Question 1

How do I find the PSI of my tires?

Accepted Answer

The most obvious place to find the PSI of your tires is in the owner’s manual. However, most people tend to keep these in a drawer in their homes and tend to throw them out when they sell their cars. This often means when you buy a used car, it may not come with an owner’s manual. The next best place to look is in the door jam of your car, under the hood, or on the door of the fuel tank. You’ll find a good deal of information and specifications about your car and the PSI is one of them. Of course, you can also always turn to Google!

Question 2

How do I check the PSI of my tires?

Accepted Answer

Checking the PSI of your tires is relatively easy, especially if you have a tire inflator with you. The first thing you need to do is find the recommended PSI of your tires. The average range for sedans would be a PSI of 27 to 32. Once you have that information, remove the cap from the valve of your tire and expose your tire's valve stem. You will then place the air pressure gauge over the valve, making sure it fits snugly over the valve. Most tire inflators double as gauges so you will be able to inflate or deflate your tires to achieve the optimal PSI. Once you’ve checked the PSI of your tires, replace the valve cap.

Question 3

How do I inflate my tires safely?

Accepted Answer

Before you do anything with your car tires, make sure you are safe. If you need to inflate your tires on a road, make sure your car is not obstructing traffic. Move as far to the side of the road as you can or turn into a side street with less traffic, if that’s possible of course. A gas station, if available, is also another great place to stop. If you have a safety hazard triangle in your car, set it up some distance in front of your car so oncoming traffic can be alerted to a problem ahead.

Once you are certain you can inflate your tire safely, bring out your tire inflator and set it up as per the instruction manual. The first thing to do is to check the PSI of your tire. Preselect the desired PSI and following the instruction manual, start inflating your tire to the desired pressure. Once you are done, quickly and safely pack up your tire inflator and retrieve your safety hazard triangle (if you set it ahead of traffic). Return to your car and safely drive away.

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