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Cold Weather Pressure Question Well, I read thru the FAQ and found a little info, but still have a question. As per the FAQ: Inflation pressure is affected by changes in temperature. Because of this, the most critical times to check your pressure are in the fall and early winter months. For every ten degree Fahrenheit decrease in temperature, your tire's inflation pressure will decrease by approximately one psi (pound per square inch). Similarly, a ten degree increase will cause a pressure increase of one psi. Since tires generally lose about one psi per month, it is important to check them regularly and often. You should be able to find the recommended tire pressure for your vehicle in the owner's manual or on your tire information sticker. Keep in mind that the tire pressure listed is a "cold" pressure. This means it should be checked in the morning before the car has been driven. Also, remember if you check your pressure inside an attached or heated garage, you will lose pressure when you enter the colder air outside the garage. Add 1 psi for every ten degree difference in advance to account for the temperature change. At this time I do not have the luxury of a tire pump (on my Christmas list, I've been a good boy) so I have to stop at the gas stations to check the pressure. Of course, by the time you get to a station, the tires are hot. So let's play this game. The outside air is colder so the presure decreases. But the tires are hot so doesn't the pressure increase (hot air expands)? So when checking the pressure when tires are hot in cold weather, should I just fill up to the 30-32 psi as normal? I of course would later check the pressure when cold and adjust if necessary but there aren't many free air places anymore and wasting 75cents each time gets old quick if it needs more air. So in a nutshell: cold air outside with hot tires - how much pressure? |
Originally Posted by bobsagator
(Post 4077496)
Well, I read thru the FAQ and found a little info, but still have a question. As per the FAQ: I just moved from FL to TN and it is quite a bit colder up here. I never really paid attention to the cold air pressure talks because it really didn't apply in FL. But now I am ready to learn. At this time I do not have the luxury of a tire pump (on my Christmas list, I've been a good boy) so I have to stop at the gas stations to check the pressure. Of course, by the time you get to a station, the tires are hot. So let's play this game. The outside air is colder so the presure decreases. But the tires are hot so doesn't the pressure increase (hot air expands)? So when checking the pressure when tires are hot in cold weather, should I just fill up to the 30-32 psi as normal? I of course would later check the pressure when cold and adjust if necessary but there aren't many free air places anymore and wasting 75cents each time gets old quick if it needs more air. So in a nutshell: cold air outside with hot tires - how much pressure? then just check it the later or the next day to see if you got it in the ballpark. :tup: |
That's what I was thinking, I was just wondering if there was a rule of thumb or anything. Basically, I guess the main question is whether you add more or less air into hot tires to compensate for the hot vs cold reading. I would think that since the air expands when hot (increasing the pressure) that the gage pressure would be more than the cold tire reading. But how much more? If it is accepted that a 10 degree exterior temp changes pressure by 1 psi, then is there a general rate of change for tire temp? |
I've always checked and adjusted mine in the morning (about once a month) while still sitting in the garage. If the car sets outside, the sun will heat up the tires if there is direct light. Just keep it in an acceptable range as your pressures vary as you drive. |
Check the air pressure in all 4 tires before you leave the house and write them down. When you get to the air station, check all four again. Add the difference between the pressures to whatever you want the cold PSI to be. Simple as that! Then check them once they are cold again just to make sure. |
Well you coould just fill up extra when you are at the pump in the gas station and the next day you could adjust the pressure slowly. |
yup, adjust them higher than you think, then next morning all you need to do is let the air out to the proper level |
if it were me... after driving around normally for a good 10-20 minutes, i'd fill pressure up to about.... 30-34ish (assuming it's damn cold there) so i'd assume pressure will decrease to about 25-30 after it's been parked... but even if it's that lower, it'll warm up again and prussure will go back up... yay....idunno thats just me, ^but like gearbox said, thats a great idea.^ |
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