Checked your tyre pressure since the cold weather hit?

LVSteve

LVSteve

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Just went out and did mine. The rears were underinflated and this is in the middle of the afternoon when it is warmest. Take another 1-2 PSI off for morning temperatures.

The fronts were on spec BUT I usually run a tad more in the fronts anyway.
 
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I'd assume mine are a bit soft; they look that way. But I'm going to leave them alone for now, until it warms up a little bit. You never know when moisture in an air line will freeze and stick your Schraeder valve open. Unless they are real low, I won't mess with them until the temp is up in the 20s.
 
Marshwheeling said:
I'd assume mine are a bit soft; they look that way. But I'm going to leave them alone for now, until it warms up a little bit. You never know when moisture in an air line will freeze and stick your Schraeder valve open. Unless they are real low, I won't mess with them until the temp is up in the 20s.
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Good heads up on gas station lines. Moisture is not a problem here as the dew point today is 1°F giving 19% relative humidity. Holy Bleeding Sinuses, Batman!:D Besides, I am using my own mini compressor rather than an airline at the gas station.
 
Checked mine last week. They are supposed to be F34/R35. The fronts were 30-31 and the rears 32-33. I used an old scuba tank and regulator with a tire inflater attachment to bring them back to spec.
 
My car has a low tire pressure warning light that comes on when the tire pressure goes down. Every year when cold weather hits the light goes on. It's a nice reminder but. unfortunately doesn't say which tire or tires are soft. End up checking them all and usually it's the last one checked that's low.
 
I don't worry about pressure fluctuation summer or winter...got Nitrogen in all 4. Good enough for NASA and NASCAR, good enough for me.

And yes I have heard it before...air is 80% nitrogen. It's the other 20% that you have to worry about.
 
the temp dipped below 10 degrees here last week and the tire pressure monitors on my car let me know that it was time for additional air in two of the tires... sometimes modern science is helpful....
 
I maintain my vehicles carefully. I visually inspect my tires every day, and check tire pressures at least monthly. So I used to sneer at tire pressure monitors...until mine alerted me to an underinflated right rear tire that didn't look low at all! Turns out it had a sheet metal screw embedded in it... :)
 
Yep, it hit twenty below last night. Some places reported minus 30 or more. Time to add a bit to the tires! 80% nitrogen is good enough for me!
 
Just tonight!

I also found out that my car's horn will beep when the pressure hits "just right". I was pretty surprised.
 
Those of you who think you have 100% nitrogen, do you think the tire shop purges the air from your tires after they set the bead? In cold weather you loose pressure just like those of us who use good ol free air.


Nitrogen in Tires : Information about Nitrogen Tire Inflation News, Benefits, Generator Dealers, Location Finder & More

The pressure in nitrogen filled tires will change when the temperature changes, just as it does with air filled tires, because nitrogen and oxygen respond to changes in ambient temperature in a similar manner. For example, when your vehicle is parked it will lose a similar amount of pressure for every 10 degree change in temperature, whether the tires are filled with nitrogen or air.

The calculations for this change are based on the Ideal Gas Law. A good rule of thumb is this: For every 10 F degree change in temperature, the pressure will change by 1.9%. If a tire is filled to 32 psi at a temperature of 75 F degrees and the temperature drops 10 degrees, the tire pressure will drop to 31.4 psi; a difference of .6 psi. If a 100 psi tire is filled at 75 F degrees and the temperature drops 10 degrees, the tire pressure will drop to 98.1 psi; a difference of .9 psi.

These fluctuations will occur as the temperature rises and falls no matter what the inflation gas. Fortunately, tire manufacturers are well aware of these conditions and design their tires and recommend their cold inflation pressure accordingly.

However, nitrogen does not contain the moisture and other contaminants found in compressed air so, as you drive and the tires heat up, nitrogen filled tires will fluctuate less in temperature and pressure than air filled tires while driving. The bottom line is, you will still see pressure changes with nitrogen but, overall, your tires will run cooler and at a more consistent pressure than if they were filled with air.
 
I don't have to worry about air pressure when I have Ice sickles going from the under body all the way down to the ground !!

Heck, it will take two days of chipping ice off the windows before I can go any where !!

Wife will have to stay home.......... that side of the jeep has a 1" thick cover of ice on it !!

As for the rear lift gate.......forget about it !!

Maybe I will just call for a pizza and wait another day or two...........?
 
Our little car had the tire pressure light go on 2 weeks ago. Brought the tires up to proper pressure then put the car in the heated garage for the first time.

Next day, each tire was 5-6 pounds over inflated.....
 
Collects said:
Don't forget to change the air in your tires from summer air to winter air annually, then change the air back to summer air next summer.
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I was just going to remind people of the same thing. You would not believe the number of people that fall for this line. We all know that cold air is heaver than hot air right.
 
I could be wrong on this (what's new?) but I thought that it was "hot" or working tire temperature that was critical and that the target cold temperature (the one posted inside your door) were established to allow tires to climb to that optimum working temperature when driven on.

If that is indeed the case, adding air as winter comes might not be the right thing to do. Anyone know for sure?

Ed
 
Tire pressure is always measured cold.

The temperature rise that occurs when the tires warm is all figured into that cold pressure.

It is better to be overinflated than under inflated. Tires get really hot when the rubber flexes excessively from under inflation, and that's when they blow.

I learned this from 40 years of hauling trailers, oftentimes well exceeding the rating of the tires.

If I have to haul really heavy loads I will over inflate the tires 10psi above the maximum inflation number, then drive slower to reduce heat build up.

.
 
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