Ask Ashley | Low tyre pressure? How can you tell?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 มี.ค. 2021
- One of my viewers asked how you can tell if your tyre pressures were low? If you have any further questions you would like me to answer in future episodes please ask them in the comments.
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If you see sparks it’s time to put some air in .
The first good laugh of the day, thnx ;D
Uneven tyre wear: allow me to introduce myself.
Hi, just to say I've watched a few of your videos and find them succinct, informative and professional. I've been driving for 44 years (including 18 months LHD in Spain) and I'm still learning as we all are. Please keep up the great work young man !
Next video
"One of my viewer's asked what its like when your car is on fire so I am going to pour petrol over the interior and go for a drive"
Twice I've been in cars that have been on fire. With the second one, I was in the backseat with a window held up with sticky tape, so didn't want to try to wind it down in case it wouldn't stay up afterwards.
@@pineapplepenumbra Did you phone the be baw or the weo weo weo?
@@MrJohnny3shoes Neither.
Once I was driving a car that I shared with a friend. Rather than change the battery, he had just wired up another battery to it. This was in an original Mini, when I was 18.
His ex girlfriend was in the car and she freaked out as black smoke started coming through the (empty) rear speaker cones. The wiring had set far to oily rags that he had left in the boot (the guy was supposed to be a mechanic, working at a Jaguar garage at the time, and should have known better).
I got out and put the fire out, but it took some persuading to get his ex back in the car. She kept on saying, "I'm gonna kill him! I'm gonna kill him!", as of course, the battery was in the boot and the fire was right near the petrol tank.
The second time, I was hitching back from somewhere after a row with my then ex (we got back together a few months later) and got a lift with a couple of blokes who, as they pulled away, I realised were drunk.
Fair enough the passenger looking over his shoulder at me as we moved off, but the driver was, too. Despite having walked a fair few miles already, I was still fuming, so didn't ask them to stop and drop me off, as any sensible person would do.
The car had no full beam, no working windscreen wipers, the front left brake worked a bit, so every time the driver braked we pulled over to the left. The back window where I was was held up with sticky tape, and there was something wrong with the heating.
They said they weren't going to drive drunk, but thought, "well, it's only a couple of miles home, we should be okaaay..."
Now I don't know if it was whatever was wrong with the heating system, or a carelessly stubbed out cigarette, but the area in front of the gear lever burst into flame.
I'm choking in the back, as I don't want to wind down the window, due to the sticky tape, but said, "pull over and I'll put the fire out for you."
"No, don't worry about it." said the driver, bashing away at the flames, and, every time he did so, having an equal and opposite reaction with the other arm, so we weaved dramatically as he tried to put the fire out. To be fair it worked, they dropped me off by the M1 and I've no idea what happened to them after that.
Tyres can lose pressure unevenly, especially if you hit a pot hole somewhat recently (difficult to detect without regular weekly checks). Pot holes can damage the rim beyond the tyre to the wheel. It may eventually cause your tyre to apparently go flat, but the tyre itself may not be damaged. A good way to save throwing away a good tyre is to have a mechanic check the rim first, or even check yourself with experience, but you will only see the damage from the inner side. It may be that which needs sorting. Minor rim damage can happen after one to several pot hole hits, causing one tyre to lose pressure quicker, but you can still continue to pump the tyre to its recommended pressure for the medium term, until it starts to go flat. Then rim damage has to be fixed professionally at a price a little under that of a good tyre. After hitting a pot hole, check the wall of your tyre periodically for bulges over the next few weeks. This could make the tyre burst mid-drive, and for the sake of safety must be replaced.
You may also get more warnings from the traction control, there may be a little "tugging" when turning.
And remember that some of these tyre pressure systems need to be reinitialised once you have adjusted the pressures, and still do weekly checks, including checking the tyres for wear (uneven), both inner and outer, for any objects stuck in them and general overall condition (splits, cracking etc).
Is everyone aware that in the winter because of the colder temperatures you will need to be adding air and as temperatures rise in the spring and summer pressure will rise even when the tyre pressure is checked when the tyre is cold, so will need adjusting.
Don’t really on the TPMS for checking your tyre pressures, use a accurate gauge and check them every week.
Some manufacturers recommend pressures to be increased when the vehicle is going to be driven at a constant high speed or for carrying different amounts of passengers and or luggage.
Think this type of video is gonna be really appreciated on your channel - lots of stuff like this is glossed over, or missed entirely when learning to drive - great work!
Just did my tyres last week, noticed the fuel consumption has improved a lot because of it.
What a coincidence as I went to fill up my tyres yesterday for the first time since i bought the car about 6months ago. They were severely low in pressure, for example rear back was at 9psi! Where it needed to be at 32. I inflated all tyres to the recommended pressure and now the car has way better handling and feels much nicer to drive. From now on I will take more care with the tyre pressure.
