Tire Pressure Question

[becker]

This question has probably been asked before but upon searching I couldn't find anything.

When traveling from a northern state where the temperature is well below freezing to an southern state where the temperature is 70 degrees, how do you handle your tire pressure settings?...... and if the situation is reversed. When in a warm area and your tire pressure is set correctly (in the morning before getting on the road) and the next morning (in the cold area) your tires are showing 10 degrees or so low, do you take your tire pressures back to the correct settings before getting back on the road? Tire size is 295/80R/22.5 Michelins with about 2000 miles on them.

Where can I find some information of this subject?

Thanks.

[jadatis]

The pressure advice is made for 18dgrC/65dgrF so if you fill , and outside temp is for instance 100 dgr F /37dgrC you have to fill to higher pressure . then if during the trip the temperature drops, the cold pressure drops too, but then cooling of tire is better so more energy, produced by the more deflection by that lower pressure, gives still no to high temperature of sertain area's of the tire.
If this system is totally in line , I dont know ( yet) but if you determine the needed cold pressure with some reserve this will cover the misbalance.

So asume your detemined needed cold pressure for 18dgr C/ 65degr F and when checking and filling cold , re-calculate that pressure for the ambiënt temp at that moment, by means of rule of tumb or using my made spreadsheet.

Things like sunshine on tire can highen the inside tire, so be ware of that. Then inside tire temp is not outside tire temp, wich is the meaning of cold filling. then pressure is higer because of the higher temp inside tire.

[wa8yxm]

I inflate in the early AM wherever I am and that's that. I do not deflate if the temps in the AM go up.

[becker]

I am the OP..... and thanks to all. I think I will continue to do what I have always done...... Every morning before I get on the road I always check my tires and put each tire to its respective setting. The front tires have their pressure setting, the duals have their pressure setting, and the tags have their pressure setting.

I was just wondering how everyone else handled the their tire pressure difference in different locations.

Thanks again!

[yankee_camper]

TNRIVERSIDE wrote:

yankee camper wrote:
Don't want to hi-jack this thread but as a newbie I've got to ask. If you're supposed to check your tire pressure cold and find you need air how do you do that if you've got to drive 5 miles to a gas station air pump? Is 5-6 miles short enough where you're not heating up your tires ? Hope this is worded so that it makes sense to you guys.

Here what I would do.
If my tire is 10psi low before I drive. It will still be 10 psi low after I drive the 5 miles to the gas station. Regardless what the tire guage is reading at the gas station I would add air until I have increased it by 10psi.

I was thinking exactly that but didn't want to assume my thinking was right !

[tropical36]

yankee camper wrote:
Don't want to hi-jack this thread but as a newbie I've got to ask. If you're supposed to check your tire pressure cold and find you need air how do you do that if you've got to drive 5 miles to a gas station air pump? Is 5-6 miles short enough where you're not heating up your tires ? Hope this is worded so that it makes sense to you guys.

I always add an extra 5 lbs when faced with that situation and a little more wouldn't hurt. You should be 15 lbs over what's required to begin with, otherwise you're going to be running low on at least one tire throughout a lengthily trip, with all the variables you might encounter.

[tropical36]

becker wrote:
This question has probably been asked before but upon searching I couldn't find anything.

When traveling from a northern state where the temperature is well below freezing to an southern state where the temperature is 70 degrees, how do you handle your tire pressure settings?...... and if the situation is reversed. When in a warm area and your tire pressure is set correctly (in the morning before getting on the road) and the next morning (in the cold area) your tires are showing 10 degrees or so low, do you take your tire pressures back to the correct settings before getting back on the road? Tire size is 295/80R/22.5 Michelins with about 2000 miles on them.

Where can I find some information of this subject?

Thanks.

As I've stated many times and just recently on another thread, weigh each axle and then provide a cushion of 15psi over what it says on the inflation chart for all the variables.

[rgatijnet1]

Effy wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:

CapriRacer wrote:


The alternative is to constantly adjust the pressures as the ambient temperature changes. That's a lot of work and requires a lot of math.

If you check your pressure each day before you drive on your tires there is no math involved. Your tire gauge will read the correct pressure and automatically adjust for the ambient temperature. 100psi at 30 degrees with your gauge is correct at that location as is 100 psi with your gauge at 90 degrees in a warmer location.
All of the manufacturers warn you about adjusting the tire pressure on warm tires.

By this logic, if I drive from MD to FL in one day, I leave at 30 Deg and arrive at 90, my tires would be very over inflated. I adjust before the return trip and now I am way under inflated by the time I get home - except I am not. This is why tires can withstand a very wide range of tolerances in both psi and temp. Because constantly adjusting them is unrealistic and frankly uncalled for. Check cold and adjust before you leave for a trip then let the tires do what they do. Owning a TPMS for about a year, warm to cold climate or vice versa, I haven't seen any dramatic swing one way or another. Once they heat up they stabilize.

