Nobody likes being pressured about anything in our lives but when it comes to tires there is a fine balance between too much pressure and not enough. How many of us remember our high school chemistry classes to recall that pressure, volume and temperature are all related (Boyle’s Law)? To keep things simple, I’m going to focus on pressure and temperature.
Ask most drivers if tire pressure is important and most will say ‘yes’. Then ask that same person when they last checked their tire’s pressure and most will respond with ‘umms’ and ‘ahhs’ because they simply can’t remember. At best, tires are checked every few months when they take their car in for service, because it’s just not something that comes to mind to the average person when thinking about vehicle maintenance. However, it’s the one thing that can change from week to week, especially with the change of seasons.
Now as off-roaders, we adjust our tires a LOT…during the summer. We’re constantly airing our tires down, and back up again. But how often do you check your tire pressures in the winter? Unless you’re of the small group of people who go off-roading in the winter…how often do you really check them?
If the last time you checked your tire pressures was in August on that nice warm sunny day when it was +25 degrees; the pressure will be much lower when in the winter with temperatures in the -5 degree range. You will have actually lost several psi of pressure leaving your tires firmly in the danger zone for de-laminating. Now wait until it gets really cold, say -25 degrees (or much colder in many provinces). You are looking at a good chance of kissing that tire goodbye; hopefully not while you are at highway speeds or while negotiating a ramp leading on of off a highway, but that’s probably when it will blow on you.
Tire de-lamination is a common sight for tow truck drivers, especially in late Fall and early Winter. So now I take the opportunity to remind drivers about how pressure and temperature is related. I recall once assisting a driver stranded on the side of the road with a flat. His front left tire was actually torn to shreds, his front right was nearly flat and both his rear tires looked a tad low also. He also damaged his front left rim because he drove on it for half a kilometer. Since he didn’t have a spare tire at all, it resulted in him needing a tow to his repair shop of choice. Now because I’m a tad picky about tires in general, for me this would mean two new front tires so that the tread is equal on both sides and possibly four new rims so that they match. That’s a big hit to the wallet! Although in reality, sometimes a damaged rim can be repaired.
Please just take a few moments to check your tire pressures frequently (especially in the winter). Many cars now have Active TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) so you can see your tire pressures right on your dashboard, but these aren’t always accurate. Sometimes it’s best to manually check each tire with a good tire pressure gauge.
A common question is “What pressure should I set them too?” Firstly, don’t go by the pressure stamped on the tire, but rather the pressures recommended by the manufacturer of your car. This is usually found on a sticker on the inside of the driver’s door (near where the door latch is located). This comes with a caveat though — those recommendations are usually set slightly low to provide a comfier, softer ride. Take those recommendations and add a couple psi for a more ideal pressure setting for the actual tire. Most drivers and passengers won’t even notice a difference in the comfort level but it can make a difference to how your tires perform. It can also affect the overall life of the tire (your tires will wear out less quickly) and can also affect your fuel economy (proper pressures equate to less fuel consumption).
