Recommended Tyre pressures for a 1976 Eldorado

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

G'day all,

Would appreciate it if one of you fine people could advise me of the correct factory recommendation inflation pressure for the LR78x15 tyres on a 1976 Eldorado.

Thanks,

Bruce.

[76eldo]

I have attached the sticker from the inside of my glovebox.

It has a listing for the car loaded and not loaded.

I am running 235 70 15 Firestone Radials, 721's with the proper whitewall and keep them at 28 lbs front and rear.

If you are going on a long trip I guess you could go to 32 to get another mile or two per gallon, but mine seems to ride just fine @ 28 all around.

Brian

[EAM 17806]

On my 1976 Coupe de Ville the sticker on the glove compartment door reads as follows: Up to 5 occupants front and rear tires should be 23 lbs,  for vehicle capacity front 24 lbs and rear 28 lbs. The tire size equivalent to the former LR78 X 15 for this model is 235 X 75 X 15. I would think 28 lbs front and  rear should be good.  EAM

[76eldo]

I made an error on the size.  Mine are 75 series, not 70.

Brian

[dino]

For what it's worth I use to run 30 psi in 235 x75x15s on my 56 and my 60. An old time tire store owner suggested I try running 35 or 36 psi because the cars are so heavy.   I tried it and I'll be damned if the ride doesn't feel much better.  Try it,  air is free..

[TJ Hopland]

I run my 73 convert with radials at 30 on all 4.  I messed with other pressures.  Higher does seem to make the handling feel a bit better but sure makes for a bumpy ride.  Lower just makes the handling get really mushy without improving the ride.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Thanks for all the information.

When I read the recommended pressures for the '72 Eldo, I always think there is a misprint.

The rear pressure of 17 PSI seems to me to be so low that it had to be wrong, and allowing for a 4 PSI addition for Radials still is too low for safe driving.

The reason I wanted the pressures for '76 is that this is the first year with Factory-fitted Radials on the Eldorado.   

Bruce.

[62droptop]

i run mine at 35 psi in my 62 conv,which is max pressure for the tire
i drive my car hard and fast
if i run the tires a bit softer , it rides marginally less harsh on the bumps but handles way worse
i dont mind the extra road feel for all the other benefits of gas mileage and handling
again i drive my car a lot on long trips so getting the most mpg is important to me
i put almost 200 miles on my car in the last two days


when i bought it, the tires looked fine,didnt check pressure,firestone 721 radials 
after a few hrs driving i decided to air up the tires and ran them up to 40psi hot(those tires were rated max load at 44psi) i picked up about 5 mpg for the rest of my trip home
do not know original pressure but can say the tires took a bit of air and did not change visually in appearance like one would if it were visibly low
the ride didn't really noticeably change either

you need to check the load rating on the tires on your car to see what they recommend
many cheaper tires have less load rating and must be run at higher pressure to keep tire from overheating,remember these cars weigh around 5000lbs or more
and proper load rating of the tire is crucial
remember the factory psi rating was for optimal ride quality,not necessarily best handling or mpg
if you test drove a new car that has 40 psi in the tires,you probably would pass saying the ride is too rough,but the same car wit 24 psi you would say,wow car rides smooth



i believe coker tire used to recommend running their 235'75 15 white walls at 35psi

you could probably run your tires at 50psi in your old caddy and still ride softer than many new cars with the low profile tires

remember the Ford explorer /firestone tire issue a few years back
ford recommended some ridiculous low pressure like 24 or 28psi for the tires
no wonder the tires failed, they overheated from under inflation
sure they rode softer and not like a truck,but how many people been killed because underinflated tires
i have used some of the supposed faulty tires on more than one occasion and have run them at a proper inflation and used them full loaded for many hard working miles and never had an issue with the tires

when a tire has been run low on air, from the outside all looks well
take the tire off the rim and look inside,it will tell you a completely different story as the inner liner will be destroyed making the tire a time bomb just waiting to explode

personally i never run any of my tires less than 32psi on any of my cars, from my old mini cooper,Cadillac,wife's new minivan etc

i have never had a tire blow out for no apparent reason
if you only drive your car to the local dairy queen or cruise night at 30 mph, tire pressure not going to be as big of an issue for you
but if you drive on the highway,inflate your tires closer to the maximum on your tire and you will really notice the handling and mpg benefits at really little ride quality, and be much safer doing it

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Now that I have the "Factory" recommendations, I can now experiment further.

My '72 Eldo Coupe always drove very well, and handled like it was an ocean liner with the spirit of a sports car, but with the Convertible, the ride is reasonably harsh, but that is due to my upping the tyre pressures to suit my driving.

After I have replaced the engine following a Timing Set change, and a general de-grease of the engine compartment and replacing a torn CV Joint boot, I will do some further experimenting.   Nothing worse than Oil Leaks.

Bruce.

["Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364]

G'Day Bruce,
I run 30-32 front and 28-30 rear in my '72 eldo, and have for the last 15 years running Michlein 235 x 75 R-15's.  Handling, performance, tire wear are all good.
Greg Surfas