How to Check Your Tire Pressure
WATCH THE “HOW TO” VIDEO ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL [HERE]
Why should you check the air in your vehicle’s tires? Not only will poor air pressure or “less than optimum” air pressure cause uneven and excessive wear on your tires tread leading to premature replacement but it can also put you and your passengers in danger by increasing your risk of blowouts and hydroplaning. Also, optimal tire pressure can SAVE YOU MONEY AT THE FUEL PUMPS by extending your Miles Per Gallon.
Putting in the optimal pressure for your tires and your vehicle is so important. Look inside the drivers side door, directly ON your tires or inside your owner’s manual to get the right and optimal pressure NUMBER.
DO NOT FILL OVER MAX PRESSURE! If you see the symbol (pictured below) on your lighted dash you should stop and check your tire pressure before driving further.
Now that you have the number for optimum tire pressure for your vehicle you can start by checking the pressure inside your tires using a tire gauge. There are several types of tire gauges and some air pumps even have a gauge on the end of the hose. We will be using a manual, hand held tire gauge. You can purchase a tire gauge like the one we are using in this demo at any auto parts store, convenient store or department store. They are very cheap.
Go to the first tire you want to fill and unscrew the VALVE STEM CAP. Lefty Loosey Righty Tighty. This just means to turn your cap to the LEFT to loosen it and screw the cap to the RIGHT to tighten it.
Holding your tire gauge firmly PUSH the end of the gauge onto the VALVE STEM hard enough so you don’t hear any air leaking out around the gauge. IMPORTANT – When using this type of gauge make sure you do not put your finger on the end or the stick will not “pop out” to show you how much pressure is in the tire.
READ the gauge. There should be several lines with numbers either by 10’s or by 5’s. Just like a ruler the lines between the numbers indicate variants between the numbers. IE: Line between 10 and 20 right in the middle would be 15.
There is usually an air pump at gas stations, convenience stores or most places that sell fuel for vehicles. Some pumps are electronic and have a screen where you can “set” the pressure you want your tire to be. Some simply have a hose. We will be using the electronic pump here.
Using the INCREASE and DECREASE buttons on the pump “set” the number to the optimum pressure for your tire. Here the pump is showing 32 Pounds of Pressure. If your vehicles tires require 42 then set it to 42.
Next, PUSH the fill end of the hose onto your pressure valve just like you did with the tire gauge so you do not hear any air leaking out around the valve stem.
HOLD it on there until you hear a BEEP from the air pump machine. It may not beep. It may just shut off depending on how the air pump you are using works or you may hear the air STOP going in to your tire.
ALMOST DONE!
Let’s make sure to be courteous and put the hose back neatly.
SCREW on the valve stem caps making sure they are CLEAN and free of debris. DIRT and DEBRIS can actually cause your tire to lose air too.
TIP:
Add a reminder to your calendar for 3 weeks (or less if you drive long distances) so you don’t forget to check the air. Google calendar is easy and free to use. It will email you a reminder too and it’s FREE!