I inflated my tires this weekend…
It was a sunny day, 80 to 85 degree F, in Pittsburgh this past Saturday. I had just driven several miles before stopping to inflate my tires at a local gas station. My tire pressure should have been higher than normal on such a hot afternoon, right?
Well I could not find the cheap, little tire pressure gauge that used to be in my glove box, so I used the gauge on the hose handle of the tire inflation machine, which I just read is the LEAST accurate gauge you can use. According to the gauge, my tires were 20-25 psi (seriously under-inflated) on a hot and sunny day after driving several miles of errands. The gauge was probably inaccurate, but my tires did look kind of under-inflated based on the slight bulge where the rubber meets the road, a noticeable decline in fuel economy in recent months, and the fact that I hadn’t inflated them since they were newly installed six months ago.
I inflated each tire to about 40 psi, which required a good 10 or 15 seconds per tire with the air compressor. The maximum pressure rating is 44 psi as indicated on the sidewall of my tires, so 40 psi should be fine. After inflating the tires, my ride seems a bit peppier, but it will take a few more tanks of gas to see whether my fuel economy has really improved. According to the EPA, under-inflated tires can lower gas mileage by 0.4 percent for every 1 psi drop in pressure of all four tires. Properly inflated tires are safer and last longer.
The most noticeable difference was more aesthetic — I spent $2.50 in quarters to vacuum the interior of my car for the first time in maybe five years.
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EIA: Retail Prices
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Thanks for posting the article, was certainly a great read!