I find the deterioration in handling isn't always obvious because the loss of pressure is very gradual over weeks.
The tyre pressure warning on the dash usually alerts me before I've noticed any difference.
However restoring the pressure has an immediate and obvious effect - the handling feels much sharper.
@James Stewart on straight streches of road your not necessarily going to notice its corners bends and roundabouts where it will really show up.
A friends of mine told me his car had a flat - i told him mine had a 3 bedroom semi detached housr
@James Stewart ?
:)
Thanks Ashley, it certainly does help. With many of us using our cars less over the last 12 months the point about regular checks is particularly important. Whilst any change to the 'feel'' of the car should give rise to suspicion, small differences may be barel perceptible day to day so checking is the best way.
Was just about to check my pressures and oil! Thanks for the reminder to stop procrastinating haha 😅
Every day is a school day with Ashley!! Thanks for the video
I can definitely feel the difference in my car, but I see so many people driving around with under inflated tyres or even a flat tyre.
Thanks, Ashley this really helps a lot
I drive a Polo with no fancy tyres. The steering definitely feels spongier with underinflated tyres. If the brakes feel like that, it's probably air in the brake fluid. The only thing that should feel spongy is the seat. I always carry a tread depth guage, pressure guage and electric tyre pump in my car.
Carry a can of holts tyreweld puncture repair foam too £3.50 for any surprises.
@@marklittler784, only good for little punctures at reasonable speeds. Many cars now have a more professional version instead of a spare wheel now, & All the breakdown services hate them:- a cut, or going any more than a few yards on a flat, & the stuff’s useless, so the breakdown person has to remove your wheel, take it & you to the nearest tyre place, (late in the evening or weekend could be a journey and a half) or arrange emergency callout tyre fitters....
@@paulcollyer801 Yeah I have a spare wheel as well, but what if you get more than one tyre punctured, or its a stupid place to change the wheel a bad area or bad weather or a woman on her own, or your brace doesn't fit the nuts.
@@marklittler784, oh I defo get you, but it aint the best solution. As for woman on your own, the four women I have taught to drive are taught to change a tyre safely. (Late fiancée [non driving related death lol] and three daughters.)
A visual check is not necessarily enough to determine a problem. A proper gauge should be used - they only cost about £10.00 for a decent one; possibly less.
Take note that an over inflated tyre is also detrimental to grip, handling and wear.
Great content as always 👍
👍
Thanks for the helpful vid ash! Little tip for people with cars that come with runflats. my BMW come with runflats from the factory but when they needed changing i switched to normal non runflat tyres for better ride quality, less noise and better handling, because of this the manufacturers psi recommended levels were not high enough for these new non runflats i used so instead of making them 34psi i had to make them 39/40 psi. i could tell this by pressing the tyre they were really spongy/cushiony (if that makes sense) when i applied some pressure with my hand to the tyre. this is because runflats are harder/reinforced tyres so can run on lower pressure than regular tyres. so i pumped the tyres till they were solid and barely moved when i applied pressure to the sidewall. hope this helps :)
If you having to check pressures every week and there is a loss in pressure every time. Get them checked out. I drove my astra for 10,000 miles before checking the pressures and to be honest the back ones wernt bad. I set it to eco psi setting for the car (39psi). Front drivers side looked low and was under 20psi. Front passenger was 30psi and backs were at 32psi. Set at 39psi all round. It handled much sharper. And gained 8mpg on the m/way.
Not always obvious Visually to look. Once under 10psi can see. 20 psi trickier spot under pressure. . Experienced drivers can feel it. .
I find that speed bumps are a good indicator that my tyres need inflating, also I can tell by the amount of fuel the car is using, when not constantly changing gears around town or roadworks.
Low pressure is much less noticeable in your car due to the run flats, but this also applies to a lot of modern cars with 17/18 inch, and more, wheels. These tend to have very low profile tyres which have much stiffer sidewalls than regular tyres. Also, all modern cars have to have a TPMS fitted. Many don't display the tyre pressures and will just have a warning light. Many don't actually measure the pressure but instead use the ABS sensors to detect differences in rolling diameters.
Yes plenty of applicable info relevant to this test 👍👍👍👍
My Zafira has the pressures in the menu, the light will come on for any tyre below 30, and a quick run through the menu shows which one, by displaying pressures.
Lwb landrover. Had a couple of little slides on some tighter bends on the way back home from a 200 mile trip out last November Put the first one down to ice forming as it was dark and winter. Stopped within a few miles and had a quick scout round Nearside rear barely inflated , 5 pounds in it maybe? Tubed tyres , But obviously going down relatively fast. Interesting handling!
