ExRedRacer

OK all you cold weather Vette owners...

It was a beautiful clear afternoon yesterday so I took my wife out in the Vette for an evening at the movies (Ray, ya gotta see it...)

Anyway, after it was over, the temperature had fallen to about 34 degrees or so and upon starting the car, the DIC indicated "Low Tire Pressure" for all 4 tires. After driving for about 10 minutes, the warning went away.

When your car sits in the cold do you get those low readings when first starting out or do I need to put more air in my tires?

If I need more air, when is the best time to do that? When they are cold, or after driving around a while when they are "warm?"

As always, thanks for your responses...

Dope

Lower temps mean lower pressure. Always fill tires when cold.

I would probably run ~30 cold. Obviously you are running less than 25psi cold, which is really too little.

Dope

bsmith

what pressure do you run?

you should be at 30psi when the car has been sitting for hours

you will have to adjust your pressures seasonally. Here, we get into the 100's in the summer and below zero in the winter. We had a cold snap recently and I had to add about 3psi to each tire.

Ego-Trip

I used to get it with my 2001 when I left it sit outside in the cold weather. Its normal, just add a few more pounds of air and you should be fine. It just sounds like your current cold tire pressures are right on the borderline of being low and the extra cold outdoor temps are dropping them below the DIC error level.

Evil-Twin

the warning come up at 25 psi.. whether they are hot or cold...in the winter I set mine to 28 psi cold.. take note on your display when the warning goes out.. and note the pressure.. then add a few pounds but dont let the pressure get above 32 psi hot. This will drop down to 27 or 28 cold... tire pressure is much more critical in the summer. when "road " (Georgia asphalt )temerature tempertaure can differ as much as 90 degrees from sunup to sunset.

Husker67

I get those warnings every once in awhile too. I have checked the tire pressure cold after getting the message and I have 30 PSI readings on two quality pressure gauges. I don't know what to do except ignore the warnings.

MyVetteDream

Thanks ET! This is the info that's important. The tires can sit around 28-30 cold.

jimman

I had set mine to 28 lbs between 60 to 70 degrees F. Got 67,000 miles on all 4 tires but still had more center wear. Currently setting to 27lbs cold.

ChipN

This happened to me the other day. I checked the DIC and saw that one of the tires was down to 24 lbs. (the other was at 25). Once I drove for a few minutes they both went to 26 (where my dealer set them after a recent oil change). Just this morning I inflated all tires to 30 lbs. and don't expect anymore issues.

robvuk

These are probably good figures for easy going, gentle rides. They will give you a soft ,compliant, comfortable drive. If you are a more aggressive driver, who utilizes higher cornering speeds, higher pressures are in order. How much depends on how hard you corner. You will of course wear out your tires quicker but in my opinion, that's what a vette is for.

Zilla

This happens to me all the time. Here in Vancouver BC when you get up in the morning the temperature may be in the 35 - 45 range but by midday it will be in the mid 60's. I have noticed that a 10 degree drop in outside temp is equal to a 1 psi drop in the tires. The warning comes on at 25 then disappears once the tires become warm.

xwing

Cold weather will lower your tire pressure. But if it's low enough to display on the DIC (< 25 PSI) than yours are too low. They should be set to 30 PSI after your car has been sitting overnight.

Evil-Twin

10 degrees will also give you an additional 1.3 hp gain.

Rob'sC5

Very good info. I've noticed this the last couple of days

Thanks Evil Twin

Vetteman Jack

I've not had mine drop like that in so short a period of time. You should be running 30 psi when the tires are cold. Then check them every week, especially in colder weather.