Carrying the tire of your car or moped with the proper pressure is a fundamental safety issue. And it is highly recommended to measure the pressure of your tire, at least once a month; especially before making a more or less long trip. In this way, we are talking about a road safety issue that can greatly reduce the risk of suffering an accident. In addition, the fact of measuring the pressure of a tire is also an economic issue, since the good maintenance of your tire will allow you to extend its useful life; If you drive the tires with low pressure, they will heat up more than usual, so they will wear out more quickly and, of course, they will use up more fuel when it comes to circular. On the other hand, having high pressure tires is also negative, since if they are too inflated you increase the probability of a flat tire and decrease road adherence when driving.
Taking all this into account, you should always keep in mind that your tire will lose pressure as time goes by and you drive for various reasons -without the need to have a puncture-. Thus, it is essential that you check the pressure of your tire in a more or less regular way, in order to keep your car or motorcycle in perfect condition and with the wheels in perfect condition. For all these reasons, we explain in detail how to measure the pressure of a tire.
Instructions for measuring tire pressure
- First of all, you should keep in mind -as we have mentioned before- that you have to check the inflation pressure of your tires at least once a month. Also, if you are going to make a long enough trip, you should especially check that the pressure in your tires is adequate. Thus, the vehicle must be tuned up, checking the brakes, the coolant, the mirrors, the condition of your tires, etc.
- To check and measure the tire pressure of your vehicle, you must first know the instructions of the manufacturer of your car or motorcycle. And it is that each house and brand has its adequate pressure; therefore, it is advisable to follow the advice of the car or tire manufacturer.
- Once you have this in mind, it will be time to measure your tires. Thus, it is advisable to check the inflation pressure of your wheels with cold tires, that is, without having driven more than 4-5 kilometers in a while. However, if this is not possible and you measure the pressure with the wheels hot, you should add 0.3 bar -the unit of measure is the bar or in English the PSI- to the result that appears on the pressure gauge.
- The next step will be to get a manometer-utensil-device to measure air, including your tires-. In this sense, it is highly recommended to be able to buy a portable pressure gauge -purchase in specialized automotive stores with an approximate price of 20 euros, although you can buy it from 10 euros-. Otherwise, you can go to a gas station, where there are usually pressure gauges to measure your pressure.
- Once you have the pressure gauge at hand -either the portable one or the one from the gas station-, it will be time to check the pressure of your tire. In this case, all you have to do is remove the rubber plug that seals the air inlet and outlet of your wheel and insert the end of the pressure gauge. You will quickly see that the inflation pressure of your tire appears on the gauge screen -either in bar or in PSI-.
- At this time, what you should do is check the appropriate inflation pressure for your vehicle, taking into account the model, the type of wheel and the load you usually carry. You can find this information in the catalog of instructions that they should have given you when buying the car or when changing the tires. Otherwise -if you do not have the necessary information- you can also consult online tables or the application that we present below: Best Drive Pressure Table.
- Lastly, if the pressure that appears to you is below the optimal amount, you should inflate your wheels and, if on the contrary, it is above the appropriate amount, you should remove air. In this case, if you have an electric compressor, you can do it at home; if you do not have it, you can access certain gas stations that have this service. Don’t forget to finally cover the air outlet again, tightening the plug well.
- Remember that it is highly recommended to repeat the same operation on two manometers, especially the first time. Thus, you will ensure that the pressure is correct.
What do you need to measure the pressure of a tire?
- Tires.
- Pressure gauges.
- Electric compressor.
- Weather.
Tips for measuring tire pressure
- Keep in mind that you should check the pressure– whenever possible – with cold tires.
- You should never remove air from a hot wheel, not even in the event that high inflation pressure has appeared; in this case, wait for the tires to cool down and then remove the necessary air.