Another thing I've learn is when one or any of your tyres are consistently getting low tyre pressure even after you've put air on them, it is worth having it checked by a mechanic as not all punctures can be easily seen. That happened to me when I check one of my tyre that consistently on low pressure and can't see any punctures or damage. It was when I serviced my car and told the mechanic of the issue, he then took the wheel off and investigate further and found a small screw lodged in a hidden spot. I have it repaired and that sorted the consistent low pressure my car is getting. Checking the tyre pressure once a week is really a good advice as you can monitor your car more closely and analyse if there is an underlying issue beyond just blowing up the tyres as a quick fix.
I drove with a screw in the tire for a month, including a long trip, it lost 0,5 bar a week, looked for a puncture several times to no avail, only once I went to the tire shop I knew what happened- the head of the screw was gone so it was really hard to see from the outside, only air bubbles gave it away really.
Very easy to tell. On my low profile tyres, as soon as the pressure starts going low, the tyres will give that sensation of ''grabbing'' the tarmac when cornering at super slow speeds. On my other car with higher profiles, the car starts feeling ''boaty'' and gives off roll in the corners.
always check tyre pressure when tyres are cold. Just looking at them you can see they tyre is not its normal shape if it has lost enough air. Car may pull to one side. Vibration through the steering wheel. Do not rely on feel, do a manual check, easy way to check is to use a tyre pressure gauge.
"Cold" generally means "air in the tyre has not been heated by the effect of friction on the tyre whilst you are driving" rather than "it's a nice sunny day".
@@peterturner8766 glad you said that, i did wonder what people would have thought about checking their tyres in summer... may be they would wait until the night when it is cooler
@James Stewart yes right, just as you leave home in your best bib and tucker, go check the tyre pressure and if required pump them up. I think that is an unreasonable suggestion for the private owner, commercial perhaps
If both sides are evenly low you won't get much side pull. It's more of an indicator of uneven pressures across an axle.
In winter tyre pressure goes down, in summer heat expanding pressure goes up. Need to adjust. Some people let 2psi out on snow for more grip. Were on tyres uneven if pressure not right or if you’ve hit curb or make a practice of driving up curbs can affect pressure as well as damaging wheels.
That’s the reason for checking pressures cold. Check them warm & you’ll be under-inflating them.
If I have one that’s low (not too low), I’ll inflate at the garage (if not at home with my lil plug in pump) to the pressure of the other tyres, not to the set pressure, so that it Is correctly inflated.
I was taking my car to the tip last summer and something immediately felt "off". It pulled to the right when I briefly took my hands off the steering wheel, so I found a safe place to pull over and check. It turns out that I had a screw through the offside rear tread at an almost perfect angle, and once I'd used my compressor (from 4 to 32 PSI!), I carried on to the tip, checked it was still inflated, and drove home, which meant it was a very slow puncture. I figure I must've picked it up from getting it serviced just two days prior - there was a new stable nearby and I did give another driver a wide berth, so I could've picked it up then. The tyre had no other damage as I'd not driven a mile on it, and cost just £10 to fix. A single flat tyre makes a massive difference to handling.
All depends on where the screw is as to whether it’s a repair or replace job.
I change my tyres at about 3mm normally so a screw at 4, meh, just replace anyway.
I can tell because I check regularly...
Had slow puncture years ago, pulled to side that had puncture. Dead give away. Had 5 cars with tyre pressure monitoring. Current Kia has best so far, as it knew I still had an issue after thought I'd solved it.
On my front wheel drive Astra I definitely do notice more of a "wander" (notice I said wander and not pull, if there's a pull it's usually brakes binding) to one side when one of the drive wheels is down. The TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System) only warns when one tyre is out from the rest at 5 PSI.
The trouble is, most tyre deflation is slow, so the opportunity to feel a slight drop over time (days or weeks) is limited; you just might not notice until its really severe, even if you are a car nerd like Ashley - you just get used to it. If your car doesn't automatically tell you, then the only way to really be sure is to check the actual pressure. And even if your car does tell you, you cant rely on some systems that are based on differences in pressure (and therefore tyre circumference, and therefore rotation speed,) so may only react for a sudden deflation (seconds to hours), like the one in older BMWs (and a lot of other vehicles); only ones that report the actual pressure in each tyre have any chance of accurately informing you.
Many points to this subject.
1.
As you said, not everyone is a car nut - some people won’t be able to feel any difference, likewise can’t hear a new noise from the bearings or whatever. A bit like people who can’t see any difference between SD, HD, or even 4K (UHD).
2.
What does the garage do? Don’t just assume they do it correct. On a few occasions over the years, when I check my tyre pressure before a service and then check it again after the service (allowing overnight for temperature correction), it would seem the garage have overfilled the tyres....I knew something wasn’t quite the same because it rode over the pot holes a bit differently & the steering was a bit lighter. I also found the same thing when I bought my last car....2y old car with over inflated tyres. Btw, every example has been from VW😮 feel like a right twit letting air out of all the tyres rather than putting it in. Anyone else found this happening or do people just assume the garage gets it right on a service? Over inflated tyres can be dangerous at sustained high speed, eg motorway....as it warns in my Honda instruction manual.
