Tire Pressure!!!

^ I'm certain all new vehicles 2008 and beyond have some sort of TPMS, whether its direct or indirect. The TPMS light on mine doesnt come on during the cars self diagnostics at startup, so it may be hard to catch. All I know is that it's ALWAYS on now cuz I didn't spent $150 + dollars for new sensors for my winter wheels. My only saving grace is that it stops blinking after a few seconds. Gotta love idiot lights.
 
Poorboy said:
sometimes its just too hard for some people to bend over and do this maintenance :hmmm:
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I know. Unbelievable!

Remember, that not all systems use actual tire pressure sensors in the tire. Some will use the speed sensors (from the ABS) to detect if one wheel is moving slower/faster than the rest.
 
Not to be a donkey but the Firestone 500 problem was in the late 70's and ended before 1981 when I puchased my Mustang ang put on new tires. I installed the Firestone Trax 12, kind of a cross treaded firestone 721 (not 727). Same carcass but was a more snow freindly than the 721. Thought it was just the way this school kid drove when 2 tires a week would throw belts (luckily i carried 2 spares when off to school). Next tires were Firestone Metrix (spelling), same carcass as 721 too (stupid me). I think I replaced 3 of those too and then put on some tires that Farm Bearuea had. That set lasted a year and a half (much better tan the Firestones). Still not good!! Final full set of tires was the Multi Mile Grand Am GT RAdials, installed in late 1984. 2 of these tires were still on the car when I traded it off in November 1995( no It wasnt driven much the last 5 years before I traded it off. My next Firestone tires were Oe on my 1988 f150, broken belts, poor tread etc. Junk in10k. Then stupi me got some Firestne ATXs, stupid me!! After that NO MORE Firestones!! Except ag tires. At this moment 4 vehichles have Hercules, Cooper aand 2 with Uniroyal made tires and 1 Hankook tire on the pickup that only runs when it wants to.
 
blk45 said:
I know. Unbelievable!

Remember, that not all systems use actual tire pressure sensors in the tire. Some will use the speed sensors (from the ABS) to detect if one wheel is moving slower/faster than the rest.
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Some even used to use ride height sensors.
 
I have a compressor in the garage and a good quality tire pressure gauge. I check mine and the wife's tire pressures on a regular basis.

Thanks for reminding us of the importance of something so simple and sorry for the circumstances that warranted this reminder.
 
Sorry to hear about the loss.

I am pretty anal on maintenance and the such and always keep my tires properly inflated, but I have noticed that we that do keep an eye on our tires are somewhat of a rare breed. Seems like unless you're a "car guy" tires are neglected unless they look low.

I think it would be a nice, free way to go above and beyond for your clients.
 
I must admit this happened to me once. Back when my Santa Fe had the factory BF Goodrich tires, I had people telling me my tires looked low. I would check them and they would be at the recommended level so I made it a habit of telling people, "That's just the way they look."

One day my friend said, "You need to check that tire." I checked it and it looked normal so I gave him my usual explanation but he insisted. I agreed and was stunned...it came back 15 psi! I have been much more diligent about keeping up my pressures ever since.
 
I think that nowadays with tires that are lower profile it is harder to get a visual on whether or not your tire is low on pressure. There just isn't enough sidewall to see how low they really are until it's too late
 
I check my family's tires every other week. I keep my compressor and an extension cord in my trunk and take care of the women I work with. None of their boyfriend's or husbands do it, so I fill up the tires for them. Some were so atrocious it was down right dangerous.
 
I had an interesting experience yesterday. I brought a bent wheel in for repair and I'm running Michelin Pilot Sports on it. The repair technician mentioned to me that I am running underinflated pressures. He pointed out that I had my pressures at the sill OEM recommended pressures - 32 front and 35 rear. He indicated the Pilot Sports max PSI is 50 and I should bump mine up to about 42. He further stated the door sill placard recommends the OEM tire pressures and said I am running non OEM tires now with a higher recommended pressure setting. The benefits according the tire tech is it is more forgiving if I hit another pothole or whatever caused the initial damage. Plus he said I'll get better gas mileage.

When I got home I pumped them up to 40.
 
Pander5 said:
I had an interesting experience yesterday. I brought a bent wheel in for repair and I'm running Michelin Pilot Sports on it. The repair technician mentioned to me that I am running underinflated pressures. He pointed out that I had my pressures at the sill OEM recommended pressures - 32 front and 35 rear. He indicated the Pilot Sports max PSI is 50 and I should bump mine up to about 42. He further stated the door sill placard recommends the OEM tire pressures and said I am running non OEM tires now with a higher recommended pressure setting. The benefits according the tire tech is it is more forgiving if I hit another pothole or whatever caused the initial damage. Plus he said I'll get better gas mileage.

