Advice on gauging Air Pressure for Tires

[TehMac]

I think the reason for the disbelief is simply because few expect a guy to state he doesn't know how to check the air pressure in his car's tires. *I expect that from a female, but from a guy? *


I think the almost universal expectation for guys is to be able to do basic maintenance on their own vehicles....such as check your own air pressure, change a flat tire, change your own oil (even if you don't do it personally every time, at least be able to do it if one has to), change wiper blades, change burnt out bulbs, change battery, jump start a car, etc.


I don't expect a woman or complete emo guys to be able to do anything other than start the car, put gas into it, and drive (point-and-hope) the thing.


But any guy worthy of keeping his man card should be able to do basic crap on his vehicle. *Not saying he has to always do it, just be capable of doing that sort of stuff if the need arises.*

I didn't say how to do it, I said what is the best way to guage the amount of air for the tires I have...I know reading comprehension is hard...but still..

 

[SparkyJJO]

Inflate the tires to sticker rating.
Draw a chalk line across the tread of the tires.
Drive forward a few tire revolutions.
Check the chalk wear pattern.

Wearing chalk line in the center first= too much pressure, wearing the outside first = too little pressure.

 

[XZeroII]

Keep adding air until the tires pop. Then get new tires and inflate to 10% under the pressure it took before they popped.

 

[Safeway]

Keep adding air until the tires pop. Then get new tires and inflate to 10% under the pressure it took before they popped.

That's just ridiculous.

 

[billyb0b]

I didn't say how to do it, I said what is the best way to guage the amount of air for the tires I have...I know reading comprehension is hard...but still..

a tire gauge works pretty well

 

[billyb0b]

Remember to check your blinker fluid as well. it's just good practice when you check your tires.

😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

 

[JulesMaximus]

My point is, once you put different tires on a car, the door jam information is useless.

Look at the tire, inflate to a pressure under the Max PSI. Check for even wear. Adjust.

Blindly following the door jam information is just as ignorant as inflating to Max PSI.

Tire manufacturers make tires for specific cars but car manufacturers also spec a certain size tire for their cars so all tires falling into that spec (size/speed rating) will hold to the same requirements.

I've had 3 different brands of tire on my car since new, all of them were the same size as OEM and I inflated all of them to what the manufacturer of my car recommends completely disregarding what is on the sidewall of the tire and I've had zero problems with uneven wear or poor performance in dry, wet, hot, or cold driving over more than 110,000 miles.

Baring going from run flats to regular tires or high performance cars running summer rubber in winter conditions you should be fine going with what is recommended by the manufacturer of the car even with different brands of tires.

 

[LTC8K6]

I think Safeway meant different size/type tires, not just a different brand. Thus the term "non stock".

 

[JulesMaximus]

I think Safeway meant different size/type tires, not just a different brand. Thus the term "non stock".

How the hell would anyone know? Did the OP ever state what car and what wheel size he's running? Nah, that might fall under the useful information standards of thread creation... 🙄

I'm going to create a thread asking ATG what air pressure should inflate my tires to. I have non-standard tires on my car but I'm not going to tell you what kind of car, what size wheels, what kind of tires, or anything you might need to know to offer me even an ounce of good advice. Help me ATG, you're my only hope! 🙄

TehMac should know better and, quite frankly, I'm surprised the mods have let this thread continue as long as it has. Maybe if we start talking about BMWs... I think Lambo doors on an M3 are the shiz brah.

 

[TehMac]

yea I have a lot of things going on, I got distracted while making this poast. I have to make an effort to get on AT these days, I've been meaning to make this thread since December.

Anyway, I have 18" rims with 9.5" width on a '99 Ford Mustang.

Its been a while since I got new tires, but I hadn't been driving the car from fall 2010 to summer 2011--it'd only been driven around the neighborhood to keep it in shape.

 

[alkemyst]

I think the reason for the disbelief is simply because few expect a guy to state he doesn't know how to check the air pressure in his car's tires. *I expect that from a female, but from a guy? *


I think the almost universal expectation for guys is to be able to do basic maintenance on their own vehicles....such as check your own air pressure, change a flat tire, change your own oil (even if you don't do it personally every time, at least be able to do it if one has to), change wiper blades, change burnt out bulbs, change battery, jump start a car, etc.


I don't expect a woman or complete emo guys to be able to do anything other than start the car, put gas into it, and drive (point-and-hope) the thing.


But any guy worthy of keeping his man card should be able to do basic crap on his vehicle. *Not saying he has to always do it, just be capable of doing that sort of stuff if the need arises.*

I believe the OP is a chick though.

 

[JulesMaximus]

yea I have a lot of things going on, I got distracted while making this poast. I have to make an effort to get on AT these days, I've been meaning to make this thread since December.

Anyway, I have 18" rims with 9.5" width on a '99 Ford Mustang.

Its been a while since I got new tires, but I hadn't been driving the car from fall 2010 to summer 2011--it'd only been driven around the neighborhood to keep it in shape.

Sorry, didn't mean to go crazy on you. 😛

Are these Ford wheels? You could start with what is on the door jamb as a good baseline but plus size wheels typically need a little more psi than stock from what I've read. I'd take the car to someplace like Discount Tire and ask for a recommendation. Minimum would be what is listed on the vehicle itself. Don't go by the max pressure listed on the tire.

Always check tire pressures early in the day before the car is driven (when the tires are cold). You can pick up a digital pressure gauge at any auto parts store.

 

[IcePickFreak]

yea I have a lot of things going on, I got distracted while making this poast. I have to make an effort to get on AT these days, I've been meaning to make this thread since December.

Anyway, I have 18" rims with 9.5" width on a '99 Ford Mustang.

Its been a while since I got new tires, but I hadn't been driving the car from fall 2010 to summer 2011--it'd only been driven around the neighborhood to keep it in shape.

So I'm gonna guess they're wider than stock being a 9.5" rim, so then you could go a bit lower than the factory suggested pressure. That's because now you have a bigger contact area so it doesn't need as much PSI (key there is the "square inch" part.) The only exception to that is if they're a really low profile (ie. shorter sidewall.) Are you running 275's on those rims?

 

[TehMac]

So I'm gonna guess they're wider than stock being a 9.5" rim, so then you could go a bit lower than the factory suggested pressure. That's because now you have a bigger contact area so it doesn't need as much PSI (key there is the "square inch" part.) The only exception to that is if they're a really low profile (ie. shorter sidewall.) Are you running 275's on those rims?

Mm, I recall when tire-shopping that 9.5" was in the acceptable range. They were Yokohamas.

And no, my wheels are non-stock, Steeda wheels. I jogged my memory so I'm going to check out Yoko's site.

 

[exdeath]

I don't know anything about tire pressure. I roll around with 20-25 psi in my rear tires. 😀

 

[TehMac]

I have a Yokohama tire set something like this. I got these tires almost 2 years ago so I don't exactly remember their name, but it's weird how I can't find their PSI recommendations.

 

[amdhunter]

Inflate the tires to sticker rating.
Draw a chalk line across the tread of the tires.
Drive forward a few tire revolutions.
Check the chalk wear pattern.

Wearing chalk line in the center first= too much pressure, wearing the outside first = too little pressure.

That' a super good idea. Next time I fill up my tires, I am going to attempt this.