The correct high-pressure gives you a smoother ride, saves on fuel costs, and allows your tires to grip the road. So how do you know what the pressure should be and how to check tire pressure?
Let’s stick in and find the answer!
Overview Of Tire Pressure
The pressure of air compressed inside the tire is called tire pressure, with the most common unit of measurement for car tire pressure, today being PSI, KPa, or Bar. In there:
1 PSI (pounds per square inch) = 6,895 KPa
1 kPa = 0,01 Bar
Most tires with 4 seats or more such as Sedan, Hatchback, MPV, or small pickup trucks (2 seats) are at a standard level of 27 – 32 PSI. Some cars that are equipped with special tires can have pressures up to 40 PSI. Specifically, the standard Toyota Vios tire pressure is from 2.2 kg to 2.3 kg. Besides, you will notice that in 7-seat SUVs or large pickups, the standard pressure can reach 45 PSI and be higher than 4 – 8 PSI compared to other tires.
If your tire is inflated with the proper pressure, it will create the right amount of friction from the wheel to the road surface, from there, the car will operate smoothly, have stable cornering ability, support good braking, and maximize fuel economy. Besides, stable tire pressure makes the wear on the tire even and increases the life of your tires.
Let’s move to the part that is most looked forward to by many drivers in the article!
How To Check Tire Pressure?
Checking your tire pressure just takes a couple of minutes and it’s a super simple routine checkup that you should do at least once a month and especially before a long road trip.
Currently, some cars are even equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system that will illuminate a warning sign on your dashboard to let you know If your tires have an influx of heat or pressure.
Improper tire pressure can lead to poor mileage, uneven wear tire, and even your tire will be exploding. And checking the tire pressure regularly is an important step to help you handle all these problems, so how to check your tire pressure, let’s start!
Before going into the details step, we will list some necessary tools you need to do this process that includes:
- Tire pressure gauges: Currently on the market there are two types of tire pressure gauges: a standard analog clock and an electronic meter that uses a battery or a 12V electric port. You can easily get one in at your local auto store.
- Paper and pen to note the parameters
Step 1: Find out the proper pressure
First, you should check the tire pressure according to the parameters recommended by the manufacturer. Information about the right tire pressure usually appears in the vehicle manual or on the decal attached to the door/door sill. This number is usually expressed in PSI, KPa, or Bar and is usually the maximum allowable pressure level.
All this data is the amount required for cold tires, remember to reduce slightly for warm tires because warm tires have a higher pressure as the rule: air expands when the temperature increase.
In addition to checking the pressure on the sticker, how to read tire pressure on tire? You can know this data by checking on the sidewall of your tires. This is very crucial when you buy a used car. Because maybe the car tire has been replaced, not the standard tire of the automakers. And there are many car tire manufacturers, so it is necessary to check the pressure parameters listed on the car tire wall.
After checking PSI for each tire, you will note down the parameters to detect if there’s a different pressure between the front and rear tires to prevent confusion when moving the tires.
Step 2: Measure the pressure with your gauge
To use the gauge, you need to remove the cap on the tire valve (this cap is used to prevent dirt and keep moisture). Next, you place the gauge head over the valve stem on your tires.
You will have to press the button to start reading the air pressure if you use a digital gauge.
On contrary, when using the pencil-style gauge, it’ll begin reading the tire pressure automatically. If you hear a hissing sound, the gauge head is not pressed firmly enough over the valve stem or it’s not parallel, so make sure to press down harder.
Different tire pressure gauges will display different parameter screens. For example, a standard gauge will show the pressure reading needle when measuring. The electronic watch will display a specific number on the screen.
Use a pen and paper to record the pressure level of each tire, in case each tire has a different pressure.
Step 3: Compare the pressure
After having the data from your gauge, you will start to compare this number to the pressure listed on the tires.
If the measured PSI is above the proper number, let the air out by pressing on the center pin of your valve stem until it matches the data on the sidewall or the recommendations of manufacturers.
When PSI is lower than the listed numbers, add the air since it won’t have any difference between these parameters.
Experience Measuring Tire Pressure and Important Notes
When Should You Check The Tire Pressure?
We have some notes about the time to check the tire pressure. The best time to check the pressure is when your tires are cold. You should wait until the car has been idle for at least 2 or 3 hours or even overnight. At this time, it will give you the most accurate reading. To be on the safe side, you should check your tire pressure every time you fill up or every 30 days.
Or when the temperature changes suddenly, you should also check the tire pressure to adjust to the actual situation. In addition, even in the case, your car stays in the garage or new tires. The pressure is reduced by about 0.7 PSI/month. Therefore, if you don’t use the car for a long time, we should also check and increase/decrease the tire pressure accordingly.
Use a high-precision TPMS or tire pressure gauge
Currently, the market provides a variety of car tire pressure gauges, including 3 popular types such as:
- Dial gauges
- Digital tire pressure gauge
- Stick-type gauges
Should choose watches with a clear, genuine origin and with specific instructions for use.
In the above types of gauges, in order to limit errors, battery-powered tire pressure gauges need to be checked regularly. Because the low battery condition also affects the inspection process quite a lot. As for the sensor meter or meter using 12V power. It is also necessary to check the socket carefully before measuring the car tire parameters.
Another ultimate option is to install a TPMS for RV or cars. This device monitors the air pressure or even temperature of all tires and give the warning when the pressure in one or four tires drops below a safe level.
With a RV TPMS system equipped on your vehicle, you’ll always have active information about your tire pressure which could ensure your safety on the road by detecting unexpectect issues with your tires early.
Adjust the tire pressure following the season
Typically, experienced drivers often use sight to observe the pressure level. But that’s hardly accurate. Because of the trend of car tires becoming thinner and thinner, it is difficult to judge car tire pressure visually.
- In the summer, when the temperature is high, the air inside the tire will expand more than usual. So drivers should measure the tire pressure and inflate the tire a little less than the manufacturer’s recommendation to ensure that when the tire heats up. The pressure does not exceed the tolerance of the tire wall.
- If your vehicle often stays in a lower temperature than outside. You should also reduce the pump pressure to about 3-4 psi compared to the standard 40 psi.
- On the contrary, in winter, the air inside the car tire will shrink. And the car owner should only inflate the tire pressure just enough. So that when the tire heats up, the pressure still reaches the ideal standard. If you’re inflating your car in a garage or in a place where it’s about 10 degrees Celsius warmer than outside. It’s a good idea to pump the tire pressure above the tire pressure recommended by the manufacturer.
Conclusion
In general, the correct tire pressure measurement system will ensure the addition or reduction of the air in your car in accordance with the conditions and weather.
This is meant to limit the testing difficulties transferred on the road because the tires are too under or over-inflated. To put it simply, if your tires are under-inflated, the friction force is large with the surface.
Creating a deformed surface, which may be deformed. The surface is either concave or uneven to reduce the service life. On the contrary, the tires will also limit the braking of the vehicle when moving.
We hope that with our answer to the question: how to check tire air pressure? You will know about simple steps to keep on top of your tire pressure that can help you promote good gas mileage and tire wear.
