I'm sorry if this is a repost but I did a search and couldn't find an answer. Someone was recently talking about what PSI to keep your spare tire at. My 16" tires say 44 PSI. I also checked Chevy's recommendation on the door which says 30 PSI. I now keep them at 41-42 but I've driven the car with the tires too low and found it had handling problems and the tires already shows wear on the outside.

Why would Chevy recommend such a low pressure? Better yet, which recommendation do I follow?

 

The manual (*online here*) recommends the compact spare be kept at 60 psi. I havent read the door panel decal yet though.

See page 5-51 in regards to inflation comments.
Compact spare psi, page 5-73 & 5-51

I do believe the normal tires and the compact spare do not have the same tire pressures.

 

The Tires that are on the HHr states Max PSI is 44, Spare Tire is 60

If I put anything under the 35 PSI my tires Screech when the Z-Man takes off and thats not good for me, Tires cost too much.

 

I just had nitrogen put in mine and they put 35 the psi the door states.
No problem, so far.

 

It says 30 psi on the sticker on the drivers door on our HHR, and 60 psi for the little donut spare. That's where we try to keep them. If you run them overinflated near the max (41/42 psi) you're just going to wear the tires down prematurely in the center instead of the outer edges. And be kind of hard riding to boot! Seems like anything between 30 and 35 should be just fine.

 

I run 35lbs in my HHR & so far no problems.
When i had the oil changed at the Dealer i asked the Mechanic what to run the tires at and He said 35lbs when Tires are cold on HHR'S.

 

I've bought tires at Discount Tire several times and they always put 35 pounds in them also. This was on my '96 Altima that calls for "29" pounds all around on the door sticker.

 

When Automaker shows tire pressure front & rear the tire pressure is usually less then what you should run on account of less pressure means a smoother ride, But tires wear faster, Also don't forget to rotate every 6000 miles.

 

As I stated above, I took one trip with them at about 34 psi and now see wear on the outside to the tread. The car was also hard to handle on the interstate. Since I added air, the ride is much smoother. It may have something to do with the temps down here. There's not a lot of differerence between the cold psi and the running psi.

I plan to call the dealer on Monday and get their opinion.

 

The tire gauges that most tire places use, with the little pop up "ribbon" are notoriously inaccurate (according to some auto and consumer publications). But,
they are also notorious for over inflating when they mount a new tire. Even the factory is. Thats why GM issued a TSB in regard to tire pressures.