Tire Pressure Deviation

So there are times when all 4 tires are the same pressure but depending on
riding in half-shade and 165 degree pavement one or more will get outta whack
with the others.

At the end of the day they'll all come back around the same all the way around.

But at what point do you bring a tire up to pressure -

Off by 3 pounds?... 4 pounds?... 5 pounds?
Should I think about % ?
Off by 5%.... off by 10% ...?

Do I have too much time on my hands?

 

Check your tire pressure when cold it will give u the most accurate reading . Tire pressure typically drops 1-2 pounds per a month and u will see tire pressure fluctuate with heat totally normal .I usually run 2-3 pounds over recommended tire pressure to allow for pressure change .

 

Check them after they you have not driven for 3 hours and in the shade. They normal go down in the winter and up in the summer due to change in temperature.

 

Maybe I am a little OCD, but I will try to get all 4 PSIs around the same when all tires are cold. I like to keep PSI around 34-35 cold and will adjust when necessary. All 4 tires generally stay within 2 PSI on my combo meter and I am fine with that.

 

I’ve been driving since the 1980’s and I’ve never worried about air pressure until a tire was visually flat, but I also didn’t wear a bicycle helmet and I rode in the back of pickups. It’s amazing gen x survived to birth another generation.

Excuse my grumpy old man complex.

On a more serious note, (although what I said before is mostly true) my tire pressures between tires never vary by more than 3 psi, but I also air down/up relatively often and also carry a decent analog air pressure gauge. I think larger variations are not going to kill you, but if it gives you peace of mind, keep them in closer tolerances.

I think the industry invented TPMS not for thinking responsible people like you, but for people that let air pressure decline over years to the point that it is a danger to us all.

 

Funny timing that you created this thread. I’ve been playing around with my tire pressure and this morning I checked cold tire pressures. I noticed that two tires that had the same cold pressure yesterday had different pressures today. The tire that was in the sun was 3psi higher than the tire in the shade.

They evened out again after a bit of driving.

 

Heat does funny things. Just check them in the morning and make sure they're set at or close to the recommended cold pressure (depending on if it's a warmer night than usual or not). Then don't worry too much about the little changes between each tire.

 

I check mine once /month or so. Check when vehicle hasn't ran for at least couple hours and in the shade. Adjust if off +- 4 to 5 lbs. Usually only 1 or two off but here there are seasonal changes for winter/summer. Sometimes 1 tire only will be off by 4-5. Try not to over obsess about tire pressure and oil level.

 

Yes. Every 11 degrees temp increase raises the pressure by one psi.

You have zero control over it. But, temp would have to change 77 degrees ( remember it's the air temp, not surface temp) to cause any real issue. Set it at 30-32 and don't look at tire pressure unless your bed is fully loaded with wood and you have a 6K trailer with 800 lbs on the tongue. Then you have friction artificially raising temps which raises pressure.
Go back to sleep, content with the knowledge that smart people got you covered lol.

 

Guess I may be older than you. I checked tire pressure occasionally with an old fashioned pencil gauge. Bicycling helmets were not heard of when I pedaled around town. We all rode in the back of pickups and my mom used to collect all the kids in the neighborhood with my dad's dump truck to go to the swimming hole - we all rode in the back. Seldom wore a helmet when putting around on my Harley (unless the state law required it). Boomer here that survived nonetheless, despite the age 18 drinking restriction and the advent of weed and other stuff in the 60s & 70s. We just never got really stupid.
You think you've got a grumpy old man complex?!
BTW, it wasn't the industry as much as it was the government that started requiring TPMS (for the lazy & ignorant).

 

TPMS away the result of under inflated tires in the original Ford explorer. Rollover accidents and deaths. No one ever checks their tire pressure. It’s never my fault.

as a responsible driver you should.

 

I had a 4 door Explorer and a Bronco. The only way they could roll over is if you didn't know how to drive or were driving stupid.

 

As long as you stay over cold pressure and under max, you're better off than 80% of other cars on the road.

Set the pressures in the morning to cold and be done with it.

I set 4psi over on customers vehicles during the day in the summer. I set 1-2psi higher during the day in the winter.

 

After going round and round with various gauges I've decided the old pencil gauge is by far the most stable but my current one just
sprang about 30 feet away so I'll pick up another 2 or 3.

I'm well aware of cooler weather playing games with pressure as well as hotter than hot.

I think what I was looking for here and got is that anything 3 pounds or more top it up.

 

Three psi is the rule of thumb between hot and cold but you should adjust them cold and in the shade. If one side of the truck is facing the sun the pressure will be higher in that side.

 

Funny my motorcycle manual clearly states to check tire temperature when tires are cold and in the shade. I have always done the same with all my vehicles never had an issue and I never care what my tps says after I have started driving.

 

That's because 33 degrees is nominal difference between high and low temp of the day. Read my post. Re read my post. It's not hard to science.

 

Check when you haven't been driving and in the shade, don't over think it.

 

Check your tires with a good calibrated tire gauge. That’s the pressure you go by. Use the tpms to tell you if there is a leak.

Don’t worry about the pressure as you’re driving. Tires at speed need more air than at rest. They make heat at speed so they self regulate up and down as they heat and cool. Check when cold and don’t worry about it.

 

I run nitrogen in all my vehicles. When my Tacoma was new I always got a TPM light because of low pressure when cold outside. Never again with nitrogen as it set to 29 cold it gets to 31 maybe 32 on a hot day and cold days are never an issue. Some say its snake oil but for the past 10 years all my tires get nitrogen.