• Please be sure to read the rules and adhere to them. Some banned members have complained that they are not spammers. But they spammed us. Some even tried to redirect our members to other forums. Duh. Be smart. Read the rules and adhere to them and we will all get along just fine. Cheers. :beer: Link to the rules: https://www.forumsforums.com/threads/forum-rules-info.2974/

Tire Pressure ~ Seasonal safety check

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
The weather has started getting colder, we even had our first snow of the season today :snow2_smi

Noticed one of the tires on the Touareg looked a little low on pressure so tonight, after the tires had a couple hours to cool off, I went out with the pressure gauge and it had a whopping 20.3 PSI in it. Now the colder temps will lower the pressure, but not that much! All the other tires were sitting right around 32 PSI.

According to the sticker on the door frame, 51 PSI was recommended when carrying a load, a little less when hauling the family. It also recommended lower pressures for the front tires. According to the imprinting on the tires, 51 PSI was the recommended max when measured cold. So I took the rears up to 50 PSI and the fronts up to 45.

While I was out I also checked the lovely Mrs_B's car. Her tires were sitting at 35-36 PSI on all 4 corners. Took them up to 45. The tires on her XC-90 recommended 51 as the maximum. I didn't want to run them up that high and make the ride too rough, I figure the 10 extra PSI will be a little harsher, no need to go to full pressure.

Given that the temperatures will drop another 50 degrees this winter it seems prudent check the pressures again as the temps continue to drop.
 

Junkman

Extra Super Moderator
It is the latest rage and once you use Nitrogen, it is said that you don't have to be as concerned about tire pressure loss. Aircraft tires are always filled with nitrogen. Race cars also. Some say that the ride is better, but I haven't any first hand experience. Give it a try and let us know..... Junk...
 

HGM

New member
Nitorgen is the "latest Rage" for sure..... In my opinion its a waste of money... What happens if the driver takes for granted that since he has nitro in the tires that he doesnt have to check them ever again? What if he finds one low, he's going to add air, right? To each his own, its a gimmick for tire stores to make more money.. The benefits are more consistant pressures, less fluctuation with temperature change.. Claimed better tire wear for these reasons(could be nothing more than minimal).. I've never run it in my tires, but being in the bussiness, unless you drive a race car or an airplane, its not really necesary.. But, I'm not a synthetic oil kind of guy either..:myopinion:
 

HGM

New member
PS
Good post Bob, this is the most overlooked maintenance item on a car... The primary reason for many accidents..
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
HGM said:
PS
Good post Bob, this is the most overlooked maintenance item on a car... The primary reason for many accidents..

Ditto, good post Bob.


I'd never heard of the nitrogen option ....but it got me thinking (scarey thought I know ....) Has anyone ever heard of someone using helium in their tires. I wonder if that would give it a better ride?
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Well we still have a little bit of snow on the grass here (in the areas that had shade cover) from yesterday's first snowfall. The temps this morning were running about 30 degrees. I have no clue how much less pressure a tire has when it is cold so I don't really know how much they lost due to weather changes, one obviously lost air for some reason so I'll be watching that one.

Doc said:
Has anyone ever heard of someone using helium in their tires. I wonder if that would give it a better ride?
Doc, I didn't bother to look up either nitrogen or helium on my periodic table of elements to look at the molecular density, but I would suspect that for the ride to improve over standard air, the molecular density of the gas (nitrogen or helium) would have to be lower than the molecular density air. However, if the molecular density is lower, then might it make it more permiable to the tire? I dunno, just thinking here :confused2:
 

DaveNay

Klaatu barada nikto
SUPER Site Supporter
Doc said:
Has anyone ever heard of someone using helium in their tires. I wonder if that would give it a better ride?

As Bob hinted at, Helium would rapidly leak out of a tire. Helium is the second smallest molecule, and will pass right through the rubber and small gaps around the bead much faster than atmospheric air will.
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Personally, I'll just stick with air.

Heck, what's in the atmosphere (and what we breathe) is already 78% nitrogen.
 

BoneheadNW

New member
Junkman said:
Have you ever considered having the air in your tires replaced with nitrogen????
"I need to change the air in my tires" is a great excuse (and one that I use) when someone at work wants me to "help them move" on my days off. Believe it or not, many times they do not question it!:pat:
Bone
 
Top