How Frost Affects Car Tire Pressure and How Often to Check?

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - When we ensure that the pressure (most often) of air in the tires is precisely measured according to the manufacturer's instructions, we will be rewarded with a car that behaves predictably on the road, and whose tires will wear evenly.

Pressure is also very important in terms of energy efficiency, i.e., the effort to consume as little fuel as possible for the same distance traveled. However, even this story is not uniform, but contains some nuances...

Experienced and curious drivers know that every manufacturer provides a sticker mounted on the inside of the B-pillar, near the driver's door. It highlights the desired parameters related to air pressure in the tires, depending on the tire size mounted on the vehicle.

It is known that modern cars are designed for the installation of wheels of various sizes, depending on the buyer's preferences and financial capabilities. Therefore, the first thing to establish is to compare the tire sizes on the wheels with those from the attached specification recommendations. It is not uncommon for different tire sizes to be fitted on different axles, and the recommended tire pressure varies accordingly. This is particularly pronounced with premium manufacturers and their more powerful models. However, even if you own an older model, and the ravages of time have faded the letters and numbers on the sticker, thank God for the global network, as information is readily and quickly available.

Also, anyone who has ever been behind the steering wheel is sure to know that a tire with low pressure or even no air, unless it is a run-flat tire that allows driving under limited conditions (in terms of speed and distance), which is another topic, will immediately cause a lot of discomfort. The car consumes more fuel, the tire wears out faster and unevenly...

However, what is even more important is that the car is significantly harder to control, and in extreme conditions, the tire structure or even the rim itself can burst, which can have dramatic consequences for traffic safety. In this regard, irresponsible drivers who do not care about tire pressure could be penalized, and it would be reasonable and sensible to treat them as serious violators of regulations, making constant monitoring of tire air pressure a necessity, which is especially important during the winter months, with many days when the temperature drops well below zero.

Contrary to good practice and the desired state of affairs in traffic, the vast majority of local drivers do not even have the sense or sense of responsibility to occasionally take a pressure gauge out of the trunk, or stop by a gas station, to check the tire pressure. It happens that tires are inflated during seasonal replacement, and the next check is only done again at the tire shop, to whom we entrust our safety to a much greater extent than is reasonable.

Not only can tires lose air for many reasons (and they do), but tire pressure also changes depending on the outside air temperature. Many people forget the simple, still school-like, one might say, common truth: the gas used to inflate the tire compresses under low temperatures, significantly reducing the pressure within it. It is believed that every five-degree Celsius drop in air temperature on the thermometer guarantees a decrease in tire air pressure of about 0.1 bar. So, a few days ago it was below -10 C in Kopaonik, and a good fifteen degrees warmer in Belgrade. Not to mention the temperature differences in early April and mid-January when traveling to the coldest regions might occur. Feel free to do the math for yourself...

At temperatures characteristic of, say, January and February, a tire that was last inflated during the summer can even look "flat," even if it wasn't. Therefore, tire pressure should be checked frequently, for example, once a month and before every further trip. And this should be done regardless of the tire pressure monitoring systems that have become commonplace in the standard equipment of modern models.

Even with the most modern systems that monitor the condition of each wheel individually, and with the measured pressure in each of them, there is a delay in transmitting an alarmingly low pressure, on the one hand, and some sensors are not sensitive enough, such as those on the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport model, which only activated when the pressure in one tire dropped to 1.3 to 1.4 bar, although the prescribed parameter should have been around 2.4 atmospheres, according to Russian journalists. And even when you receive a notification, a warning, how many will immediately solve the problem, and how many will think, "it can go on like this for a few more days"?

All in all, driving in winter is a great ordeal, both for the driver and for our machinery. How to reduce the risk of an accident is the concern of each driver individually, and in that spirit, do not fail to regularly check the condition of the tires on your car. You don't put on wet shoes in the morning, do you? After walking in the snow, the next time you go out, you will surely pay attention to whether your footwear has dried in the meantime, won't you?

(AutoRepublika.com)