Are your tires properly inflated?
Kick the Tires
It’s not a bad idea to give the ol’ tires a kick now and then. Did you know that over- or under-inflated tires cost you money, pollutes our environment and manipulates your vehicle’s designed handling capabilities?
Save Money
Under inflated tires by only four or five psi can reduce gas mileage as much as 10%.
Reduce Emissions
Burning extra gasoline unnecessarily adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
Maintain Handling
When tuning chassis systems for safe and consistent handling behaviors, specific tire sizes and inflation pressures are key to the engineered specifications.
How to Read a Tire
You can find all the information you need to know about your tires right on the tires themselves. Each tire has its width, sidewall height, construction, wheel diameter, weight load code, speed rating and maximum tire inflation rating written on the side of the tire.
For example: 195/60R15 87H MAX PRESSURE 35 psi
- 195 = tire width in millimeters
- 60 = sidewall height as a percentage of the tire width (60% of 195 is 117 millimeters)
- R = radial construction
- 87 = weight load code – maximum weight capacity
- H = speed rating – maximum speed a properly inflated tire will withstand for a determined amount of time.
- Max Pressure = Number of pounds per square inch you should inflate your tire cold. If you have been driving, then rule of thumb is allow for a 5% increase. A 35 psi rating should read approximately 37 psi warm.
All tires should be inflated, rotated and evaluated on a regular basis. Tires should be evaluated and have the inflation adjusted every 3,000 miles and rotated every 6,000 miles or every other oil service.
