Gee, lots of replies, not much info. Here's a reply with some generic info, but nothing specific. My tires are slightly oversized, and I run at the pressures on the tag on the sill.
I race cars, and we live an die by tire pressures. But then, the grip that you get really isn't key on our trucks. Sorry, but it's hard (and dangerous, on public streets) to push our trucks to 100% in a turn.
Tire pressure does two key things. First, it balances the handling. Understeer vs. Oversteer. Don't worry about the definitions, this is just how the truck handles "at the limit" in a turn. Which, again, isn't so important for us.
The second thing that tire pressure does for us is to set the tire up as a second set of springs. This is vital when towing, I would guess. I would not (did not) tow anything heavy without checking tire pressures before hooking up the trailer. One tire with 10psi too little (which is common) could be disasterous.
Oh, and way too much or way too little pressure can surely cause the symptom the other gentleman referred to, wearing in the center or on the edges. But this typically only happens with significant variations from recommended, and even if it happens at recommended, I don't care. I want safe tires.
The higher the pressure, the harder (harsher) the ride. Some folks are very forgiving of this, others aren't. So, in my case, I would probably be unwilling to do miles in a truck with 35 psi all around. In my race car I can feel every pebble that I drive over. . . <g>
The numbers on the sill, recommended pressures, apply for other sized tires. There may actually be differences, but this is a good safe place to be, unless you go to really weird sizes, as almost none of us here have.
The "max" number listed is just that. Don't put more than that in the tire (actually, "for a long period", but that's another storey).
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