Tires
Vehicle care and maintenance 9-21
9
N00939300844
Proper tire inflation pressure is essential for the safe and satisfactory operation of yourvehicle. The wrong tire pressure will cause problems in three major areas: Safety Too little pressure increases flexing in thetire and can cause tire failure. Too muchpressure can cause a tire to lose its ability to cushion shock. Objects on the road and potholes could then cause tire damage thatmay result in tire failure. Economy The wrong tire pressure can cause unevenwear patterns in the tire tread. These abnormal wear patterns will reduce the tread life, and the tire will have to bereplaced sooner. Too little pressure also makes it harder for the tire to roll, and this uses up more fuel. Ride comfort and vehicle stability The superior riding experience built into your vehicle partly depends on the correcttire pressure. Too much pressure gives an uncomfortable and jarring ride. Too little pressure feels as if your vehicle is slow torespond. Unequal tire pressures can make steering your vehicle uneven and unpredictable.
The correct tire pressure for your vehicle is listed on the placard attached to the sill of the driver’s door. (Refer to “Tire and loading information plac-ard” on page 11-3.) The recommended inflation pressures should be used for the tires listed below.
Tire pressures should be checked, and adjusted if necessary, at least once a month. Pressures should be checked more often whenever weather temperatures changeseverely, because tire pressures change with outdoor temperatures. The pressures listed on the placard are always “cold inflation pres-sure”. Cold inflation pressure is measured after the vehicle has been parked for at least threehours or is driven less than 1 mile (1.6 km)after having been parked for three hours. Cold inflation pressure must not go above the maximum values molded into the tire side-wall. After driving several miles, your tire inflation pressure may increase 14 to 41 KPA, 2 to 6 PSI from the cold inflation pressure.Do not let air out of the tires to get back to the specified cold pressure, or your tire pressure will be too low.Check your tires each time you refuel. If one tire looks lower than the others, check the pressure for all of them.You should also take the following safety pre- cautions:
Tire inflation pressures
Except for vehicles with turbo- charger
Item
Tire size
Front
Rear
Normal tire
P205/60 R16
250 KPA, 36 PSI
250 KPA, 36 PSI
P215/45 R18
240 KPA, 35 PSI
240 KPA, 35 PSI
Compact spare tire
T125/70 D16 T125/90D16
420 KPA, 60 PSI
Vehicles with turbocharger
Item
Tire size
Front
Rear
Normal tire
P215/45 R18215/45R
18
240 KPA, 35 PSI
240 KPA, 35 PSI
Compact spare tire
T125/90 D16
420 KPA, 60 PSI
Item
Tire size
Front
Rear
Tires
Vehicle care and maintenance 9-23
9
When the bands appear next to one another in two or more places, replace your tires.
N00939900390
To even out the wear on your tires and makethem last longer, Mitsubishi Motors Corpora- tion recommends that you rotate your tires at the mileage listed in the “WARRANTY ANDMAINTENANCE MANUAL”. However, the timing for tire rotation may vary according to your vehicle condition,road surface conditions, and your own per- sonal driving habits. Any time you notice unusual wear, rotate your tires as soon as pos-sible. When rotating tires, check for uneven wear, damage, and wheel alignment. Abnormal wear is usually caused by a wrong tire pres-sure, wheels that are not aligned properly, wheels that are out-of-balance, or severe braking.Check with an authorized Mitsubishi Motors dealer or a repair facility of your choice to find out the reason for uneven tread wear.
The first tire rotation is the most important one. It will allow all your tires to wear evenly.
NOTE
Tire wear indicators can have different marks and locations depending on the tire manufac- turer.
Tire rotation
CAUTION A compact spare tire can be installed tempo- rarily in place of a tire that has been removedduring the tire rotation. However, it must not be included in the regular tire rotation sequence.Tires that do not have
arrows showing rotation
direction Front Tires that have arrows showing rotation direction Front
CAUTION If the tires have arrows (A) indicating the correct direction of rotation, swap the front and rear tires on the left-hand side of the vehicle and the front and rear tires on the right-hand side of the vehicle separately.Keep each tire on its original side of the vehicle. When installing the tires, make sure the arrows point in the
direction in which the
wheels will turn when the vehicle moves for- ward. Any tire whose arrow points in the wrong direction will not perform to its fullpotential.CAUTION Avoid the combined use of different types of tires. Using different types of tires can affectvehicle performance and safety.
Front
