Right tire pressure and how to maintain it ?
"Tire maintenance is one of the most important things you can do for your car from a safety and cost standpoint."
Tire maintenance is one of the most important things you can do for your car from a safety and cost standpoint. The easiest way to care for your tires is both quick and inexpensive: maintain the correct tire pressure.
Right Tire Pressure
Since maintaining your tires is so important to your safety and your car’s overall performance, it’s important to know what tire pressure is right for your vehicle. Air pressure in tires is measured in pounds per square inch, or PSI; usually, the recommended tire pressure ranges between 30 and 35 PSI.
To learn what your tire pressure should be, look for your manufacturer’s recommendation, which is printed on a label inside your car. Depending on the vehicle, this label may be on the edge of the vehicle’s door, on the doorpost or in the glove box. The label will usually give recommendations for the front and rear tires as well as the spare, and it’s important you stick to those guidelines. (While you’re at it, check the air in your spare tire, too. It loses air pressure over time.) Even after you’ve replaced your tires, the same pressure guidelines on your car’s label apply to new tires of the same size. If your tires are larger than the stock models that came on your car and you’re unsure of the recommended PSI, check the tire’s sidewall to find the maximum cold PSI level.
Pressure recommendations are based on readings taken from a tire pressure gauge. Check the pressure first thing in the morning or wait at least three hours after driving; this provides sufficient time for them to cool back down.
How to maintain correct tire pressure?
Knowing your recommended PSI isn’t enough. You have to ensure you’re checking your tires regularly. Some experts recommend you check the air pressure every time you refuel; others say once a month is sufficient. Your car’s TPMS, tire pressure monitoring system, measures the amount of air in your tires to let you know if your tires are properly inflated.
Frequently checking your PSI becomes even more important in the fall and winter, when outside temperatures drop and weather conditions fluctuate causing your tires to lose air more quickly. Generally speaking, your tire will gain or lose one PSI for every 10-degree change in temperature, which means if you have a sudden drop of 30 degrees, you could lose three PSI overnight. If your tires were already low, this could cause tire damage, steering problems or even a flat tire.
Knowing and maintaining the right air pressure is important to the safety and longevity of tires. All it takes is a tire pressure gauge and a few minutes of your time.
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Debashish S Neupane
