Tyre Rehab
Written by Olivia Richardson: 19-September-2007
Emily hadn't a clue how she could properly love her tyres
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Your tyres can make or break your car's safety factor so it's vital that they're in good condition. The simplest thing you can do for your tyres is to make sure they're pumped up properly.
Pump up the volume
The average tyre naturally loses 1-2 psi (the unit that measures air pressure) each month. Driving with under-inflated tyres is unsafe, increases toxic exhaust emissions, increases fuel consumption, makes your car harder to handle and wears your tyres out sooner. Having just one under-inflated tyre leads to unsafe levels of instability in corners (skids and slides) and during braking (as well as increasing stopping distance in an emergency). Under-inflation is also the number-one cause of tyre blow-out ('explosion') on the highway.
On the flip-side, make sure you don't put too much air in the tyres as too much can turn them into a Violet (the 'blueberry' girl from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)... and we all know what happened to her.
To avoid a puffed up tyre that looks like it's been binging on vodka for the past week, make sure you check the recommended tyre pressure number in your car's owner's manual or on the placard (the silver plate with your car's vital details engraved on it usually stuck in the glovebox, on the driver's door, in the boot or on the inside of the fuel filter flap). Don't go over this number!
When to check and pump up your tyres
Check each tyre every 2-4 weeks. We say each tyre because one might deflate quicker than another.
It's best to check your tyres in the morning, when the weather's cool, and you haven't been burning rubber down the highway for the past two hours. You see, driving just 1.6km makes your tyres heat up and expand, which can throw out the air pressure reading. For example, some testers checked their tyre pressure after their car had sat still overnight. The air pressure gauge read 37psi, but that shot up to 41psi after driving in city traffic for an hour. Likewise, very cold weather 'shrinks' the pressure.
How to do it
1. Park your car close enough to the air hose so you can reach all four tyres.
2. Adjust the computer number to how many psi you need (e.g. 32psi is common for most small cars).
3. Take the tyre valve cap off of one tyre (the valve is the little knobby thing, about 1cm long and the same width as a pen lid). You don't need to remove the hub cab.
4. Click the little hose lever in and clip the hose onto the tyre valve. A few seconds later, the computer will tell you how many psi your tyre has at the moment... keep the hose on there and the hose will automatically pump your tyre up to the psi number you put in. It should beep when it's finished.
5. Click the hose lever to remove it from the valve and screw the valve cap back on.
6. Repeat for each tyre.
Now you're done and ready to hit the town...
More
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www.bridgestone.com.au
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