The instrument tire readout is a good quick-ref, but I still confirm with a known reliable gauge.
Call me ‘ancient’!
It’s not a matter of “attitude”, and I think that the question I posed is a reasonable one.
I am truly curious as to why anyone would need to own that many tire pressure gauges. If a gauge has proven to be inaccurate, I would dispose of it. Do you dispose of gauges whose accuracy can no longer be trusted?
I didn’t say all gauges. I was specifically talking about the ones built into the car.
As for those standard strip $3.00 gauges - yes - they can be made very accurate. Tire pressure reading is actually fairly simple. We actually built a very accurate one in physics class. The problem with many of those cheap gauges is NOT the design, but the manufacturing and parts they use. Those sliding pen-type gauges can be made to be extremely accurate. The design is simple.
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I don’t think I make your case. I am not the normal car owner.
I’ve been developing ride systems as my job from 1985 to 2006 and racing and tracking cars since 1986. Accurate pressure gauges are essential for both. 99.9% of people don’t do that and they don’t need supreme accuracy.
The Longacre gauge was marked to 1 psi so they accept +/- 0.5 accuracy. The gauge I used for work and the one I now use is marked in 0.5 psi increments so the accuracy is +/- 0.25 psi.
Them NASCAR and IndyCar boys have digital gauges that read accurately to the tenths of a psi but they cost more than $425. But they are the 0.01% of users.
Most people, if they keep their tires within +/- 3 psi of correct, are doing really well. But even with TPMS systems, I still see posts of destroyed, under inflated tires on reddit’s mechanics subs.
As one comic used to say… You can’t fix stupid!
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Agreed! I own one that I was shocked to find was within 1 psi of my good gauge.
I’m guessing that, just as a lot of people ignore a lit-up CEL, there are probably also foolish folks who ignore the TPMS warning light.
Many years ago, I knew a guy who I tried to help with some car “issues”, but he didn’t really want to be helped. He just kept repeating, “All I know is that I put gas in it and it goes”.
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In a 1995 or older model, the “service engine soon” light only came on if something significant and likely to result in a drivability problem was wrong. Now, it comes on for silly reasons, which often cost more than a rational person would wish to spend in order to appease the computer into turning it off.
Case in point. I have two older vehicles with persistent CEL codes that I simply don’t wish to spend the money to fix. One has an evaporative emissions leak (P0442, P0456), the other has a catalyst efficiency code (P0420). I do not wish to spend time and money chasing a miniscule leak in an evaporative emissions system, nor do I wish to replace a catalytic converter that costs over $700 online. I just want to get through the silly emissions testing nonsense, renew my license plates, and avoid being harassed for driving on an expired tag.
So naturally, I find a way to keep the light off long enough to get through emissions, and then when it comes back on, whatever. That isn’t being “uninterested” in car maintenance–it’s avoiding wasting money unnecessarily. I simply do not believe that either of these alleged “problems” make a large enough difference in the amount of pollution which the cars produce, compared to the cost of a “proper” fix. Now if I had a gross polluter, which was burning massive amounts of oil, then obviously, I’d replace the engine, or buy a different car.
“Why do discount stores offer cheap merchandise?”
Shocking!!!
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There isn’t a tire on the planet that won’t lose air in a year. Also, you appear to be claiming that you live somewhere where the temperature doesn’t change seasonally, which is very unlikely. You’re living up to your screen name as usual here.
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I wrote what I said very late in the morning. I was super tired. I just recalled having the dealer put air in the tires a couple months ago, where they erroneously set the temp at 55 instead of 37 and caused the car to ride like a jeep.
But honestly, it took a very long time for my tires to lose air. I would say close to the 1 year mark, and I live in NY where we have 4 seasons.
My tires only get checked with a tire gauge at the dealer when I request it.
Something is not right here, but I’m not going to speculate where the problem is. In fact, tires lose ~1 psi for every 10 degree drop in temperature, and–of course–they gain ~1 psi for every 10 degree increase in temp. In other words, tires that were properly inflated in September, when the temp was 70-80 degrees, will actually be underinflated by the time that temps drop to… let’s say… 30 degrees.
As a result, when temps start to drop in the late autumn, I add 1 or 2 psi, and when real NJ winter temps hit, I typically add another 1 or 2 psi, just to keep my tires inflated “normally”. And, when warmer weather comes, I begin deflating the tires by… a bit. I always try to maintain ~2-3 psi over the vehicle mfr’s recommendation, and that means adjusting the inflation pressure at least a couple of times each year.
I would appreciate if you speculate where the problem might be. This could help improve my knowledge of what’s going on.
In that case, if your tire pressure is correct in August, then you’re driving around on tires that are underinflated by around 4 PSI in winter.
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I think a good sized bathroom mirror might find the problem.
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I set the psi at 37. When driving, it increases by itself to 40 ( occasionally to 42). I would leave it there until it corrects itself.
In very cold weather, it drops to 33 on cold and goes up to 36 when driving. I don’t mess with the fluctuation until the psi gets to 30.
Is 2-3 psi under a problem ? Or it’s ok to drive until it eventually inflates itself up to normal ?
My car will alert me to put air in at 28 psi.
I value good, sharp handling, so it would be a problem for me.
But, in general, it isn’t really a good idea to drive with underinflated tires.
Edited to add:
Your tires’ treadwear can/will be impacted by both underinflation and overinflation.
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The reason I trust my car tire pressure system is because when I’m at the dealer, the guy putting in air for me would tell me to leave the ignition on and to verify the correct temp.
For example: his gauge would say 37 psi, then he gives me a thumb up to check if my dash says the same. I would then give him a thumb up to verify that it also says 37 psi on the dash.
What does the temp ( temperature? ) have to do with putting in tire air ?
For the dash system to work ( as in to check the tire pressure from the dash, and in this case to verify ).