The Hindu Business Line : Watch your tyre pressure

Tyre pressure affects a number of parameters in the car, including fuel-efficiency, tyre life, highway safety, ride quality and the longevity of the car itself.

I AM told that tyre pressure is important for getting optimum fuel efficiency. I am interested in a tyre pressure monitoring system. Can you recommend an easy-to-operate product which will allow me to check tyre pressure at home? I find checking the pressure at fuel stations to be time consuming and inefficient.

Krishna Nagasuri

Maintaining the correct tyre pressure for all the five tyres is an important safety tip that all owners should follow to enhance the performance of your car. Tyre pressure affects a number of parameters in the car, including fuel-efficiency, tyre life, highway safety, ride quality and the longevity of the car itself. Under-inflated tyres is one of the most common problems, as most car users do not follow the tyre pressure regimen recommended by the manufacturer.

Under-inflation leads to the mid-ridge of the tyre curving in and so, over a period of time, leads to comparatively higher wear on the outer edges of the tyre. On the contrary, over-inflation of the tyre leads to higher than normal wear at the tyre's mid-line. Both under- and over-inflation can also pose serious threats to the safety of the occupants, especially while speeding on the highway.

In addition to affecting the ride quality in rough roads, under-inflation may also damage suspension components in the long run and affect the wheel balance and alignment much more than under normal tyre pressure. Prolonged use and rough riding situations, such as when the car goes over a pothole, affect wheel balance and alignment. An under-inflated tyre, particularly when it is a low-profile one, can amplify the destabilising effect of riding over a pothole, and so on.

Finally, under-inflated tyres will not allow the car to perform optimally under varying load-carrying conditions and will prove to be a drag on the engine when the car is fully loaded. This will affect both the life of the tyre and fuel efficiency of the car. To get the best from your tyres, check inflation at least once in 2-3 weeks depending on usage. Tyre inflation pressure keeps going down over time; this happens even if the car is not being used. So, checking inflation pressure regularly and every time you take to the highway is a must. Make sure that you also check the spare tyre's pressure at least on every alternate visit.

Keep a tyre pressure gauge handy. Tyre pressure gauges are available in the after market. You don't need a fancy, expensive digital gauge to check your tyres; a reliable analog pressure gauge will be more than enough to do the job. However, inflating the tyres at home can be a bit of a challenge, if you are not willing to invest in an after market electrical pump. There are also pumps available that you can manually operate, but they may not be that effective. The cheapest, easiest option would be to go to the service/fuel pump station and use your own hand-held pressure gauge for a more accurate read of the inflation pressure.

To get the manufacturer recommended tyre inflation pressure, consult the owner's manual that would have been given to you at the time of purchasing the car. Stick to the recommendations rigorously. Always try to check inflation pressure when the tyres are cold, which means checking it at the nearest service station if you don't have a pump at home. If you check tyre pressure after running the car quite a distance on a hot, sunny day, then add a couple of PSI points to the manufacturer recommended pressure level to arrive at the approximate reading under hot tyre conditions.

In the after market, you may also get the recently launched screw-onto-tyre type pressure gauges. These feature a small, sensitive cap-style gauge that can be fitted on to the tyre's inlet valve and which will also give out a reading on top of the cap on each tyre. So, they act like permanently fixed tyre pressure gauges.

So, inflation pressure affects a whole lot of other parameters too, in addition to fuel efficiency. But to protect your car's tyres and suspension set-up, in addition to tyre pressure there are a few other points that also need to be kept in mind. For one, rotating the car's tyres during regular intervals will help avoid excessive wear on just the front or the rear tyres. Check the car's owner's manual again for the recommended rotation period and pattern, which will also include pulling out the spare tyre.

Balancing the tyre and wheel assembly of your car, on average for every 6,000 km, is also important for enjoying a vibration-free ride and to avoid excessive tyre wear. On the other hand, wheel alignment, which is another safety check that needs to be done during a similar time and usage interval, is required to ensure that your car's tyres are rolling together and straight. Misaligned wheels will also lead to uneven tyre wear.

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