Tips to Check and Fill Tyres

Although it may look like a mundane job, inflating tyres is quite important to your car than you may actually think it is. It results in a more economical and safer experience on road. Your vehicle's handling will also be highly improved because bigger a tyres inflated footprint, more responsive & comfier the ride balance is going to be.

Before you start your car

To find your tyre's proper inflation level, the first thing that you need to do is look for a sticker on the driver-side doorjamb. This displays the weight restriction as well as the tire information of the vehicle. You can also find the info in the car-care or maintenance section of the owner manual of your vehicle.

Never refer to sidewall markings on your tyres, which in part basically specify the maximum tyre pressure and not recommended pressure.

Until and unless your tyre is flat, do not judge the tyre inflation by only having a look at it. Make use of a tyre pressure gauge for getting the correct pounds per square inch reading. Typically, there are three kinds of tyre-pressure gauges - dial, internal slide and digital. All of these can do the job but if you wish to consider the conditions in which you are going to use the gauge then digital pressure gauges are quite accurate and can maintain accuracy for a longer time. However, in extremely cold temperatures, the gauge is not going to show up in a proper way.

Tips to check and fill tyres

The tyre manufacturers always suggest drivers to check the tyres when they are cold, for accurate reading. The outside temperatures may cause the tyre pressure to vary. Temperatures play a big role in tyre psi. However, the most crucial time to check tyre pressure is during winter and fall when days are short and the average temperatures plummet.

An automotiveservice centre in South Headland also suggests to check the vehicle's tyres before starting the car because the moment you get behind the wheel for an extended time, the psi is going to rise. If you are on road for a long time and observe higher psi in the tyres, do not let the air out because the increase in the pressure has been built due to warm and constantly-in-motion tyres.

What is to be done?

• Pull your vehicle onto a level surface in a shade
• Remove the dust caps from the valve stems of the tyres
• Press the tip of gauge straight on to the valve stem of the tyre for some time by using the tyre gauge
• Check out if the tyre gauge provides a psi reading. If the reading is too low or too high, repeat the last step as mentioned above
• If the reading is higher than the recommended rating of the manufacturer, press gauge tip on valve step until you get to hear any air leak out. But if the reading is lower than what's recommended, you need to fill the tyre with air by pressing air-hose tip onto valve stem.
• Replace valve dust caps after you are done with all these.
• Check the pressure of the spare tyre that you have when you are at it.

Make all these steps a part of your daily routine. This is not only going to benefit your car but your wallet as well.