Avoid driving on underinflated or overinflated tires. Both scenarios can reduce the performance of your tires and cause them to wear more quickly.

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Under Inflation: causes poor handling, fuel inefficiency, Hydroplaning and an increased risk of tire failure. Drivers need to be aware that routine stresses, environmental factors and impacts from driving conditions can reduce tire air pressure:

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Over Inflation: causes tires to suffer adverse effects, including a harsh ride, poor handling, and irregular wear. Overinflation occurs when tires are inflated with pressure exceeding the recommended psi.

Some drivers accidentally over-inflate their tires after misreading the numbers on their tire’s sidewall. They mistake the maximum pressure for the recommended psi range. Remember to always check the owner’s manual or tire placard for your vehicle’s correct tire pressure.

 

​ !  It's a hazardous event when a layer of water builds between the wheels and the road surface, leading to a loss of traction that prevents the vehicle from responding to control.

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Hydroplaning occurs when the pressure of the tire pushing on the ground is equal to the water pushing back up on that tire. The size of the contact patch, given the force or the weight of the tire, is the same, directly affects the average pressure the tire's putting down on the road. The larger the contact patch (by deflating the tires), the less pressure it puts on that same area. So, there's a causal relationship between your tire pressure and the possibility of a hydroplaning.

Insufficient tread depth can also cause hydroplaning: Tires have grooves that prevent hydroplaning (also known as aquaplaning) by moving water out from under the tires. When the tread is worn down, these grooves no longer perform as effectively.

Weather: Tire pressure reduces and increases by 1 psi for every 10 degree  in temperature.

 

Permeation: Tires also naturally lose pressure over time through permeation, where air escapes from the solid rubber sidewall at a rate of roughly 1-2 psi per month.

Altitude: Seasonal or altitude changes can also cause a drop in air pressure.

 

You can also see in the diagram above that the tire tread will weary differently depending on whether your tires are over or under inflated.

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In addition to increasing your savings and safety, proper tire pressure also helps the environment. Most drivers will reduce their tire tread life due to underinflation, some as much as 50%. 

 

When a vehicle is rolling on underinflated tires, the engine has to burn more fuel to power it appropriately. Keeping your tires properly inflated extends their lifespan, keeping more tires out of landfills, Maintaining the recommended tire pressure decreases fuel. Consumption, preserving natural resources and keeping the environment cleaner.

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!CHECK AIR PRESSURE REGULARLY

It’s best to get into a routine when it comes to vehicle maintenance, and checking your air pressure is on top of that list. We suggest that you get in the habit of checking your tires, including your spare, every other time you fill your gas tank. Keep in mind that some vehicles require different air pressures on the front and back axles.

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Don’t put off tire pressure maintenance; it could lead to a flat tire, blowout or even tread completely coming off the tire.

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Since modern vehicles are now typically equipped with a TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System), many drivers feel they can simply wait until their vehicle alerts them to unacceptable tire pressure readings. However, TPMS should not be relied on for routine tire maintenance. Unfortunately, these alerts don't activate until the tires are 25% below their proper air pressure, though the negative effects of driving on underinflated tires can begin with as little as 5% underinflation.

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You may have also heard about substituting nitrogen instead of air. We recommend sticking with air, but every driver has their preferences.

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IMPORTANT TIPS

• Invest in an accurate air gauge and keep it in your vehicle. Service station air meters are often inaccurate due to abuse or environmental exposure. Don’t assume you can just look at your tires and guess the tire pressure.

• Fill your tires slowly and evenly to avoid overinflation. Slow down when you get close to the psi level you want.

• Always replace your valve stem caps after refilling your tires. Despite their small size, these caps perform an important function. They keep your valve stems safe and clean, preventing air leakage as you drive.

• Check your tire pressure after any sharp increase or decrease in temperature. Temperature will raise or lower tire pressure 1 psi per 10 degrees.

• Develop and stick to a routine for checking your air pressure. Remember to also check your spare tire so you're not caught with an unusable or unsafe spare in an emergency.

• For most vehicles, you can find the ideal tire pressure on the sticker/card inside the driver’s door. If there’s no sticker, you can usually find the info in the owner’s manual.

• Best time to check you tire pressure is in the early morning when they are cold.

• Tire maintenance is essential for the overall performance of your vehicle, and we highly recommend that you check your tire pressure with each change of temperature, 10°F (5.6 °C) and every 30 days.

• Also take in consideration the max pressure located on the sidewall of the tire itself, this is a max pressure, and should not exceed. A rule of thumb max tire pressure -30% will place within perimeter of sticker on the inside of the driver’s door and giving optimum weight load.

 

TPMS AND TIRE PRESSURE

A tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) uses either a direct sensor inside your valve stem or a combination of both software and other existing sensors in your vehicle to let you know when your tire pressure is outside of a safe range of pressures. If the pressure falls below the legally specified limit (25% of recommended pressure) an indicator light shaped like the letter U with an exclamation point inside, it (representing the cross-section of a tire) will light up on the dashboard. When you see this TPMS light on you should immediately check your tire pressure and make any necessary adjustments.