tyre pressure question

KeithP

marking_bad wrote: »

How much does it cost at a garage?

Twenty pence at my local Tesco.

property.advert

No car at present but mostly weekly and certainly before any long journey. Overseas, tracking and wheel balancing costs less than £5 so that is done routinely as well.

AdrianHi

skiddlydiddly wrote: »

Every time I fill up.Most petrol stations have a compressor.Just make it part of your routine when you put fuel in.

In that case your tyres are always a little bit under inflated. It only takes a mile for tyres to warm up and the pressure to increase a little. This is why tyres pressures should be checked and corrected when the car has not been driven for at least a couple of hours because the specified temperatures are for "cold" tyres and take into account the expected pressure increase when the tyre gets warm.
Cold to warm the difference is around 0.1 to 0.2 bar which is around 5% to 10% of total pressure.

My choice is this foot pump with nice easy to read pressure gauge:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_169794_langId_-1_categoryId_165648

vikingaero

Agree with what Adrian has said. For example if my tyres need inflation to 33psi then I add 2-3 psi if the ambient air temperature is 20C.

The Michelin double barrelled foot pump is made by PCL and has an exact copy available at A1 Autostores.

VoucherMan

I've been reluctant to use forecourt air pumps ever since I used one to inflate my tyres several years ago. Inflated to the recommened pressure (about 27-30psi - can't remember now) They didn't feel right when I drove off so I checked the with a pencil type guage - 40psi :eek:

skiddlydiddly

AdrianHi wrote: »

In that case your tyres are always a little bit under inflated. It only takes a mile for tyres to warm up and the pressure to increase a little. This is why tyres pressures should be checked and corrected when the car has not been driven for at least a couple of hours because the specified temperatures are for "cold" tyres and take into account the expected pressure increase when the tyre gets warm.
Cold to warm the difference is around 0.1 to 0.2 bar which is around 5% to 10% of total pressure.

My choice is this foot pump with nice easy to read pressure gauge:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_169794_langId_-1_categoryId_165648

You don't know what I inflate them too .I generally add 1-2psi over recommended.

My method suits me as I have a poor short term memory and doing it this way I associate filling up with checking pressures and am less likely to forget.Its also free there(sainsburys), I hate paying for air.

thescouselander

I know the advice is to check tyre pressures once a week but I can't ever remember noticing any drop in pressure over this timescale unless I had a puncture (which is obvious anyway).

I usually check once a month using a digital pressure guage.

vikingaero

thescouselander wrote: »

I know the advice is to check tyre pressures once a week but I can't ever remember noticing any drop in pressure over this timescale unless I had a puncture (which is obvious anyway).

I usually check once a month using a digital pressure guage.

You should try checking your tyre pressures when the daytime temperature is in the teens and the nighttime air temperature is near freezing.

skiddlydiddly

Or...just check it when you are at the petrol station.Only checking when the moon is waxing and the stars align just means you won't bother checking it at all.Or will have to suddenly have to dash off mid-Coronation strret as its the optimum temp outside.

ailuro2

Check them once a week with a plug in gauge.

If they need filling then do it next time you're at the garage. Beware their gauges are notorious for not being accurate, and of course driving there warms your tyres up.

however, all of the above is better than never checking them and driving on underinflated tyres not only is it dangerous, but it's inefficient too as it increases your rolling resistance so uses more fuel. It also wears your tyres quicker, costing you more dosh in the long term.

We have a little compressor that cost a tenner from Lidl, carry it in the boot all the time it's so small. It's come in handy a few times to help out cyclists and other motorists, we have inflated their tyres enough to get them home or to ATS/Kwikfit/safer place to change their tyre.