How often do you check tire pressure?

[barrysharp]

Tire pressure has come up in two significant areas during the recent past: 1) Ford/Firestone SUV tire blowouts and 2) The Columbia accident a month or so back. I believe one of the last communications between Columbia and Houston was related to tire pressure sensor data.

I used to check my tire pressure on a regular basis during the car washing cycle of about every two-three weeks. Now I hardly ever check the tire pressure because over the last 10 years or so I find the tire pressure has rarely ever been incorrect. I now pretty much leave it to the Servicing Dept to check my tire pressure which means the pressure is checked maybe twice per year.

There seems to be a momentum by the auto industry toward providing automatic tire pressure sensor systems. Do you think these are necessary -- will they simply add cost to the vehicle or will they become standard much like ABS is today as costs will surely be driven down due to the high unit volume?

When will Volvo introduce automatic tire pressure sensor systems for their passenger cars? Will tire pressure sensors mean we have safer cars?

Some cars already have these tire pressure sensors and some have the 'run flat' tires!

Here are some refs I've assembled.

Tyre Pressure Monitor System (http://www.ambromley.co.uk/tyre-pressure-monitor.html)

Sensing danger (http://www.autoresearchanalysts.com/feat08.html)

Intelligent Tyres - Part 2 (http://www.autospeed.com/cms/article.html?&A=1267&P=2)

[jeffhuffman]

here is a little more reading on the subject of tire pressure sensors.
http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=3096

[littlewaywelt]

Tires 20% psi low on air can lose more than 3 percent fuel economy.
Tire pressure should be checked monthly if not weekly imo.

[barrysharp]

I've seen inexpensive special tire air valves that show a green, orange and red colour depending on the tire air pressure. Green is AOK and red means severe pressure loss.

Are these worth the money? If so, they would certainly help in quick and more frequent (for me at least) tire pressure monitoring.

Thanks.

[littlewaywelt]

Barry,
Those green-yellow-red tire caps aren't accurate enough, imo.  It doesn't switch to yellow until the tire is underinflated by four lbs and to red until it is 10lbs under.  
It takes me not more than a couple of minutes to check all the tires.  It is time well spent as tires that are inflated properly obviously provide more consistant and predictable handling, better gas mileage and longer tire life.

[Art]

Like Littlewaywelt, I usually find the tried and true method of doing manual pressure checks works the best. I keep my air gauge tucked under the pen holder just forward of the shifter as a constant reminder. http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[cbob]

Don't forget that those little pop-up tire pressure indicators are prone to failure, and when they fail, they let all the air out of the tire. http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif

(edit)
I forgot to mention that the KV107 that I'm standing beside in my little avatar picture was once grounded for a day because a pop-up indicator designed to show that one of the the rotors was at vacuum (as opposed to prssure) had failed, and there was some concern that air had leaked into the rotor.

[barrysharp]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (cbob @ Mar. 17 2003,16:21)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Don&#39;t forget that those little pop-up tire pressure indicators are prone to failure, and when they fail, they let all the air out of the tire. http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
That&#39;s definitely not good &nbsp;and thanks for the heads up http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/nervous.gif http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/nervous.gif http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/nervous.gif http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif &nbsp;http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif &nbsp;http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif

[wiz]

Get a digital gauge. &nbsp;The Accutire MS-4020B is excellent.

[budrichard]

The tire pressure reading on the Columbia had nothing to do with the root cause of the &#39;disaster&#39;. It was an indication of a more fundamantal problem. If you are interested in the root cause and the similarity to the Challenger &#39;disaster&#39;, email me and I will provide a synopsis. -Dick

[Big]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (littlewaywelt @ Mar. 17 2003,13:05)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">It takes me not more than a couple of minutes to check all the tires. It is time well spent as tires that are inflated properly obviously provide more consistant and predictable handling, better gas mileage and longer tire life.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
And it&#39;s one of the few maintenance items I can do on a modern car&#33; http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/hehe.gif I&#39;m kinda surprised Volvo doesn&#39;t provide built-in pressure readouts because it is a safety factor.

I check tire pressure when I go on long trips, tow a trailer, rotate tires, or switch between winter and summer tires; perhaps twice a month on average. I like to add air at home. Most gas stations around here charge for air if they even have a working air supply. I&#39;ve noticed that the pressure is usually wrong when the car comes back from dealer service.

