One of the most essential parts of car maintenance is taking care of your tires. If your tires are not at the correct PSI, they can harm your fuel efficiency and increase the risk of danger while you drive your car—take care of your general all-season tires by learning how to check your tire pressure the right way.
To start, you want to make sure the vehicle hasn’t been on for a bit. This is because you want your tires to be cold when you check them. Tire manufacturers determine PSI when the tires are cold, so you don’t want them to be warm from recent use.
While you wait for your car to rest, check the owner’s manual to see what the recommended PSI is for your car’s tires. You can also find this information online or contact someone if necessary.
You can now move onto checking the current PSI. To do this, remove the valve cap located on the inside of the tire. Then grab your pressure gauge, and press it down on the valve until you stop hearing the hiss. The gauge will then tell you where your tires’ pressures are currently at.
Now that you know your tires’ pressures, you can now fill them up with air to the recommended PSI. You will need an air compressor to refill your tires. If you don’t own one, some gas stations have air compressors you can use to do it. Hold the compressor on the valve until you reach the PSI you need. Once you put the air in your tires, you should then check the PSI one more time with your gauge to ensure you did not over or under fill them.
Ideally, you should check your tire pressure at least once a month. Knowing how to check you tire pressure is an important part of car maintenance and keeps you safe on the road.