When I got home I pumped them up to 40.
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The repair technician might very well be right, but,,,, I think I would get a few other opinions before I made that large of an adjustment. Overinflation carries some drawbacks, too.
Tire Rack said:
Disadvantages of Overinflation

An overinflated tire is stiff and unyielding and the size of its footprint in contact with the road is reduced. If a vehicle's tires are overinflated by 6 psi, they could be damaged more easily when encountering potholes or debris in the road, as well as experience irregular tread wear. Higher inflated tires cannot isolate road irregularities as well causing the vehicle to ride harsher and transmit more noise into its interior. However, higher inflation pressures reduce rolling resistance slightly and typically provide a slight improvement in steering response and cornering stability. This is why participants who use street tires in autocrosses, track events and road races run higher than normal inflation pressures.
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Pander5 said:
I had an interesting experience yesterday. I brought a bent wheel in for repair and I'm running Michelin Pilot Sports on it. The repair technician mentioned to me that I am running underinflated pressures. He pointed out that I had my pressures at the sill OEM recommended pressures - 32 front and 35 rear. He indicated the Pilot Sports max PSI is 50 and I should bump mine up to about 42. He further stated the door sill placard recommends the OEM tire pressures and said I am running non OEM tires now with a higher recommended pressure setting. The benefits according the tire tech is it is more forgiving if I hit another pothole or whatever caused the initial damage. Plus he said I'll get better gas mileage.

When I got home I pumped them up to 40.
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Your technician is incorrect, when a tire is manufactured it can be installed on anyone of 50 different models of vehicles. Different vehicles have different load capacities as well as Gross Vehicle Weights. The tire is designed to be adjustable to any of these different vehicles needs. This is as long as you can accomplish the vehicles needs and not inflate the tire past it maximum capacity. The manufacturer of the vehicle on the other hand knows what it will take to meet the vehicles needs with respect to load capacity, handling and braking. The number the car manufacturer gives you is the one to use, this of course is not an absolute and can be adjusted a couple of lbs. one way or the other and several pounds to accommodate and increased load.

If you pump the tire to a higher level you may actually experience slightly better fuel economy but you will have a harsher ride and experience significantly increased tire wear. The tire technician is correct in stating that the sidewall will be less likely to give way to bend a rim with more air in it. This however should be the exception rather than the rule. Hopefully you're not hitting pot holes and curbs frequently. As far as the OEM thing goes it doesn't matter as long as the tire on the vehicle meets the vehicles minimum speed rating (H, V, Z etc.), the vehicle's weight doesn't increase and the requirements don't change. Should you happen to be driving a vehicle that you load heavily a truck for instance you can increase the tire pressure to better accommodate the load at that time but don't go past the maximum inflation pressure on the tire. I've seen and sold a lot of tires from a managers eyes, (hundreds of thousands). We hate having to make a tire adjustment and give money back if we don't have to. I'm interested in seeing the customer get everything they can from a tire. Take what I say for what it's worth absolutely nothing.:D

I just went back and reread what Charles had posted. The TireRack statement is very well said.
 
As usual, good points by Charles and GH.

I owned a speed shop for 4 years and upgrading wheels was one of the most common things that we did. I spoke to multiple tire manufacturers and asked them for their recommendations for adjusting tire pressure when we were using non-OEM rims/tires, as almost everyone would opt for wider tires. Every one of them told me to stick with the stock pressures recommended by the car manufacturer. The tire supports the same weight. The car doesn't get any heavier. As mentioned, the "max" tire pressure enables the tire to be used for multiple applications, or if the vehicle is to be loaded down for a trip, etc.

The only exception that we made, (as previously mentioned) was if someone was running an extremely small sidewall, then the inflation pressures were increased to try and prevent rim damage. The customer was informed of the options and the affects associated with them and then made a decision based on the info that we provided to them. We never made the choice for them.
 
Another thing that almost everyone forgets is to make sure that the spare tire is always up to the correct pressure, it would really suck to get a flat tire, only to find out that the spare is flat as well.

I check my tire pressure every week on all of our cars, driven daily or not, I make it a habit along with checking all of the fluids.
 
JohnHenry said:
What if the couple hundred or so regular DC users, members and lurkers, made it our mission to regularly check the vehicles of our family members, elderly neighbors, parents, and anyone else who is close to us? Toss a tire gauge in your detailing stuff and do your customers a favor.
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So sad, what a waste.

I took on your suggestion a few years ago. I routinely inform people of their tire pressure when I'm fueling my car. I'll even volunteer to properly inflate their tires for them at the station - some thank me, others just get a glazed look.

While I will not get out of my car at a stop light to inform someone of low tires, I often pull up to their side, roll down my window and inform them of the condition.

I probably average one or two of these situations a week.

Regards,
GEWB
 
gewb said:
While I will not get out of my car at a stop light to inform someone of low tires, I often pull up to their side, roll down my window and inform them of the condition.
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I do this also. Once I came across a lady laden with forthcoming child as well as a car full of kids. I actually had her pull over on the side of the freeway and changed her tire for her. The rim was literally cutting the sidewall out of the tire, it was loosing air as I changed it. I gave her a business card to one of the stores in my district to get a replacement tire. I don't know if she went there or not. Welcome to DC Gewb.
 
Not meant to threadjack but thanks Charles, gearhead and Eric. I respect your opinions and experience and I'm reevaluating my tire pressures. No need to prematurely wear $300 tires. Back to stock PSI tonight!
 
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