Tire pressure is one of the critical factors you need to learn about tires if you want to avoid serious accidents that have befallen on some SUVs. Knowing the right tire pressures for your vehicles can help you make your tires last longer and prevent serious accidents.

Tire pressure is the first line of defense in your tire maintenance. You can do this by visually walking around your vehicles and see if one of your tires is flat. Sometimes, this is rather deceptive because sometimes, a tire that looks low is actually flat so that when you drive it, you can easily damage the rim. To be safe, check your tire pressure using a “tire gauge” so you can accurately know the exact values. Both of these methods can be used on older cars but lately, with mounting highway accidents caused by tire blow-outs, vehicle manufactures are now installing tire pressure monitoring devices on newer vehicles.

Tire pressure monitoring devices that can warn you while you are driving is by far the best way to protect yourself against low tire pressures. Why? Because if one of your tires suddenly has a punctured tire and losses air pressure, your dash panel will warn you about it. This way you can prepare to stop in the nearest gas station to have your tire inflated or repaired.

Tire Pressure TIPS:

Tire pressures are almost always the same at the front and back of your vehicles. If in doubt, check on the decals on your vehicles door or the vehicle’s service manual. Always check your tire pressures before an extended trip.

You can check your tire pressure at least once a month if your tires are not new using your own tire gauge. (Don’t rely on gas station’s tire gauges because most of them are not accurate). But always do a visual inspection at least once a week. If the tires are new and depending on the road conditions, less frequency might be used.

The biggest cause of tire wear is under inflation. Check your tire pressures (with tires cold) when there is a drop in outside temperature of 10 degrees which can lower your tire pressure to 1 psi. Over inflation of your tires causes a rough ride and rapid wear at the center of the tire.