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Check Your Tire Pressure

April 10, 2007 By Luis Cruz

When your tires are not properly inflated, only certain parts of the tires’ treads make contact with the road. The obvious effect of this is that your vehicle gets less traction. Another is that your tires get uneven wear.

Tire Pressure - under inflated, properly inflated, over inflated

However, the inflation of your tires affects more than just your tires. Your brakes, suspension, and even your engine could benefit from a good tire pressure gauge and regular trips to the air pump.

According to the Rubber Association, under-inflation increases not only tire wear, but also fuel consumption.  Handling, acceleration, and braking also suffer – wearing down other parts of your vehicle.  In extreme cases, under-inflation can also cause tire failure.

The logical solution then would be to over-inflate tires, right?

Wrong.  Over-inflation causes its own share of problems.  Again, because of the smaller contact area, handling suffers.  On top of this, you get a harsher ride that increases wear on your suspension.

The only real solution is to keep your tires at the pressure recommended by your manufacturer.  If you have the stock tires installed, you can usually find this somewhere around the driver’s side door.

Filed Under: Driving Tips, Safety on the Road

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