3.
Many people never check tyre pressure or tyre tread & condition. Many a time I have sat in traffic behind another car which has 1 nearly bald tyre - on a few occasions I have seen the canvas. More often than not these cars will be.....mini vans/people carriers with a couple of kids in the back.
Hi Ashley, great video! Can I ask, what is your best advice for buying & insuring a car for a 17 year old?
I guess a lot of us still have older cars that do not enjoy the benefits of Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS).
I check my tyre pressures regularly but not as frequently as once a week. As others have noted, a visual inspection can detect tyres that look underinflated, but this may be harder if you have ultra low profile tyres as opposed to more ordinary tyres. Now that I have a foot pump with a pressure gauge, I use that as my master gauge and I keep the pump in the car.
When I used to ride motorcycles, I usually checked my tyre pressures before each long ride. Overtime, I got to know which wheels were good at retaining their pressures and which needed regular topping up. My experience is that incorrect tyre pressures are much more hazardous for powered two wheelers than they are for cars.
Steering becomes heavier if one or both of the front tyres is low on pressure, it can pull to one side if one tyre is low, any low tyres are more likely to be apparent when using roundabouts, a tyre can look low when a car is parked on uneven ground causing uneven weight distribution.
Don't forget that if you aren't entirely sure you can kick the tyres twice, which increases the pressure by just enough to get you by so you can do it next time. Works best if there are other people you can now at while doing it.
Big tell for me is the lack of "bounce" here on Kent's roads. Correct pressure is like driving a stiff mattress; low pressure and the car tends to bounce like the suspension is just starting to go. And similar with aggressive cornering.
My car only has pressure setting for the one wheel and tyre size.
I run an inch bigger wheel with the same side wall height but run 5psi above what the car says, so 40psi. I do lose comfort, but I dont drive a comfort car. I prefer the improved performance and driving feel.
They aren't pumped up to the point of uneven wear so that all good.
My tyres don't leak air but I still check them every month or so to make sure they are at the correct pressure. Each time I go to pump up they are at exactly 40psi, maybe 1psi under.
As long as it's only flat at the bottom it will be fine
😂
Flattery will get you nowhere. 😂😃😂😃😂😃
@@marklittler784, but philately Will get you stamps
Also, just get a little tyre pressure gauge key ring. check your pressures once a week just like you check your oil and you will be fine
I'm just stunned that the onboard computer in the BMW says to contact roadside assistance for low tyre pressure! people should not be calling AA, RAC, Green Flag etc for low tyre pressures! I'm sure this is something you go over with your pupils, but I think everyone who learns to drive should know how to put air in their tyres! (Maybe it is covered these days? - Its been 27years since I did lessons, but my instructor back then covered the basics like putting in air, changing wiper blades, checking fluid levels and topping up the washer and and oil).
Checked my tyres psi a few months ago, had to let some air out of the front driver side as i was like 7 over.
Ooh that’s a good if not funny one . Yep steering weird and feels odd over bumps etc also sounds different too .As you say you get to know what it feels like and when something changes then you should know . Had not thought of that for a clip but good for showing and more explaining . Not a lot of instructors think of these type of situations let’s say , to show or explain to their learners . 👍
I know it refers to more experienced drives who know their cars, but I completely agree. You can feel it over pot holes and speed bumps, and sometimes you can also notice the noise coming out from the suspension doesn't sound quite right. That's how I was able to tell I had a puncture.
Hi Ashley. At some point in the next few months of videos could you talk about how the number plates will be changing this year and also does that mean you will have to change your plate? I would like to know more info on the whole situation.
Thanks for the tip about having your tyre pressure 2PSI above the manufacture recommendation. My local area is full of pot holes (bloody council!).
I do it the other way I reduce the pressure to absorb pot holes.
Fairly certain not many are aware of the relationship between pressure and temperature, and the importance of checking tyre pressure when they are cold and allowing for ambient temperature changes.
@@marklittler784 hopefully not when running lower profile tyres 😶
@@_Steven_S Don't like low profile tyres I had a Mondeo the front ones needed renewing every few weeks.
I don't have built in tyre pressure warning and probably wouldn't rely on it if I did. As I have AWD (Subaru) uneven tyre pressures can be extremely expensive because it can cause the centre and rear differentials (with limited slip/viscous coupling) to work excessively and replacing them is not cheap. And once you have an unevenly worn set of tyres the only proper cure on such an AWD car is a full set of new tyres. Unsurprisingly, I check them fairly frequently using an automatic pump and double check it hasn't gone gaga from time to time with a separate gauge.
