cold weather travel
I am traveling from a warm Florida to a cold Missouri. If my tires are at the correct psi when I leave Florida do I have to check and add air when I get into cold weather?
Forum Discussion
JumboJet wrote:
Like most people responding to this thread, we aren't saying tire pressure needs to be neglected, but I have never worried about going from 60F to -9F while traveling. Built into the tires are a safe operating range.
That is why I posted the link from the trucking site. Tire pressure
They did the tests and say that you should worry about it.
Unless you know that you are starting off well above the correct tire pressure for your load, as the temps drop, so does your tire pressure. Once you get below the correct tire pressure, you have started to overload the tire. An under-inflated tire is the worst thing you can do to any tire.
There IS NOT a safety margin for under-inflation. There is a safety margin for the higher pressure caused by heat generated by the rolling tire. That is why the tire pressure stamped on the side of the tire is the MINIMUM tire pressure for a given load.
Oh, last year we traveled from Florida to visit Glacier NP, staying in Cut Bank, MT in October. I did not wait for an oil change to check my tire pressures.