Dang&#33;
http://idisk.mac.com/main_street/Public/S60-flat.jpg

[realq]

Since there are some cars using air pressure suspension, why do we go one step further and make built-in pump in car so that air pressures of all tires are automagically maintained? If there is no patent on this, I probably should apply one

http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/devil.gif

[Low Tide]

Accutire MS400 on sale at Amazon for &#036;19.99. Link Here (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005AXI4/qid=1058226989/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/104-4186443-4455124?v=glance&s=home-garden&n=507846) (Add &#036;5.01 for free shipping...&#036;9.95? Why? http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/nervous.gif )

Compared to the iffy measurements from the little ol&#39; tire stick +/- 3lbs, its a pretty good investment.

Pressure was err...consistent&#33; My left side was 31 front and back. My right side was 32.5 front and back. I guess two different Volvo employees people put on my tires at the factory... http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

Tech/Nerd question: Any reason why one side would drop faster than another?

[kersti]

I picked up an accutire gauge with an attached flashlight for 14.95 at Costco. My tires measured 36.5 front and left back and 35.5 on right back. Is this to high?

Kersti

[gibbons]

I would only check my tires once or twice a year if I lived in SoCal where the temperature never changes. &nbsp;For a test, during a cold snap here in Utah, I put one of my Subaru summer tires outside when it got down to 10 degrees F, and set it to 30.0 PSI. &nbsp;Then I brought it in the kitchen and let it warm up to 70 degrees. &nbsp;The pressure went to 36.5&#33;

I watch pressure pretty close.

[tgrumaj]

This raises the key question...what is the right pressure for your XC tires. &nbsp;I have a 99XC with Continental tires. &nbsp;The printed guide inside the gas tank cover indicates that correct cold pressure is 36psi for the front and 41psi for the rear tires. &nbsp;That seems high given what others are showing on this thread. &nbsp;The tires show a max psi of 44 on the side walls. &nbsp;For safety, economy and to protect the Viscous AWD on the 99 model what is you thought?

[bigtomhammer]

Since I have 235/45/17 Pirelli P6 Four Seasons on my car I check them very often. &nbsp;With the low profile and all of the potholes here in MN, you have to check it alot more often.

Tom

[Pennhaven]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (gibbons @ Feb. 22 2004,13:25)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">... For a test, during a cold snap here in Utah, I put one of my ...tires outside when it got down to 10 degrees F, and set it to 30.0 PSI. &nbsp;Then I brought it in the kitchen and let it warm up to 70 degrees. &nbsp;The pressure went to 36.5&#33;[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Your experiment pretty well confirms the rule of thumb I&#39;ve previously heard. i.e., the inflation pressure will change by approximately 1 psi for every 10°F change in temperature.

For this reason I always make sure to check my &quot;cold&quot; tire pressures late in the fall and late in the spring. I try to check and adjust them when the temperature is near the average I expect for the upcoming season. e.g., 25°F for the winter and 75°F for the summer.

Oftentimes the warming temperature in the spring more or less offsets the air leakage over the winter, so no big adjustment is required. But the falling temperatures in the autumn mean I always have to add air for the cold season.

[geo]

Starting from new, Tyres or car, daily for 7 days, if no change weekly for 4 weeks, if no change monthly.
if changes detected, moniter and fix if extreem, pump up if not.
Also check before long journeys/ towing/ high speed/ &nbsp;high load trips J.I.C (just in case)

[Too Tall]

Approx. every other month and always before a road trip or carrying an extra heavy load.

[wiz]

I have an Accutire digital gauge and a small compressor so I check the tires every Saturday morning. I am using the OEM Pirelli Scorpion STs and run at 33psi front and rear. Don't like the tires but they are in excellent shape with 16.5K miles on the car.

I also check the temporary spare every 3 months and have that at 61psi.

[AWD*V70XC]

I've seen inexpensive special tire air valves that show a green, orange and red colour depending on the tire air pressure. Green is AOK and red means severe pressure loss.

Are these worth the money? If so, they would certainly help in quick and more frequent (for me at least) tire pressure monitoring.

Thanks.

Barry, I spoke to my dealer about these little gadgets and he advised me against them as they could/will affect the balance of the wheel and if unchecked could cause an accident as the balance would be out, so on that advice I would strongly not recommend these to any fellow members.