Think of it like this:
- tire pressure is recommended to be set at 32 psi to handle the weight of the car at sea level
- a tire gauge measures pressure inside of the tire RELATIVE TO air pressure outside of tire
- air pressure decreases with altitude
- weight of car remains the same at a higher altitude
so, as measured by tire gauge, you need to run a higher tire pressure at altitude for the tire to properly handle the weight of the car as it would at sea level.:icon_confused:
In other words, if you want to run the tire pressure recommended by the manufacturer, you would inflate your tires to 32psi at sea level and then drive to 10,000 ft elevation. Then, check the tire pressure. It would read 37psi (or something close to that). So, at 10,000 ft elevation, 37psi is actually the recommended pressure.
I hope I'm right, but I think I have the right idea.