Looking to save money on gas? Take a look at your tires. If you’re running them at the wrong pressure you could be throwing money away and putting your safety at risk.
An underinflated tire can lead to premature wear and reduce the life of your tire by up to a year. It also can cause sloppy handling and poor performance on the road, poor gas mileage and even increase the risk of a blowout.
An overinflated tire can also cause the tire to crown and wear down the tread and may cause some drivers to oversteer, since there is less contact with the road. An overinflated tire can also lead to an increased risk of a blowout in warmer temperatures.
You can’t tell if they are at the right pressure just by looking at them.
McLaughlin On Your Side teamed up with a tire expert to test tire pressure at a Vancouver parking lot because many drivers never check.
“I don’t, I just drive”, said one driver.
Using a pressure gauge Kal Tire’s Kyle Lewarne checked them for her. All her tires were at the optimum pressure.
It’s estimated that keeping them at the proper pressure throughout the year can save you about two weeks’ worth of gas.
But not everyone’s tires checked out. Another driver was riding on tires that were overinflated to 44 PSI.
“You need to reduce the air pressure to 32 pounds," Lewarne advised him.
Tires often list the maximum pressure on the sidewall but don’t fill them to that. Look inside the driver’s door or inside the gas cap to see the manufacturer’s recommended pressure. If you don’t see it there, check the vehicle owner’s manual.
And don’t rely on a tire pressure indicator on your dashboard. It may not tell you if you’re running at optimum pressure.
"The tire pressure monitoring sensor will not trip unless it's 25 per cent over or under the recommended air pressure,” said Lewarne.
He took us to a test track in Pitt Meadows to demonstrate how a low pressure tire can affect performance. I got to drive a vehicle at optimum pressure through turns up to 60 km/h and then I drove the same type of vehicle on tires that were 20 per cent underinflated.
The difference in performance was very noticeable. The underinflated tires performed poorly and swung out on the turns while the tires at the proper pressure held the road and cornered smoothly.
To further demonstrate the differences, Lewarne put chalk on the sidewalls and we drove both vehicles through the course again. We could see how the underinflated tires wore the chalk down on the sidewalls.
Running a tire too low can cause it to deteriorate and crumble from the inside out – meaning you’ll have to replace it sooner but more importantly it could blow on the road putting you at risk of an accident.
So check your tires on a regular schedule. When you fill up for gas, every 30 days or with the temperate changes by 10 degrees. And always check them when they’re cold. The best time is in the morning.
