How to Check Your Car’s Tire Pressure?

Inspecting and adjusting the tire pressure regularly is a part of maintenance of the car. Your safety largely depends upon the condition and right pressure of the tires. Good and properly inflated tires give you better control and traction even better speed and fuel consumption. It is not difficult to check the tire pressure you just need a pressure gauge to check the pressure and placard is always there to help you to keep your tire pressure at proper level. Low inflated and overinflated tires both are extremely dangerous for your safety.

Tire Pressure

Tire pressure also called as cold inflation pressure. It is amount of force used by air molecules enclosed in a tire. Tire pressure usually measured as pounds per square inch (psi) but in some automobiles it is measured as kilopascal (kPa). With day to day drive, the tire pressure gradually reduces, the reason for this is that the air leaks out from the valve stem or in high performance tires there are special openings through which air leaks our gradually. The heating up of the tires on a long driving session also result in the change of the tire pressure.

Properly inflated tires not only improve the traction and control, but they are also necessary for the safety. They reduce the fuel consumption also by supporting properly the weight of the car. Poorly inflated tires loose the grip from the surface and cost you more fuel. Poorly inflated tires make driving conditions difficult for you and there are chances that they would have gone flat on long road trips.

Devices to Measure Tire Pressure

There are commonly two tools which are used to measure the tire pressure:

Pressure Gauges: Pressure gauge is the more common and easy to use device. They are mostly mechanical having a dial display which shows the reading. Modern digital gauges are mostly accurate to 1 psi while old gauges are accurate to 3 psi.

Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS): TPMS are basically pressure sensors which are connected to the wheels. TPMS send radio signals to the central computer of the car regarding tire pressure information. TPMS is common in some new automobiles.

Inspecting Tire Pressure

1. The best time to get the exact pressure reading is when the tires are cool. This means that before going on a drive like in the morning time or when car is parked for few hours. The tires become hot after a drive and the pressure of the tires varies accordingly, so if you take the reading when tires are hot, you may not get the accurate reading.
2. For recommended tire pressures for your vehicle always consider the placard which is located on the sidewall of the wheel on driving side. This placard contains the standard psi/kPa units of air pressure for your vehicle.
3. Dismiss the valve cap.
4. Take a gauge and push it into the valve stem. You hear a hiss sound, showing gauge is perfectly inserted by releasing a small amount of air from the tire.
5. Note the reading of the gauge and take it out of the valve stem.
6. Check the tire pressure for all the tires and note down the reading.
7. Now you have the standard readings and the reading of your tires. Compare both the readings; this will give you a clear idea whether your tires pressure is same as standard pressure or less than that. If you find your tire pressure less inflate them.

Air Pressure Adjustment

1. Take the valve cap from the wheel away.
2. Insert the nozzle of the air compressor into the valve and switch on the compressor. Push the lever down to fill the air in tire.
3. It is better to inflate the tire a little more than the standard pressure.
4. Once you have inflated the tire, take a pressure gauge and check the pressure. If the pressure is more than 6psi, release some of the air from the tire by pushing the gauge down.
5. Recap the valve and adjust the air pressure in all the remaining tires by following the same instructions.

This article is based on the important aspects of the tire pressure, checking and adjusting of tire pressure, which will help you to keep an exact record of your tire pressures. Remember anything lower or over than the required pressures can be a big threat to your safety.