The summertime brings both hotter weather and new potential driving risks. In particular, you need to make sure that you check your tire pressure properly. Many tire-related accidents are due to a driver’s tire air pressure not being at the proper levels. Knowing how to check yours the right way can help you avoid these sorts of issues…
Tire Pressure: Keep It In Line
When to check it
For starters, it’s good to know how often you should check your tire pressure. A problem many drivers have is forgetting to check their tires regularly. As a result, they have no idea what their air pressure levels are. Eventually, this will lead to a flat tire, or even worse, a blowout.
The thing is, our tires slowly lose air pressure each day due to a wide variety of factors. For instance, changes in the weather, temperature, and road conditions can all impact a tire’s air pressure. Therefore, a lot of experts recommend checking your tires each time you stop for gas. That way, if you need to add more air, you can easily do so.
How to check it
Of course, you’ll also want to make sure you know how to check your tire pressure. In general, it isn’t too complicated of a process. You just have to place a tire gauge over the tire’s air intake. What’s most important is making sure you get as accurate of a reading as possible.
Most gas station air pumps will also have a reader on them. Still, there’s no way to guarantee how accurate these will be. Plus, you don’t know how old and out-of-date they could be either. Instead, it’s best to invest in a digital tire gauge. That way, you won’t have to worry about inaccurate readings.
The right amount of pressure
Remember that tire pressure isn’t a universal concept. Different cars will come with different recommended levels of pressure for the front and back tires. Just guessing the right amount could cause you to go over or under the actual right amount and result in problems down the line.
However, it’s pretty easy to find the right pressure levels. Your car should have the info listed in either the driver’s side door, glove box, or fuel door. Your car’s manual should also have this info in it as well. The PSI number in particular is what you’ll want to make sure you set your tires to.