Bezos the billionaire lets his employees drive on bad tires that I the relative pauper wouldn't let my daughter drive on. (I foolishly did once, and have regretted it ever since. A few years ago my daughter got a new used car, and the tires had but little tread left. "Your car needs new tires, Honey. I'll help you with that." But I didn't act fast enough. A few days later she skidded in the rain on a big curve on the interstate and totaled it. Thank God she wasn't killed or even hurt. I won't make that mistake again.)

Tire tip: If you have two good tires and two not-so-good tires, put the good tires on the rear of the vehicle. If you buy two new tires, put the them on the rear, and put the older tires on the front. Always put the best tires on the rear, because that's where you need maximum traction for lateral stability. Loss of lateral traction in the front is easier to deal with than loss of lateral traction in the rear. Front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, or all wheel drive makes no difference -- always put the best tires on the rear.

6 tire myths debunked - good article for us

www.popularmechanics.com/...-myths-debunked-10031440/

But a statement made in Debunked Myth #3 does need correction (or, to be more charitable, clarification):

Statement: "A new, quality tire will not pop at an even multiple of the "max press." "

That's not true. "Even multiples" of P are 2xP, 4xP, 6xP, and so on. I think the author meant to say "twice the rated max pressure". But that's not what he said, and a tire will fail if you inflate it to 4x or 6x the rated max pressure!

As an engineer with several years experience working in R&D at a major automotive supplier, and having designed an automated tire inflation system, that incorrect and possibly dangerous statement just jumped right out at me.

Back in the 60's, reading all the car magazines and learning about the Mobilgas Economy Run; I saw that many of the drivers would run tire pressures of 100psi and greater, and that was using bias-ply, tubed, may-pops of the day.

Ever since I've used the Max Recommended + 10% and done OK.

If that's the case, then he would be asserting that a tire could withstand 2x, 3x, 4x, ... max pressure. However, at some multiple of max P -- whether an even or odd multiple -- the tire would still fail, obviously. So not much difference.

Ever since I've used the Max Recommended + 10% and done OK.

By "Max Recommended" do you mean the maximum pressure specified and printed on the tire sidewall?

That number is usually considerably higher than what would give the best performance. The only time I would consider inflating to that high a pressure would be if the tires were maximally loaded. Unless I'm carrying a heavy load, I use the the auto manufacturer's recommended inflation pressure which is printed on a sticker on the driver's door or door jamb. My Silverado 1500 for example: the sticker specifies 35 psi. That's what I use in the front. I'll run the rear tires even a little lower than that -- 33 psi -- if the bed is empty, and a little more than that if I'm carrying a load.

Too much pressure can cause improper tire wear, a harsh ride, and reduced traction. And the over-inflated tire's increased stiffness -- higher spring rate -- can cause suspension components such as control arm and sway bar bushings, ball joints, and shock absorbers to wear out faster.

By "Max Recommended" do you mean the maximum pressure specified and printed on the tire sidewall?

Exactly, not the mushy-ride crap printed on the door-jamb. In this case, I trust the tire maker more than the car maker.

In that vein, for at least the last 40 years, Michelin has been the brand for anything sitting in our garage, or more honestly, our driveway.

I never bought 4 tires

When we drove down to Florida every week in the big truck, we would throw a tire up on back of trailer.

One time we blew a tire on back of trailer and did not know it. It flattened the other tire and put a hole in the air bag. We had to buy a tire and those truck tires back then were $150. Maybe more now. We could not get air bag fixed until we got home. :-/

Talking tires is better than talking about...

I've been following along. One headache that I haven't bothered to solve is I have larger aftermarket rims and large tires on my truck. It has confused my TPM, so I always have a message about TPM needs servicing on the check engine screen.

I have a vertical tank compressor that is always ready to use and keep my tires at 42 PSI.

I never bought 4 tires

I hear ya. Even when working for an automotive supplier -- and getting a generous discount -- I rarely bought 4 tires at a time. Because you'd have to be rotating them all the time in order for the front and rear to wear out at the same time. And I didn't (and don't) rotate my tires often. If they seem to be riding, tracking, and wearing OK, I leave them alone.

Tire tip #2: Pre-tighten your lug nuts in a star pattern gradually, so as to average the centering over all of the lug nuts rather than the first one tightened. Because all of the wheel studs may not be perfectly located, and the mounting holes in the wheel may not be perfectly located or perfectly round, and the lug nuts might be worn. Then lower the vehicle and final torque the lugs nuts again in a star pattern to the proper torque using a torque wrench. Tire shops routinely ignore all of this. They just slam each lug nut on to some ungodly torque using an impact wrench. So the wheel ends up off center, and the lugs nuts are way too tight. Can damage the studs, the lug nuts, and sometimes even the wheel. And might make it impossible to change a flat tire on the side of the road one night -- unless you happen to carry an impact rated socket and a 4 foot breaker bar in the trunk.

in our garage, or more honestly, our driveway.

I had a garage once. Wife decided she wanted her laundry area inside, and she wanted a pool table. So we converted the garage to a rec room with washer and dryer in a cove in a corner. But we kept the garage door; -- that'll come in handy when she has her 13th mid-life crisis and decides she doesn't want the pool table any more.

Here's another: One of my Yankee cousins was was hauling his fishing boat when the spare tire mounting bracket broke clean off from the trailer frame. The tire and wheel assembly went bouncing and careening down the highway as loose tires do. The highway patrol wrote him a ticket for "unsecured load". My cousin argued that the spare tire bracket wasn't part of the load -- it was part of the vehicle! To no avail, still got the ticket. I think he just paid it rather than fighting it, because it was too far from home to go to court.

here's more than i ever knew re: tpms

www.carsdirect.com/car-re...pressure-sensor-correctly

i don't know if this is the driver you referenced, but his is an amazing story

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayrton_Senna#Racing_crash

Is it your larger tires' 42 psi that your TPMS doesn't like?

The TPMS in my 2013 Toyota Tacoma has a button under the dash near the OBD2 port you're supposed to push to set up the pressure to whatever set point you want.

Can never remember the procedure and always have to drag out the manual.

Is it your larger tires' 42 psi that your TPMS doesn't like? Or is it that that your large rims are interfering with the radio signals transmitted from the in-tire sensors?

I've tried at different pressures. Pretty sure it's an issue with the rims.

Pretty sure it's an issue with the rims.

TPMS sensors need to be replaced at regular intervals, don't remember the timeframe offhand.

Tire shops should have tools to diagnose the problem, I doubt it's the rims. Probably a bad sensor.