Car tyre pressure

Merlin5

Merlin5

Gold Member
Hi guys. Do any of you adjust your tyres according to whether you've loaded your drumkit? My car is a Toyota Auris hatchback and the manual says 32 psi tyre pressure front and back for a load of up to 5 people.

In my car that would be me, a front passenger and 3 people in the back. I don't know what my kit weighs and whether it exceeds the weight of 5 people. With the back seats down, my kit is 20" kick drum in its case (Le Blonde hardcase but not as chunky as the brand 'Hardcase'), two long hardware cases, (also in Le Blonde), 15" tom (in Le Blonde case), 12" (in Protection Racket soft case), snare drum in soft case, Tama 1st chair throne top (not in a case) and 22" cymbal bag pretty much fully loaded with cymbals. Occasionally I'll take an extra snare and 10" tom (in cases).

At a rough guess, would you say that exceeds the weight of 5 people, or at least, would you say it exceeds the weight of 3 people in the back? Or roughly the same as 5 people?

I just put some new tyres on all round and want to try and keep them from wearing out by under or overinflating.
 
You're fine going with the manufacturer's recommended PSI when transporting your drum kit.

The only time you'll need to raise the tire pressure is if you're transporting your lead singer due to the weight of his ego.
 
Merlin5 said:
Hi guys. Do any of you adjust your tyres according to whether you've loaded your drumkit? My car is a Toyota Auris hatchback and the manual says 32 psi tyre pressure front and back for a load of up to 5 people.

In my car that would be me, a front passenger and 3 people in the back. I don't know what my kit weighs and whether it exceeds the weight of 5 people. With the back seats down, my kit is 20" kick drum in its case (Le Blonde hardcase but not as chunky as the brand 'Hardcase'), two long hardware cases, (also in Le Blonde), 15" tom (in Le Blonde case), 12" (in Protection Racket soft case), snare drum in soft case, Tama 1st chair throne top (not in a case) and 22" cymbal bag pretty much fully loaded with cymbals. Occasionally I'll take an extra snare and 10" tom (in cases).

At a rough guess, would you say that exceeds the weight of 5 people, or at least, would you say it exceeds the weight of 3 people in the back? Or roughly the same as 5 people?

I just put some new tyres on all round and want to try and keep them from wearing out by under or overinflating.
Click to expand...
32 it is then. Make sure to rotate at every oil change it helps with the wear
 
There should be, max and minimum tire pressure "options" on the placard in the door jam pillar post; used to be; a high speed and lesser speed, and/or a solo driver and a full family with luggage optional pressures..

And keeping the same differential psi between front and rear axles (lol) you should be able to go up to the max. rating on the tire sidewalls,
And it will ride like there's concrete in the tires 😁

Merlin5 said:
roughly the same as 5 people?
Click to expand...
Yes I'd say so
Over inflated will wear on the center of the tires, under inflated might wear out the edges)

you're Ok
car questions weren't on my bingo card)
 
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Inflate your tires to the specified psi/cold printed on the driver side door jamb. That is proper inflation for that specific vehicles gross vehicle weight rating. Do not go by any psi printed on the tire.
 
Just as an aside...i bought a Toyota Yaris new in 2010 just for commuting purposes. Got 2 other vehicles. When the change oil light comes on it gets an oil change. Current milage is @ 364k and still going strong!
 
Merlin5 your kit listed weighs less than a car full of average adults (you could always weigh each drum piece individually on a bathroom scale and total them up) as long as you normally don't exceed the amount of passengers rated for your vehicle you should be fine with what the owner's manual indicates for correct air pressure.
YMMV
 
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@bongoman, @Vintage Old School, @TJK, @jda, @joedrum, @Jeremy Bender - thanks for your advice!

I'll stick to 32 psi all around then. As it happens, I'm waiting on Anazon to deliver a cordless tyre inflator today then I'll check each tyre.

joedrum, that's excellent mileage! My Auris is a 2007 plate on 115,000 miles, and going by your mileage, that gives me confidence that mine should still have a long way to go. Although my car will probably rust away before I get anywhere near that! It gets used daily but I don't drive it hard and I've only been doing about 6500 miles a year as most of my gigs are not too far away.

Jeremy Bender, very interesting, I had no idea of how my kit compares in weight to an average adult and I'm sure you're right. I think I'll spend a few minutes putting it all on my bathroom scales and see what it actually weighs.
 
As a man of 300Ibs, I don't change my tyre pressures to carry me particularly. And my drum kit weighs sod all...
 
Hi @Merlin5,

You may know much of this already, but here's a couple of inflation tips when your new cordless tire inflator arrives from Amazon.

First, when you go to measure your tire's psi, make sure that the tires are cold. Meaning that you haven't driven the car within 3 hours, or so. Or, that you haven't driven your car any lengthy distance, like anything over 1.6 km. The friction from driving heats the tires up, and a heated tire will give you a inaccurate (higher) psi measurement.

Give yourself enough time to inflate all 4 tires. It takes me about 25 minutes or so, to both measure and top off all 4 tires with my tire inflator/gauge. I always think to myself, "This will just take a couple of minutes to do.". In reality, it takes the full 25 minutes. Keep that in mind if you are trying to do this before going someplace with a time deadline, like say work, or an appointment of some sort. Oh, don't forget to check the spare tire's psi every once in a while too. That is if your car even comes equipped with one anymore. (Pro tip: If you have any disposable latex gloves laying around, wear them while inflating the tires. It makes for a super easy cleanup when you are done, especially if you are going somewhere nice immediately afterwards.)

Remember to put the valve caps back on after inflating each of the tires. It might seem like such a trivial thing, but the valve caps really do help in keeping the road debris/grime out of tip of your valve stems. You'll thank yourself for it the next time you go to inflate your tires.

