Originally Posted by
Merc
I have experienced the Scottsdale, AZ heat (100 degrees) as recent as last week.
It’s amazing how hot asphalt roads in AZ get by mid day. All this heat will raise tire pressure significantly which means that inflating tire over the recommended pressure can be very dangerous. I read a tire review on tirerack.com where someone in AZ experienced multiple deep cracks in the tread grooves all around the tire from over-inflation.
I had a tire serviced while we were in Florida in March and noticed that the tech inflated all four tires to 41 PSI (maximum Goodyear inflation spec) instead of the Toyota specified 35 PSI. Gas mileage might improve slightly but high pressure will make the tires wear unevenly in the center of the tread and cause cracking.
Edit: Something I heard recently made no sense. Some new cars are supposedly not being equipped with spare tires. Does that mean you have to buy a spare separately? Vans and SUVs have the spare mounted under the vehicle. Did they eliminate the crank-up storage device?