Low-profile tires can’t take in high pressure to prevent them from bursting. You must check your tires regularly to check the pressure for your safety and comfort. Equally important is to avoid underinflating or to overinflate your tires by applying the proper pressure.
