It is common practice amongst many motorists to regularly maintain their cars in a spotless and roadworthy condition. You will find that they always book their cars towards a garage just before a service is due with regards to the manufacturer’s schedule. You will find others who are so committed to their cars that their goal is to maintain them in showroom condition even down to the upholstery and carpets. But one important thing that appears to always get forgotten about is checking the tire pressure. The proper inflation of car tires is crucial knowledge for anyone about to take to the road and we will talk about it in this article.

You could apply the ‘goldilocks principle’ to subject of tire pressure - it can either be too much, just right or too little pressure inside the tire. Want to find out what the right tire pressure is for your type of car? Just check in your owner’s manual or there might be a handy label stuck on the driver’s side door pillar with all the correct figures. The tire pressure you can see on the tire itself is basically the the greatest possible amount of pressure that the tire can hold. It’s not always the appropriate tire pressure for your car. Always verify the owners manual to find what is the correct amount of tire pressure and observe that front and rear pressures are often slightly different.

Placing too much pressure in the tires decreases the amount of tire tread that is touching the road surface. Which then means that you will get less control over the vehicle. This is especially hazardous in rain and snow, and can easily end up resulting in a car accident. Traveling on over inflated tires risks severe injury and even a low speed impact, just into a shallow ditch for example, can result in a surprisingly large recovery and repair bill nowadays.

Tires which are under inflated can provide abnormal wear on the outer side of the tread because the sidewall is running on the streets surface. A tire with low pressure in it will not last as long if you go on to drive with it in this state. Furthermore, excess heat builds up in the tire because of the continual flexing of the side walls and may spark a blow out. You could find it tough to maintain your car in a straight line after a blow out and in the lack of a spare wheel, you’ll have to pay a tow charge.

It’s not just on safety grounds that you should keep your tires at the right air pressure - it has an economic reason too because correctly inflated tires use less gas. If your tires are low on air pressure you will be causing more of the tire to make contact with the highway. This certainly means that you are producing more resistance and cutting your gas mileage. The extra drag caused by running on inaccurately inflated tires can cut your miles per gallon figure by as many as 10 per cent which will hit you in the pocket.

All tire pressure numbers needs to be measured once the tire is ‘cold’ so either check your pressures first thing in a morning after the car has stood overnight or at least wait a few hours after it has been used on a long journey. Any time driving the tires get quite warm over time and air pressure readings will seem greater than they really are. It’s excellent tips to check your tire pressures weekly and by repeating this and heeding the advice in this article you will keep yourself safe and save money.

Read more about tire inflators here