I had a flat tyre while going around a bend on the outside lane of a motorway about 25 years ago. The car get very wallowy, but luckily I managed to get it safely to the hard shoulder, right by an emergency phone, to let them know what was going on.
Nowadays the advice is to get a professional to change the tyre (a vehicle behind with reflective strips and large orange flashing lights is more obvious than just hazard lights, for a start), but I just got on with it myself (I've changed more than I can remember), however, every time a lorry went past, the car would move on the jack, which was worrying. I can see why the advice changed.
Re Run Flats, years ago I was going to a test in a student's own car, and the "Run Flat" warning light came on. I asked if the steering felt odd at all, and at 70 mph she wrenched the wheel and said, "nope, it feels fine"!
There was a problem with the warning light, the tyres were fine, and the examiner did go ahead with the test. She got 5 or 6 minors, but failed for rolling back on a hill. She passed seconds time about 4 weeks later with fewer minors.
I thought I would share this.
Had 2 new front tyres fitted by a well known company. After they were fitted the TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System) went off, (the car is a 2016 Skoda so has revolution sensors in the wheel). The company came back several times but couldn't find the problem and decided to blame the TPMS. wanted me to take it to a Skoda dealer
I got fed up so took it to a local tyre fitter for them to read the codes and check the tyres.
They discovered that the well known company (Halfords) had fitted the WRONG SIZE TYRE on the left wheel!!! So the car correct.
So I learnt its important is to check the size of the tyres is correct to the car.
🤦
My car has TPMS and more often than not it's the valves that system uses that is the cause of air loss, 2 slow 'punctures' at the moment and wouldn't be surprised if those valves are the cause again.
My Daewoo Matiz is amaingly difficault to steer when even 1 psi lower than it should be. It amazing how much it changes.
Yeah pumping up the pressure in the front tyres can make steering a lot easier AND new front tyres make steering far easier too.
Informative video Ashley, although it would've been nice to include some discussion on how to properly fill up one's the with air. I suspect many may have not had to do that before, and they may be unclear about the fact that they need to fill it to a specified pressure range outlined in the owner's manual or on the label affixed to the car's door jamb. Changing a flat would also be another good video as again, it's something I suspect many motorists may not be aware of until they're stuck at the side of the motorway.
Change a wheel - th-cam.com/video/BFU8uWdd65Y/w-d-xo.html
Ashley: You should feel a difference in steering, handling and braking. It'll be more vague and squishy.
Citroën: Hold my beer.
He should of really driven the car on the day first with normal pressure then with reduced pressure to compare the difference and try a few roundabouts.
Ashley, I've always wondered why is a tyre always flatter on the bottom?
Never buy those tyre pressure indicators that fit on your valve. They nearly always leak air and the metal ones can fuse to the value itself over time. I've had to cut quite a few off myself. Also, never use aluminium dust caps.
Then how to measure tyre pressure? At a garage?
@@artemkatelnytskyi Check them at the petrol station or buy a foot pump.
@@artemkatelnytskyi you can measure it yourself with a home pump, they mean the ones that are permanently attached.
I've learned from experience never to use metal dust caps - top advice that it's a matter of if, not when those buggers get stuck and if you're not regularly checking pressures it'll happen at the worst time.
With metal dust caps really should be putting a little grease on the threads there if you'll not be removing them for months at a time, though to be fair, in that case it could be you're not checking the pressures often enough! Can't speak to the attachment of gauges, but any time (in particular dissimilar) metals are in contact a grease or copper slip would make life easier getting them apart. It's actually similar with carbon fibre into aluminium like on a bike but that's another story eh. 👍
I wouldn't use a pump to check pressure, many of them are way off (mine is 0,5 bar off...) you can get a calibrated pressure gauge for 5$ though, and that's what I use most of the time.
A good driver can feel that the car's not handling correctly!
Me too, even though I drive trucks mainly.
It's hard as there are a lot of factors. The tracking could be off if there's uneven tire which which was mentioned in the comments. The camber of the road might cause the steering to edge to one side slightly etc etc. Only time I could tell my tire was low was the nice from it. Luckily pulled over before the tire when really hot and exploded and put the spare on 😁
I am so paranoid about tyre pressure due to the amount of punctures I had years ago that I can’t lose the mental side of checking them. I check mine every week with a gauge.
Every week is not bad, good practice really. Every 2 weeks would be enough though imo.
@@piciu256 - I agree that’s enough 👍🏻
This brings up a big discussion seen on line, and is a worry. I check my tyres (cold) every week. Checked them on a cold morning. It had been frosty overnight but the frost was an hour gone, though the car was in shade. I pumped them to the required pressure. Went on a long run (early October two years ago) and the day turned to being very hot.
