Why should you keep your tires properly inflated?
- Save gas
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, underinflated tires consume about 3.3% of your fuel expense. A total of four million gallons of gasoline are wasted daily within the U.S. alone.
- Prevent accidents and emergencies
You are less likely to get stranded along the side of the road by keeping your tires safely inflated. According to Triple A, 13% (4 million of the 29 million) of their calls annually are tire related. Vehicle owners usually tend to wash his or her car versus correctly verifying their air pressure despite the fact that annually 660 deaths are directly related to underinflated tires ("Research Reveals 85% of Drivers Don't Properly Check Tire Pressure" U.S. Newswire, April 2005).
- Lengthen your tire life span
Appropriately inflated tires wear more evenly and relieve force on your sidewalls improving the life span of your tread. As reported by a Goodyear Corporation study: For every 1 PSI drop in inflation pressure, tread wear increases by 1.78%. If it remains underinflated by 2 PSI over its lifetime, the tread wear would increase by 1.78% or about 1600 miles (45,000*.0356). If it is underinflated on average by 6 PSI or 10.7%, tire life will be reduced by 4,800 miles.
How often should tire pressure be inspected?
Plan to inspect your air pressure every month or every 1,000 miles. It is nearly impossible to visually tell if your tire has lost air. Unfortunately, this is how 25% of drivers check their pressure (Rubber Manufacturers Association.) It can lose almost half of its pressure before it begins to look low. If you happen to wait until it is visibly low you have already wasted gas and done damage.
When checking your air pressure don't forget your spare!
How to check your tire pressure:
Check your air pressure while it is cold (driven under one mile after being immobile for a while). You should not examine your tire pressure after your car has been driven for an extensive time. This can give you a false reading because of the heat generated from driving conditions.
After uncapping the valve, clean dirt and debris from the valve with the air from the nozzle. Firmly press the head of the gauge to the top of the tire valve and read the pressure. Inflate your tire to your vehicle's recommended air pressure. The appropriate pressure commonly can be found on the placards situated in the doorjam on the driver's side door. The placards list the original equipment tire size and the manufacturer's recommended pressure for the vehicle tires and spare(s).
Note: The pressure found on your own tire is the highest possible tire pressure, not necessarily your vehicle's recommended tire pressure. Find an air compressor to pump up those tires.
Check out the best air compressors to inflate those tires.
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