Whenever I bring my car in to any of the independent mechanics I've used over the years, they have told me that I should inflate my tires about 2-3 psi higher than the recommended psi number on the sticker of the car's doorframe (or Owners Manual). Especially, during the cold Chicago winter months. So, for 32 psi they would inflate the tires to 35 psi. You can safely over-inflate tires by up to 10%. However, DO NOT overinflate any tire over the maximum inflation rate listed directly on the sidewall of the tire itself.

I hope that you find some of these tips useful, and I wish you a safe and happy motoring. :) 🚗
 
Blk Diamond said:
Hi @Merlin5,

You may know much of this already, but here's a couple of inflation tips when your new cordless tire inflator arrives from Amazon.

First, when you go to measure your tire's psi, make sure that the tires are cold. Meaning that you haven't driven the car within 3 hours, or so. Or, that you haven't driven your car any lengthy distance, like anything over 1.6 km. The friction from driving heats the tires up, and a heated tire will give you a inaccurate (higher) psi measurement.

Give yourself enough time to inflate all 4 tires. It takes me about 25 minutes or so, to both measure and top off all 4 tires with my tire inflator/gauge. I always think to myself, "This will just take a couple of minutes to do.". In reality, it takes the full 25 minutes. Keep that in mind if you are trying to do this before going someplace with a time deadline, like say work, or an appointment of some sort. Oh, don't forget to check the spare tire's psi every once in a while too. That is if your car even comes equipped with one anymore. (Pro tip: If you have any disposable latex gloves laying around, wear them while inflating the tires. It makes for a super easy cleanup when you are done, especially if you are going somewhere nice immediately afterwards.)

Remember to put the valve caps back on after inflating each of the tires. It might seem like such a trivial thing, but the valve caps really do help in keeping the road debris/grime out of tip of your valve stems. You'll thank yourself for it the next time you go to inflate your tires.

Whenever I bring my car in to any of the independent mechanics I've used over the years, they have told me that I should inflate my tires about 2-3 psi higher than the recommended psi number on the sticker of the car's doorframe (or Owners Manual). Especially, during the cold Chicago winter months. So, for 32 psi they would inflate the tires to 35 psi. You can safely over-inflate tires by up to 10%. However, DO NOT overinflate any tire over the maximum inflation rate listed directly on the sidewall of the tire itself.

I hope that you find some of these tips useful, and I wish you a safe and happy motoring. :) 🚗
Click to expand...
Beautifully written. Very good advice. Thank you sir. 🙂👍
 
I just got home from a gig and as I unloaded the kit from the car, I weighed it all plus an extra snare and two toms I didn't take with me.

Hardware case A 53.2 lb
Hardware case B 53.6 lb
14 x 6.5 brass snare in case 16.4 lb
14 x 6.5 aluminium snare in case 11.4 lb
8" tom in case 7.6 lb
10" tom in case 9 lb
12" tom in case 10.2 lb
15" tom in case 15 lb
20" Bass drum in case 36.2 lb
Cymbal bag 28 2 lb
Tama 1st chair top 11 lb
Drumkit Carpet 13.4 lb
Accessories case 26.2 lb
Carrying trolley + mic stand 16.2 lb

TOTAL: 307.6 lb

So yeah, it all weighs way less than five adults! I've got peace of mind now that I certainly don't need to raise the tyre pressures, just like you guys said. :) (y)
 
opentune said:
Wow you bring a lot to a gig. Roadie needed.
Click to expand...

Hah. No not really. Usually just kick, one snare, two toms, cymbals, hardware and carpet. The hardware just happens to be split across two cases to make it lighter to carry. I should get wheels on them tbh. The mic stand and trolley are permanently left in the car and rarely used. The throne top is loose as there's no space in the hardware cases. Snare drums I switch between depending on what I fancy taking, and extra toms I take out very occasionally, but I mostly play just the 12 & 15.
 
I've never thought about adjusting tire pressure for when I gig. I couldn't imaging tacking one more thing onto what all I need to do to get ready to go.
 
Merlin5 said:
I just got home from a gig and as I unloaded the kit from the car, I weighed it all plus an extra snare and two toms I didn't take with me.

Hardware case A 53.2 lb
Hardware case B 53.6 lb
14 x 6.5 brass snare in case 16.4 lb
14 x 6.5 aluminium snare in case 11.4 lb
8" tom in case 7.6 lb
10" tom in case 9 lb
12" tom in case 10.2 lb
15" tom in case 15 lb
20" Bass drum in case 36.2 lb
Cymbal bag 28 2 lb
Tama 1st chair top 11 lb
Drumkit Carpet 13.4 lb
Accessories case 26.2 lb
Carrying trolley + mic stand 16.2 lb

TOTAL: 307.6 lb

So yeah, it all weighs way less than five adults! I've got peace of mind now that I certainly don't need to raise the tyre pressures, just like you guys said. :) (y)
Click to expand...
How do you get all that in an Auris?! You must be a Tetris champion, or is just @Merlin5 magic!?Props! 👏 (y):)
 
I've followed this thread with some amusement. (In a good way!)

I could tell you weren't from my part of the world because a) you spelled it "tyre", and b) you read the manual.

Most people I have been around load the vehicle until they either run out of room or the tires are about to kiss the wheel wells, lol. I once drove my little Ford Ranger pickup almost 3000 miles, loaded so heavily I could barely see over the hood. Got down to about 20mph max speed over the mountain passes in Montana, and just barely outran a tornado on the plains of Wyoming.

I think you'll be golden, Merlin!

(In all seriousness, props to you for the care you take of your vehicle!)
 

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