On the way home it felt as if I was driving over corrugated iron (especially the road joints) as I came back along the motorway, so much so that I slowed down quite a bit. Checking the tyres on my return I found the pressures had risen by seven Psi, from 32 to 39! Steering had felt a little wayward as well.
The discussion on line highlighted many peoples concerns, mostly over the USA and Canada, as to how cold is cold when adjusting tyre pressures? There seems to be NO definitive answer, and even on line forums (plus the police, the DVLA and the AA) seemed to be none the wiser, all offering the standard advice of doing it when the tyres are cold. Some suggested using nitrogen to inflate them because it reacts less to temperature changes. But how cold should the tyres be?
First of all, it makes the steering heavy.
But also you get uneven wear, meaning more frequent replacement of the tyres.
Hence go and buy a pressure gauge, available from any motorists' shop, and check tyre pressures once a week.
Usually, by looking at the tyre wall, you can see by looking at them
You can only see the tire wall once it's way down, you only need a couple psi less for uneven wear etc. to happen.
If you get a sudden fast deflation on the nearside front it feels like you have got a strong wind blowing from the offside.
It happened to me once in the early 90's as a tyre fitter did not clean the steel rim when fitting a new tyre for me on the nearside front.
This happened when i overtook a slow car in a 70 mph limit on a long straight overtaking @ 50mph and as soon as i overtook him the tyre suddenly deflated on my nearside front and it felt just like a strong wind blowing from my offside, then i realised it was not windy and just managed to pull it in to the side of the road and when i stopped i had full right lock on the steering.
So if it had been on the offside with a fast deflation i would have to turn the steering left i would imagine.
Very lucky that day because there was a deep ditch on the left and i was right near the edge of it when i stopped and having full right lock on.
The car driver blasted his horn too when he went past me, as he did not realise the situation i had been in.
In a non power steering car i would think your steering would become heavier to turn with less tyre pressure, so you would notice, besides wayward handling.
A car with power steering i think you would still notice the steering a little heavier to turn the less tyre pressure you have, besides having wayward handling too.
A soft rear I find harder to spot than a soft front. As you say, steering with a soft front is a bit spongier but with a soft rear its more indistinct. Corollary: Always carry some sort of tyre inflation device in your car.
Cornering is where an under inflated rear will stick out, especially with a load onboard.
I only know how it feels as driving my mums truck and having to reinflate the tyre quite a lot due to a slow puncture. Pulls a lot to the right when its quite low. What intrests me is how high the tyre pressures are now for newer cars. My Fiesta (17 plate) is now at 33psi when our Navara is 35psi (58 plate)
It depends on the make, model, engine size & tyre size.
What's your view on nitrogen for road cars?
Sidenote - I always figured if nitrogen leaks less easily then air then surely after repeated fillings you should be gradually increasing the ratio of nitrogen in the tyre anyway?
Doesn't matter really, without additional leaks the air leaks out so slowly anyway. After 3 months I found 3 psi less in every tire. Still a good practice to check periodically, at least once a month I'd say, most people don't check ever unless you have a flat 🤣
I too have heard that Nitrogen leaks less. What confuses me is air is 80% nitrogen anyway..... (1st heard about it in an Air Crash Investigation...)
Hey just wondering should you set tyre pressure according to the vehicle manufacturer or to the actual tyre itself?
I check the pressure every fill up . And the oil level , it takes 5 minutes ;) not bad
@James Stewart i have a audi a4 2010 and it does tpms and it it shit on every car , a manometer will be more accurate , dont start me on the digital oil level crap . Not all new shiy is good shit , just shit for drivers that get stranded on the motorway because they rely on electronics rather than their eyes . Im sorry if that is you but its the truth .
@James Stewart, all good and well till the sensor jams:- you THINK you have oil, but what you actually have is s very expensive repair. Happened to one of our trucks.
I once drove past 3 petrol stations on an evening looking for a working air tyre machine. You can imagine the stress in my head. When I had a low tyre warning show on the dashboard⚠️
I have a cheap (£30) pump that plugs into the cigarette lighter socket. Saves that stress
With slightly lower pressure tyres a car becomes more comfortable and seems to absorb bumps in the road far better and your suspension probably doesn't suffer so much.
Don't know how tricky it would be to do a wheel balancing video. A lot of my pupils when faced with a wheel balance theory question, picture one wheel out of balance with the other, as opposed to the wheel itself.
Apologies Ashley if you've previously covered it.
You may get some shimmying at speed with a flat tyre especialy a back one, some people though just do not have a sense of what the car is doing as I have come across people with totally flat tyres that they are oblivious off.
My dad was a tyre fitter for 30 years so I've had it drummed into me to look after my tyres and check the pressures once a week, he's retired now but still goes on about it 😂
@RoseTintedWindscreen no I never tyre of it😂
That's a good one you tyre all your life only to have to retire.
