Spring is here and all of the S's are getting uncovered and ready to go. Before jumping in, check your tire pressure! I just had a blowout on Sunday and it was because of low air pressure. The other three tires were also low. I figured with 1,900 miles on the car it wouldn't be necessary to check the tires. I was wrong. After spending $175.00 for a new tire everything is fine.

 

Always good advice, thanks for the reminder. I picked up a nail in the left rear once which caused a slow leak that I didn't notice nor did I check tire pressure for a couple of weeks.

The following Monday drive in to work was interesting to say the least. Every time I let off the gas to shift gears the right rear started to come around.

Turns out I was down to 12 pounds in the tire.

 

Great advice...uneven/wrong tire pressure can cause big problems!

 

Probably a good idea to check the tires every week. The pressure should be checked when the tires are cold. Under inflated tires are unsafe and kill gas mileage too.

Does anyone have a tire pressure monitoring system installed? Looks like a system could be installed for under $300.00.

http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/.../smartire2.jsp

 

I'll tell ya -- when I got out of the dentist chair today, my pressure was sky-high ... blood pressure that is. Reminds me of the torture chamber in the Spanish Inquisition, only with ultrasound instead of red-hot pokers.

As for tire pressure, well, one of the best investments of about $200 I ever made was in a (relatively light-duty) Craftsman air compressor. That way, when I check my tire pressure, I can fix it right then if it's not correct. That ability is a great motivator to do the checks, especially because you can do them in the morning before you take the car out for the day. HPH

 

If I can add my .02

It also pays to invest in a "real" tire gauge such as this one from Brookstone that has a bleeder valve that enables one to "bleed off" the pressure to exactly the desired PSI.

http://www.brookstone.com/shop/product.asp...e=Result*R2C2*T

 

Same here

I got one of those Porter Cable pancake compressor/tanks that came with a finish nailer and a brad gun, for a total of about $300. One of the best buys I ever made. The guns made it SO easy to do the trim when we installed the bow window in the living room two summers ago, and again when we remodeled our bedroom.

The compressor stays in the garage plugged in and ready to go, and I have two 25FT and one 50FT air hose sections, so I can run hose to anywhere in the house, and also be able to run it out to the end of the drive for filling tires. It sure does make it easier to swap out the summer and winter tires, making sure the current set is at the correct pressure, and the set going into storage has been run up to about 40-45lbs.

The only negative is that it doesn't have the CFM to run air powered tools like socket wrenches, orbital sanders/polishers, impact wrenches, etc. I wish I had thought of that before I bought it.

Tom

 

This is the one I bought a year or so ago, Matt.....I it!

 

Jumpy, I'm a little confused. You shouldn't be having a blowout if your pressure was a little low. These Bridgestone tires are so tight at the tire bead, that it's hard to believe the tire would've slipped off the wheel and caused a blowout, unless you were practically flat to start with.

Do you have any idea how low you were? I'm guessing you had something in your tire that caused the blowout (and might've caused low pressure to begin with).

In any case, I have no argument with the advice. Check your pressure often. I find, however, with the S that at I lose very little pressure over time.

 

on the air compressor. I have gotten a lot of use out of mine. Air tools, etc.

If you do not want or can not afford to spring for a compressor the next best thing in my opionion is an "air can". These are generally about $49 and have a built in PSI gauge. One can take them to the local gas station that has "free air" and fill them up to just under the 120 PSI Maximum and then use it at home to fill tires after checking the pressure while cold.