QuestionI have always been taught to check tire air pressure when the tires are "cold" (been idle for 8 hours or more)...recently saw a news report that stated you should check tire pressure ONLY after you have driven for more than 2 hours.
What is your opinion on when is the correct time to check
and inflate tires to the manufacturers suggested level???
Thank-you.
AnswerSandy,
First let me give you the basics.
All tire pressures are expressed as "cold" pressures - the tire is at the same temperature as ambient - except when we talk about pressure buildup.
As a rule of thumb, the vehicle must be idle for at least 1 1/2 hours.
Hopefully your news report said "NOT" driven for 2 hours. But if it did not, I sure would like to correct that. If you can find the news report, and post a link, I would be very appreciative.
But to add to this: I think the best time to check pressures is first thing in the morning. I happen to have an air compressor, so adjusting the pressure is easy. But for folks that don't have a compressor, the procedure would be to record how much pressure has to be added to each tire, drive to a place that has an air line, add the pressure recorded (I think adding 1 additional psi would be good.), then check it again when it is "cold" just to make sure it was done right.
