Tire Shop TPMS Tips for Making Your Tires Last Longer

Tire Inflation and Pressure Maintenance Tips

For many drivers in Tucson, Arizona, low tire pressure is no cause for concern — but it should be. If you drive on improperly inflated tires, you could run into serious problems, including a sudden blowout.

To avoid unnecessary and expensive visits to local tire stores, Tucson residents should prioritize tire pressure maintenance. As the Tuscon’s trusted tire shop, here’s our expert advice on keeping your tire pressure right where it should be.

Why Does Tire Inflation Matter?

When your tire pressure gets dangerously low, your tire’s sidewalls will get overly flexible and heat will start building up inside them. At that point, a section of your tire rubber may get separated from the tire’s carcass — and if this happens quickly enough, you could find yourself dealing with a blowout.

Even though the consequences of underinflation aren’t always this dramatic, you can still encounter problems in your everyday life as a result of this situation. For example, underinflated tires have a higher level of rolling resistance than correctly inflated tires. Because of that, low tire pressure can translate to reduced fuel economy (and more money spent on gas).

On the other hand, overinflation can be equally problematic for your wheels. If your tire pressure is too high, your tires will become less flexible than they should be and more likely to sustain damage after hitting potholes or debris. As if that wasn’t enough, overinflated tires also have an increased risk of blowing out.

How To Maintain Proper Tire Pressure

As you can see, tire pressure is more critical than many drivers think — to the point where it could actively affect the life span of your wheels. To keep your tires’ air pressure in check, you should:

Find Your Ideal Pressure Level

Before you can maintain the perfect pressure level in your tires, you need to know what this level should be. Fortunately, that isn’t too complicated: You can find the recommended tire pressure for your car on a sticker near your driver-side door. In most cases, this number will also appear in your car’s manual.

Know When To Check Your Tire Pressure

The next step toward maintaining the correct pressure for your tires is knowing what these pressure levels are right now. That means it’s wise to pick up a tire pressure gauge and check your air pressure:

• Once every month. Tires can lose roughly a pound per square inch of pressure monthly. Therefore, you should perform regular checks to see how they’re holding up.
• After winter nights. Colder temperatures can reduce your air pressure, and tires in Tucson can definitely feel the effects of this area’s chilly desert nights.
• During intense summer heat. Conversely, warm weather can cause your tire pressure to go up — and as you know, that can also lead to trouble.
• Whenever something seems wrong. There’s no such thing as checking your tire pressure too often. If you suspect that something’s off, a quick pressure check can’t hurt.

Pay Attention to Warning Lights

Does your dashboard have an active light shaped like a flat tire with an exclamation point in the center? That’s your tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) warning light, and it can let you know when your tires are underinflated.

There’s no denying that TPMS warning lights are a convenient way to tell when your tires might be having pressure problems. However, these lights also have certain limitations: They might transmit inaccurate tire pressure readings to your vehicle’s computer or not notice when multiple tires are losing pressure at an identical rate. Because of that, your TPMS light can’t replace routine tire pressure checks.

Replace Aging Tires As Needed

Eventually, your vehicle’s tires will lose more than the standard pound per square inch of pressure each month. That isn’t the only problem associated with using old tires, either — these wheels can also suffer from low tread depth and be more likely to sustain damage.

Taking all of this into account, one thing should be clear: Your tires won’t last forever. The average set of tires will provide approximately three to five years of service. At that point, you’ll want to think about visiting your local tire shop to buy new tires.

Finding the Best Tire Stores Tucson Has To Offer

If you follow these tips, you’ll have an easier time maintaining your tire pressure than ever before. Still, this isn’t the only type of attention your tires will need to reach their full potential — you’ll also have to keep up on maintenance services, such as wheel alignment, tire rotation, and tire balancing. As you might expect, each of these services must be handled by a qualified tire shop.

When they need tire maintenance or new tires in Tucson, local residents should look for a shop that offers ASE-certified mechanics, money-saving online discounts, and customer service from people who care. BRAKEmax Tire & Service Centers provide every one of these advantages to its customers — schedule your appointment for tire service today!