Check Your Tire Pressure in This Cold Weather!
Last edited Tue Jan 21, 2014, 12:30 PM - Edit history (1)
If temps where you are will be below zero this week, remember to check your tire pressure while it's still bearable outside. During extremely cold weather, tire pressures drop, and the tires' sidewalls get stiff and less elastic. What that means is that if your tire pressure is low, cornering can cause the tire's bead to pull away from the rim, deflating the tire completely. That's not something you want when it's dangerously cold outside.
Fill your tires, while cold and before driving far, to the factory recommended air pressure. If necessary, drive to the nearest place where you can inflate your tires and fill them there to factory pressure anyway, but not higher than that. Even if the tires warm up a bit and increase tire pressure a bit, that's still better than driving on tires that have too little air pressure when the weather drops below zero. If you live in cold climates, consider purchasing a small 120V air compressor designed just for tire inflation. They're not expensive, and let you handle tire inflation at home.
Don't rely just on the appearance of your tires, either. You need to check the pressure with an accurate pressure gauge. Inexpensive dial-type pressure gauges cost little and enable to you keep your tires properly inflated. Even in good weather, under-inflated tires wear out faster and waste fuel. You can buy them at your local gas/convenience store or any auto parts store. Even at Walgreens, Target, or WallyWorld.
I just checked my own car's tires, and pressures were down by almost 10 psi all around, due to the cold weather. I brought them up to normal, to prevent problems in this sub-zero weather.
= new reply since forum marked as read
to my list of to-do for winter (for cheechakos). Layers, circulating car heaters (plug 'em in from 0 on down), auto-start does NOT warm the engine, only driving it does that at 20 below, let your car run at least 10 minutes at any colder than 0, etc.
For those to whom this is an unusual batch of weather, Chad Carpenter, cartoonist of Tundra fame, has figured out a way for you to come out ahead. It's an idea whose time has come, I guess, especially for the Northeastern folks whose homes are just TOO small:
And never, ever forget that flesh sticks to metal:
That said, best wishes to you all. You have everything you need to get through a rough winter - and it all starts with one item: Common Sense!
