Tyre Pressures Guide / Tyres Inflation vehicle.

UK Tyre Pressure Guide: This online guide serves as a reference for our visitors and customers who would like to learn how to maintain the right tyre pressure for their vehicles. Please feel free to give us a call at 0845 094 09 09 if you would like to inquire about our extremely competitive prices for car tyres delivered free throughout mainland UK.

Tyres are the only contact between your vehicle and the road. Inflation pressure is an extremely important factor affecting safety driving performances, mileage and fuel consumption. Both under-inflation and over-inflation can negatively affect the performance level of your tyres; it is therefore important to always maintain the correct tyre pressure for your vehicle.

The correct inflation pressure value is given by the vehicle manufacturer and can be found in the vehicle log book. In some cases, it can also be found on the petrol cap or door inside pillar of the vehicle.

Inflation pressure checks should be made only when tyres are cold. Tyres are considered to be cold when they have not been run for at least one hour or have only been run at low speed for not more than two or three kilometers. Check cold tyre pressure frequently (at least every two weeks) and always before long journeys, not forgetting the spare tyre!

Maintaining the correct car tyre pressures for all the five tyres is an important safety tip that all vehicle owners should follow to enhance the performance of their car. Tyres pressure affects a number of parameters in the car, including fuel-efficiency, tyre life, highway safety, ride quality and the longevity of the car itself.

Under-inflated tyres is one of the most common problems, as most car users do not follow the tyre pressure regimen as recommended by the manufacturer. Under-inflation leads to the mid-ridge of the tyre curving in and so, over a period of time, leads to comparatively higher wear on the outer edges of the tyre. On the contrary, over-inflation of the tyre leads to higher than normal wear at the tyre's mid-line. Both under- and over-inflation can also pose serious threats to the safety of the occupants, especially while speeding on the highway. Diagaram below shows the correctly inflated tyres

In addition to affecting the ride quality in rough roads, under-inflation may also damage suspension components in the long run and affect the wheel balance and alignment much more than under normal tyre pressure. Prolonged use and rough riding situations, such as when the car goes over a pothole, affect wheel balance and alignment. An under-inflated tyre, particularly when it is a low-profile one, can amplify the destabilising effect of riding over a pothole, and so on.

Keep a tyre pressure gauge handy. Tyre pressure gauges are available in the after market. You don't need a fancy, expensive digital gauge to check your tyres; a reliable analog pressure gauge will be more than enough to do the job. However, inflating the tyres at home can be a bit of a challenge, if you are not willing to invest in an after market electrical pump. There are also pumps available that you can manually operate, but they may not be that effective. The cheapest, easiest option would be to go to the service/fuel pump station and use your own hand-held pressure gauge for a more accurate read of the inflation pressure. Below are some images from our UK tyres guide that show a digital pressure gauge and a standard dial pressures gauge.

In the aftermarket, you may also get the recently launched screw-onto-tyre type pressure gauges. These feature a small, sensitive cap-style gauge that can be fitted on to the tyre's inlet valve and which will also give out a reading on top of the cap on each tyre. So, they act like permanently fixed tyre pressure gauges

The scale is also important, as in the UK we're used to psi, but it's increasingly common to find pressures given in bar - the European favourite. It's handy to get a gauge which works with both, while some also read in KiloPascals (kPa).