@@marklittler784 yeah but the was no pressure to retire
@@neiltill7414 No let down there then.
You lot are having a good year with these puns.
I parked my car overnight and next day had a slow puncture for the first time. Been driving for 4 months. My error should have checked my tires before driving off. But I drove and felt turning left was very easy but turning right was much more difficult. First I thought it was power steering but I got out my car and saw my tyre not looking too good. Slapped on my spare wheel and got a new tyre within 30 minutes. Can you get points for underinflated tyres? Or is it just for cuts/bulges/bald tread?
I believe you can for seriously underinflated, but it’s unlikely if the only fault. Get caught the next day or 10 with the same flat tyre.... especially by the same cop, expect no mercy lol..
This is probably not the correct way of checking, but I just look at all my tyres, and maybe put my foot on the tyres and press down a bit. I don't think checking your exact PSI is necessary tbh. I think if one of your tyres were just slightly lower than what the spec says then, you would probably have worse fuel consumption and performance. As long as it doesn't drop below like 26/25 PSI, it should be okay, but read your manual, it's usually around 30PSI, which you're supposed to pump up to. Btw, you don't need to go to a petrol station everytime you need to pump up, you should have a pump where your spare wheel is
You can tell by the way of a pressure gauge or wallowy steering, you may not notice unless you know your vechicle very well.
He's on run flats though not really a car to do the test in and then there's the question of hardwall low profile tyres.
@@marklittler784 I just told my experience.
@@piciu256 Yeah that's the conclusion he should of come to too but he was on run flats 👍
I suspect manufacturers have increased tyre pressures to hit better economy figures. The real problem is stupid over-sized alloy wheels with tyres that have no sidewalls. It is the automotive equivalent of having a safety pin through your nose: i.e. it is purely fashion driven.
I'm actually having issues with my tyres. The warning light keeps coming on despite me checking the air and resetting. Just had it to a garage who have checked the valves and they seem fine. Not sure what else I should do?
How much air are they loosing over what timeframe? All of them, or some/one?
How old are the tyres? On the sidewall look for DOT and 4 numbers. First two numbers are the week and the other two are the year of manufacture.
What tread depth do they have left?
Spray/paintbrush them all over with soapy water and look for bubbles, adding 5psi more may help if it's a slow leak. Remember to roll the car forward and check the tread area that was on the ground too.
@@_Steven_S Sorry missed this, all good now, after a 3rd trip to a different garage I have found the culprit ! A very large nail!
I wonder how the braking changed. I assume it would pull to the right, since there's more grip there.
Won't pull when braking, will pull when driving straight though.
The catch is he's on run flat tyres which I don't think is really the ones to use on this test.
Can I ask how often pressure should be checked? I got my car 2020 august, and still don’t know how to check it or what to do with tyre pressure. /sorry, first car/
It should state what psi your tyres need to be on the inside of your door. Buy a car pump and a pressure guage to keep in the boot so you're always ready. You can buy pressure gauges that are extremely easy to use. Then just make sure your psi is correct for all 4 tires (the back might be different to the front)
Check your psi before a long journey or every month. Or even if you notice a tyre a little down and you're just curious.
@@rufusgreenleaf2466 thank you. I have my car for 6 months and wondered when I will have to pump air in it. I never tought it’s need to check monthly. I will do now, thanks again
@@starfury01jr It depends on what journeys you make daily. I use my car for work and food shopping mainly so unless i go over a pothole, i just keep an eye out. If they still look pumped then i'm ok. It's worth checking if you have never checked though, i didn't realise i had to actually take air out of my drivers side as i was several psi over the recommended for my vehicle.
So its worth to check now just to make sure you have them right. I wouldn't worry about checking every month unless you go over potholes or drive all day.
@@rufusgreenleaf2466 thanks I will .
Also something to note, some young drivers (Like me) end up driving older cars which don't have traction control. My mk1 yaris has no traction control
i dont understand the relevance of your post. If you have a car that has traction control and it often activates then I need to examine your driving, same with ABS.
@@radishpea6615 I stopped on a quiet hill when it was snowing. My wheels kept spinning. Luckily I went back down the hill slowly and managed to get momentum to go over it. I feel traction control would've helped me
@@nadim2769 traction control may have got you up the hill but dont think it is that clever, you underestimate yourself. lets say you were revving your engine to 2,000 revs, you got wheel spin. lets say at 1,200 revs your car would have stalled but at 1,300 revs your car would have managed to get up the hill. Traction control would have just tried to lower the revs to 1,300... something you could have done. You still have the same grip between tyre and road surface with or without traction control. Bit like pulling away from the lights fast, you get wheel spin and traction control kicks in and lowers the revs, the driver could do that.
Ahhhh, young pups with all your gizmos. We didn’t even have PAS in the trucks!