Yep, I've heard other TPMS owners say the same thing. They will ignore the low tire pressure warning on a cold morning because they claim that the pressure will increase as soon as they drive several miles so why put any air in. The funny thing is that I have never heard of any tire manufacturer say this. Of course ALL of the TPMS sensors are 100% accurate and the pressures given by them is always 100% correct.
I had a TPMS system and even tho I inflate my tires in pairs, with a system that connects two tires together to exactly balance out their pressure, the TPMS system would show a 2-4 psi difference. Basically the TPMS systems that I have seen are not very accurate and that is why I no longer use them. I've found that the US made Milton tire gauges are accurate to 1% and by checking each morning I have avoided all tire problems in many years of RVing. No unusual tire wear and not blowouts. I just drove from FL to MD over the Holidays and I came no where close to a 60 degree swing in one day of traveling. In the TWO days that it took me to make the 900+ mile distance. I did adjust my tire pressure at our stop midway during the trip.

[Effy]

rgatijnet1 wrote:

CapriRacer wrote:


The alternative is to constantly adjust the pressures as the ambient temperature changes. That's a lot of work and requires a lot of math.

If you check your pressure each day before you drive on your tires there is no math involved. Your tire gauge will read the correct pressure and automatically adjust for the ambient temperature. 100psi at 30 degrees with your gauge is correct at that location as is 100 psi with your gauge at 90 degrees in a warmer location.
All of the manufacturers warn you about adjusting the tire pressure on warm tires.

By this logic, if I drive from MD to FL in one day, I leave at 30 Deg and arrive at 90, my tires would be very over inflated. I adjust before the return trip and now I am way under inflated by the time I get home - except I am not. This is why tires can withstand a very wide range of tolerances in both psi and temp. Because constantly adjusting them is unrealistic and frankly uncalled for. Check cold and adjust before you leave for a trip then let the tires do what they do. Owning a TPMS for about a year, warm to cold climate or vice versa, I haven't seen any dramatic swing one way or another. Once they heat up they stabilize.

[TNRIVERSIDE]

yankee camper wrote:
Don't want to hi-jack this thread but as a newbie I've got to ask. If you're supposed to check your tire pressure cold and find you need air how do you do that if you've got to drive 5 miles to a gas station air pump? Is 5-6 miles short enough where you're not heating up your tires ? Hope this is worded so that it makes sense to you guys.

Here what I would do.
If my tire is 10psi low before I drive. It will still be 10 psi low after I drive the 5 miles to the gas station. Regardless what the tire guage is reading at the gas station I would add air until I have increased it by 10psi.

[yankee_camper]

Don't want to hi-jack this thread but as a newbie I've got to ask. If you're supposed to check your tire pressure cold and find you need air how do you do that if you've got to drive 5 miles to a gas station air pump? Is 5-6 miles short enough where you're not heating up your tires ? Hope this is worded so that it makes sense to you guys.

[rgatijnet1]

CapriRacer wrote:


The alternative is to constantly adjust the pressures as the ambient temperature changes. That's a lot of work and requires a lot of math.

If you check your pressure each day before you drive on your tires there is no math involved. Your tire gauge will read the correct pressure and automatically adjust for the ambient temperature. 100psi at 30 degrees with your gauge is correct at that location as is 100 psi with your gauge at 90 degrees in a warmer location.
All of the manufacturers warn you about adjusting the tire pressure on warm tires.

[CapriRacer]

becker wrote:
This question has probably been asked before but upon searching I couldn't find anything.

When traveling from a northern state where the temperature is well below freezing to an southern state where the temperature is 70 degrees, how do you handle your tire pressure settings?...... and if the situation is reversed. When in a warm area and your tire pressure is set correctly (in the morning before getting on the road) and the next morning (in the cold area) your tires are showing 10 degrees or so low, do you take your tire pressures back to the correct settings before getting back on the road? Tire size is 295/80R/22.5 Michelins with about 2000 miles on them.

Where can I find some information of this subject?

Thanks.

First, you will find statements that there is a 1 psi change in pressure for every 10°F change in temperature - except that this is only true for passenger car tires. For truck tires and trailer tires, it's a bit more complicated: 3% for every 10°F.

Then it is a matter of how to deal with the situation you described: One day your in zero degree weather and then next you are in 70°F weather. Here's what I do:

Estimate the difference between where you are and where you will be the next time you plan to adjust pressures and go for the max. That is, if your situation is as described above (0° to 70°), then inflate the tires according to the current condition and forget about it until it is time to readjust. Yes, your tires will be over inflated, but not only are tires designed to withstand much, much more pressure than the maximum indicated, but also, the wear isn't as affected by the overinflation as much as you may think. Besides, one day's worth of driving is that big a deal compared to thousands of miles of driving.

The alternative is to constantly adjust the pressures as the ambient temperature changes. That's a lot of work and requires a lot of math.

Oh, and one last thing: It has been known for tire valves to freeze open, letting out all the air. So don't check your pressures when it is below 40°F.

And be sure to anticipate when it will be dropping below 40°F and set your pressures accordingly.

[rgatijnet1]

You check your tire pressure each morning, when the tires are cold(not driven) and adjust the tire pressure for the current temperature. If you are in a much colder or much warmer location tomorrow morning, you adjust the tire pressure again, before you drive on the tires. You DO NOT adjust the pressure when the tires are warm from driving on them.
If you check any tire manufacturers website they will tell you to check the tire pressure before you have driven on the tires.