hi,
i have a few questions:

1) can i just adjust the tire pressure at any local gas station?

2) is it easy to exactly mach the tire pressure to 35 psi or would it be pretty difficult to exactly match all four tires?

3) how often do you have to adjust the tire pressure to make it stay at 35 psi all the time? biweekly? monthly?

thanks

 

Any gas station that has an air pump. Assuming you have an air pressure gauge (there's probably one built into the air pump hose), it's very easy.

I check at least once a month--but that's mostly because I'm changing the air pressure every time I go to the drag strip.

--Steve

 

1 - yes

2 - There is no "exact" really. Accuracy depends on the guage you use to measure. I suppose you could spend several hundred dollars on a professional guage that could measure tire pressure to .0001 psi or something.

3 - This goes back to the "exact" question. If you really wanted 35 psi at all times, then you'd have to check it constantly, maybe 10 times a day or so...is it really that important to you?

I'm lazy and check mine when the TPMS light comes on and I hear that awful warning beep.

 

thanks a lot to both

 

1) Yes. Or you can buy a $20 cigarette-lighter powered pump at Sears or Walmart. For just adding a few psi every now and then (or when you're stuck on the side of the road) those things are great.

2) It's easy to get close enough. Any gauge will do.. the pen-type gauge you can buy at the gas station might be off by a whole psi or so, but it's not that critical for street driving. All you do is fill up the tire until it hits your target (35) or goes over by a bit, then use your tire gauge to bleed a little air back out until it's down to 35 (or whatever you're aiming for). It takes several seconds for a pump to add 1psi, and a second or two to bleed 1psi back out, so it's easy to hit your mark.

3) You can check them every fillup if you want. Once or twice a month at least, though.

Some notes. Don't rely on the gauge on the gas station air filler. Don't rely on the gauge built in to anything that puts air in your tires, for that matter. They tend to be off by a bit. Even a cheap pen gauge is preferable. Don't rely on your Tire Pressure Monitoring system in your car. Those things may not warn you about a low tire until it's drastically below the other 3.. and you could be riding around on a low tire for quite awhile.

Also note that you're aiming for COLD tire pressure. If you've been driving around for 20 minutes and pull into the gas station, your tires will be warm and the increased temperature will increase the pressure by several psi. You may want to check the pressure at home before leaving so you know if a tire needs air before you heat it up.