Thanks for making a happy man feel very old
😂😂
@@paulcollyer801 😂😂😂 I would struggle a lot with no power steering on my little yaris, never mind a truck! But the mk1 yaris is very basic, I don't have traction control or esp. I'm ok with that though, less things to go wrong!
Now try it with a Reliant Robin :)
Great car to develop quick reactions to changes in direction. Had one & was better than any other driver at keeping the high sided vans at our depo in a straight line in strong winds lol.
(Mine was actually pre-robin, a Regal (the car version of the Trotter’s Independent Traders van)
How many people do a weekly check on pressures and levels???
Not enough unfortunately. It's scarry what I find when being given a different van at work. The lights that died; and the tyre(s) that go bald... overnight 😐
If correct, perhaps you could explain to folk sometime, the serious need to immediately declare a driving conviction to your current insurance company (or when you apply for insurance from a new company) as I expect they could well subsequently void the policy and refuse your later claim. I suspect they could freely access your driving convictions at any time without your knowledge anyway.
This would apply to declaring current or subsequent convictions of second drivers even if they drive very infrequently but perhaps only a real problem if they have the accident, or is this also grounds to void the policy and reject your claim if you were driving.
Further I understand that even the biggest insurance firms play on not asking, or fully checking all your facts (convictions or accidents etc), when you first apply for insurance, even if they have a sixth sense, (or worse may have checked), that there is an omission. Either that year or in subsequent years, they could then avoid paying out a claim, and meantime have scooped up a year or more of your premiums - this sounds incredible and unscrupulous but is likely not provable or actionable and basically it was your own fault anyway.
the recommended tyre pressures on my car via the manufacturer are 21psi front and 24psi back but cant help but think this is crazy low?
Is it crazy light or are you getting psi mixed up with BAR?
@@PSNragglefraggle1 I don't think you could mix that up. 24 bar is about 350 psi😃
@@cyderman69
Not if he doesn't notice the decimal point too 🤷♂️
@@PSNragglefraggle1 True. I'm guessing that's probably the case.
👍👍👍
Now simulate a total tyre deflation at 70mph. just kidding. 😉
Should also check tyres for foreign objects, splits regularly also.
*hears skater’s waltz*
Every time I visit the servo I basically: (1) check tyre pressure (2) check oil
Low pressure, tyres bald on the outside.
High pressure, they bald on the inside.
Remember when you could pump a tyre it was free at the supermarket, now it’s $1. That’s inflation for you...
Don’t worry, flat tyres only happen at the bottom of the wheel.
Haha! Inflation!
Very sensible advice but i find tyre guages fiddly and inaccurate. I wish all petrol stations stations would go back to the days of 'free air', it would encourage checking your tyres.
Also my cars handbook says to rotate the tyres every 6 months (or earlier if the wear is uneven) - who can be bothered with that these days?
If you've got pressure sensors, rotating the tyres is a nightmare.
I feel like such an assburger because every time I go to inflate my tyres because they feel spongey, it’s only ever gone down by 1psi on one wheel
why is learner insurance cheaper than a first-year driving insurance after you have passed?
It's because when you are learning, you are accompanied at all times. Insurance is calculated on statistics, so statistically you are far more likely to have an accident in the first year after passing than when you were learning!
Speaking of the devil my tyre popped yesterday lol
Don’t all modern cars have low tyre pressure indicators fitted ?
"contact roadside assistance" for a low tyre? i've seen it all now........
@James Stewart If you can't tell you've got a puncture, then you probably shouldn't be driving.
I had a nail in my tyre, I knew I had a nail in my tyre literally 10 seconds after it went in, even inside a well insulated car...... A faint "tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick" increasing with speed, very much gives it away. There are very few circumstances where a warning light is likely to come on in time to save you from a blowout.
Ashley touches on this point, you should know when something is not right.
checking tyre pressures once a week, you should be checking tyres every time you are going to drive
Yeah because that is realistic for people for example doing shorter journeys to work and back.
My car tells me if they are getting low
I'd say every 2 weeks is enough, the issue is that most people don't ever check 🤣
@@piciu256 true enough, I do our car twice a month, something like that or before a particularly long or tricky trip. My mum's friend, I cleaned her car as it was here and I had the pressure washer out, I asked her when they were last checked and she goes "oh well the garage do it once a year at the MOT" 😰😳😱😅
Checking once a week is unnecessary with modern cars because of the TMS.
My car has tyre pressure monitoring.
Tut, tut Ashley, it is a legal requirement to have your tyres correctly inflated !
Quote from Police website :-
'Other legal requirements
Generally, with some exceptions for agricultural vehicles etc., it's against the law to use a tyre that:
is not suitably inflated for the use to which the vehicle or trailer is put'
Only joking, I won't tell if you don't ! LOL
Remember the good old days when motoring programmes informed people and not all about presenters egos???