[DeepSky]

Does running a tire at too high, or too low of a pressure cause the tread to wear quicker on the inside (center) of the tire than the outside edges?

Common sense is telling me that a tire running a higher pressure will cause the center of the tread to wear faster than the outside edges; however, I've been running my tires at what I thought was a low amount of pressure for street driving (28psi) and lately its been easy to look at them and tell that the center of the tire is wearing quicker than the outsides.

[Wheelin98TJ]

Wearing too much on the center tread blocks can be an indicator that the tire is overinflated.

However, there is a trade off here.

Sometimes the PSI you need to run in order to get even tread wear is far too low for good handling and decent MPG.

Its hard to believe, but gas is actually more expensive than tires when you calculate it on a per mile basis. Saving tires while sacrificing MPG is rarely a good trade off.

[1998zj]

28 is a lot of pressure for a 35" tire. I run mine at 24 which is still up there. I just checked and mine were 19 psi, haven't checked them since the temps have dropped. Filled them back up, trying to get some better gas mileage out of it.

[DeepSky]

Interesting...a few years back when I got my Jeep the general concencous on the board I frequented was 26-30 PSI for 35"s. According to 98TJ, the way my tires have worn over the past 29k miles makes it sound like I've definitely been running them at too high of a pressure.

[Wheelin98TJ]

How wide are your wheels?

With some 12.50 wide tires on 8" wide wheels, I've seen some people claiming they have to run as low as 15-17 PSI to get even totally even tread wear.

I think you are pretty close to the PSI you should be running. Anything much lower and you're going to sacrifice MPG and handling too much.

I run my 35x12.50 tires on 8" wide wheels at 26-28 PSI on road. They do wear a little quicker in the middle, but I think I've found the "good compromise" PSI level.

[+Crusader+]

Most tire designs are crowned in the center; static, unmounted state. Inflating by chalk-test method will reduce excessive center wear mostly. Yet, even then you will still wear the center first, unless you inflate so much as to be ridiculous for street use. Overinflating will definitely wear the center much faster.

Like Wheelin98TJ said, the trade off in fuel economy is not worth it. However, in order to soften the ride I don't run at 32 either. I find between 24-26 psi works best for a 4K lb YJ with 33x12.50-15. I would guess dropping a few pounds will help you too.