FYI Test to measure air pressure for load

[Joe Hogan]

Interesting old school method to test tire tread contact patch

Using The Chalk Method for Determining PSI | Interco Tire

Using The Chalk Method for Determining PSI - NOTE. This article is posted for reference only. You should always consult with your local tire installation professional(s) when you have questions about your tires.

www.intercotire.com

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Excellent information!!!

 

[Lunge motorsport]

I don't agree with this method. Just because your tire is in contact with the pavement and erasing the chalk mark does not indicate proper inflation. There can and most likely is a crown to the tire with this method. I prefer to load the trailer to travelling weight and use a point and shoot thermometer to measure the temps across the tires in 3 locations across the tread. It's more work and requires note taking and safety considerations, but you can't get a more accurate pressure determination than to insure the heat level of the tire is as close as you can get to even across the tread. If your interested in more info I can elaborate or you can go online and ask the racer boys how to perform this.

 

[jaydee325]

Pure BS. May have some merit in the bias ply days, but with steel belted radials, come on!!

 

[offroader09]

So this chalk method become popular with the off road community. We used light truck tires to get the height needed for off roading. The load rating was really high for the application and the issue was a tire designed to run at 60 psi made the ride in a jeep a bone jarring experience. In my application I was running at 28 psi with no heat issues on a tire that had a min pressure of 55 psi. Due to the very stiff sidewall we could lower the pressure and not overheat the tire due to sidewall flex. It worked for my jeep but no way would I use this method for my RV.