Tyre Pressure 101: How to Keep Your Tyres Properly Inflated
Your four tyres are the only part of your vehicle that comes in constant contact with the road. Because of this, it is imperative they’re inflated to the correct levels at all times.
With this in mind, here are several ways to help determine the correct tyre pressure for your tyres, how overinflated or underinflated tyres can be hazardous and why monitoring your tyre pressure is important.
Under Pressure: What Amount is Best?
According to Car and Driver, you can determine an appropriate tyre pressure level by inspecting the label in the doorjamb of your vehicle. This label will include the manufacturer’s suggested inflation level for your car or truck.
However, if the sticker is missing, check your owner’s manual.
While your tyres might include a “maximum pressure” number on the sidewall that’s higher than what’s suggested on the label, it’s important to go with what’s stated on the label to prevent any overinflation.
The Dangers of Overinflation and Underinflation
When it comes to maintaining proper tyre pressure, you’ll want to think like Goldilocks and the Three Bears by striving for a level that’s “just right.” Indeed, keeping your tyres inflated to the correct level will help distribute the weight of the car evenly across each tread, which, in turn, will keep the vehicle stable.
In general, tyres that are either overinflated or underinflated will lose this level of stability, preventing your car from cornering or handling as easily. More specifically, an overinflated tyre will have less grip on the road and won’t absorb impacts as easily, making your vehicle’s suspension do more of the work.
Meantime, overinflated tyres will also be stiffer and are more likely to become damaged. Plus, they can also make your car ride a lot noisier.
On the other hand, under-inflated tyres aren’t as responsive as ones that are properly filled, and they’ll “squish” more when coming to a stop or taking a corner. They also tend to heat up too much, which can cause structural damage to the tyre.
Tips on Checking Your Tyre Pressure
While newer model cars tend to have tyre-pressure monitoring systems to alert you when the levels are getting too low, many of these systems are not triggered until the tyre pressure is in the danger zone. Instead of relying on your car to tell you when there’s a problem, experts recommend that you manually check it once a month.
To help you remember, make it a point to check your tyres on the same day you pay your electric bill or mortgage. Fortunately, once you learn this vital step, it will only take you a few minutes to perform.
Pick up a handheld tyre-pressure gauge at a local auto parts store, or browse online for more affordable and a wider array of options.
Simply unscrew the tyre-valve cap on each tyre, plug in the gauge and see what reading pops up. According to AAA, if you’re going on a road trip, check your pressure before skipping town.
Additionally, always check your tyres when they’re cool or cold, not after a long afternoon of driving.
A Properly Inflated Tyre is a Happy Tyre
To say that your tyres are important to the safety of your vehicle is an understatement. Fortunately, checking their pressure is a quick and simple chore that will help your tyres in great condition and as responsive as possible.
This is a collaborative post.
Fancy checking out another post? Just click here!
Pin It
Very useful tips! It’s always necessary to check your car’s tires and do proper maintenance as well.
When I did have a car I was really bad about checking my tire pressure. This is important especially for women because many of us dont really check on our tires and sometimes wait until we pop a tire to figure out we needed more air or it was too much air.
What an interesting post! My husband usually handles this stuff for me, but now I know a little more about it. Just in case something happens when I’m alone, I can handle it a bit! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Just reminds me I need to go out and take a look at my tires right now. You do need them to have the right presusre if you want to keep them long term.
When I first started driving, more than 20 years ago, I had some cars with slow leaks in the tires, so I regularly had to use the tire gauge and refill the air. It is great advice to make sure your tires are at the correct inflation. Certainly makes a difference while driving too.
These are great tips. Before purchasing a car, I had no idea about the importance in maintaining the proper PSI on tires.Luckily, my car tells me my PSI so I know when my tires need to be inflated (especially during the winter!)
I’ve got to go put some air in my tires, they leak ever so slowly and I think it’s because I park on asphalt although I really don’t know. Now I know how to do it myself and won’t have to ask for help, thanks to this post.