Today we’re talking about tire care– how to check tire pressure, how to release air from tires, where to access information about your tires, when to check your tire pressure, and the importance of tire rotation.
How much air should there be?
To find this; open your front driver side door. All the information you’ll need is located on a sticker on the body of your car. Some cars have a cheat sheet (white and yellow sticker above the arrow). All cars have the white sticker that the arrow is pointing at so I’ll show you this one.
Pumping and Dumping air
To dump air or let the extra air out;
Make sure it’s flush with the stem valve, press in. You’ll hear the air escaping. It’s best to release the air in short increments and check the pressure with the pressure gauge as you go. Because if you release too much you’re just going to waste more time filling the tire back up.
To pump air or fill the tire in;
If you have a tire-inflator, use that to pump air in as instructed. Most tire inflators don't cost much and are portable (works from the cigarette lighter socket). If you don’t have an air compressor you’ll most likely head to a gas station. When you add air at a gas station you’ll have to add some air, check the psi with a tire pressure gauge, and repeat as needed.
Make sure it’s flush with the stem valve, press in. You’ll hear the air escaping. It’s best to release the air in short increments and check the pressure with the pressure gauge as you go. Because if you release too much you’re just going to waste more time filling the tire back up.
To pump air or fill the tire in;
If you have a tire-inflator, use that to pump air in as instructed. Most tire inflators don't cost much and are portable (works from the cigarette lighter socket). If you don’t have an air compressor you’ll most likely head to a gas station. When you add air at a gas station you’ll have to add some air, check the psi with a tire pressure gauge, and repeat as needed.
Checking Tire Pressure
When?
There are car maintenance apps out there that you can use. Some will even remind you when you should have your car serviced. Definitely check your tire pressure at the beginning of each month and check again when the temperature changes in April and August each year.
Obviously, if your tires look lower than usual you should check the pressure. Also, if you feel your car pulling to one side (on a flat road) you should check the pressure.
How?
To check whether your car is pulling to one side; drive on a flat, straight road– preferably with no one sharing the road with you. Let go of the steering wheel and see if your car pulls to one side. Or the easiest way is to fix a tire pressure monitoring system to your vehicle.
To check tire pressure manually, you can buy a tire gauge. Everyone should have a tire pressure gauge at their house. Even better, you should keep one in each of your vehicles. They aren't expensive;
There are car maintenance apps out there that you can use. Some will even remind you when you should have your car serviced. Definitely check your tire pressure at the beginning of each month and check again when the temperature changes in April and August each year.
Obviously, if your tires look lower than usual you should check the pressure. Also, if you feel your car pulling to one side (on a flat road) you should check the pressure.
How?
To check whether your car is pulling to one side; drive on a flat, straight road– preferably with no one sharing the road with you. Let go of the steering wheel and see if your car pulls to one side. Or the easiest way is to fix a tire pressure monitoring system to your vehicle.
To check tire pressure manually, you can buy a tire gauge. Everyone should have a tire pressure gauge at their house. Even better, you should keep one in each of your vehicles. They aren't expensive;
Digital Tire Gauge with lightRs. 2,000 | Tire Gauge with Emergency Tool KitRs. 1,600 |
To check tire pressure;
- Begin by removing the cap on your valve stem.
- Grab your pressure gauge. Put it flush on the valve stem and press in until the gauge display the numbers.
- It will be shown in bar/psi/kpa
Rotate that tire!
But tires rotate automatically? We mean manually... You should have your tires rotated every 9000-13000 Km. You can do it yourself, but that requires a lot of work (lifting the car up, bending down, touching the tire, etc.) so just remind the service station staff to do it once in a while.
The key is to keep the interval even. If you don’t rotate your tires at all they won’t last nearly as long. We’re talking half of the time they’re supposed to last. To keep track of tire rotations and other work we do on our cars, keep a vehicle notebook in your garage. And note down the dates when you do anything to the vehicle. (change oil, brakes, etc.)
The key is to keep the interval even. If you don’t rotate your tires at all they won’t last nearly as long. We’re talking half of the time they’re supposed to last. To keep track of tire rotations and other work we do on our cars, keep a vehicle notebook in your garage. And note down the dates when you do anything to the vehicle. (change oil, brakes, etc.)