Tire pressure

Do any of you know what the actual tire pressure in your tires should be? I bet most folks don't. I also bet most folks expect that their tire pressure is properly checked when their car is in for service (oil change, tire rotation, etc.). I certainly expect that my oil change place would do this for me and they do. However, I am not certain that everyone knows that tires require different pressures.

Most automobile tires that I have come in contact with require about 35 psi of air pressure for a proper ride and long life. I recently cleaned out my car and found my automotive tire pump and air pressure gauge (thanks to Joe H's father) and checked my tire pressure. My tires were low and read about 30 psi. Normally, this is not a big deal and tires tend to heat up when rotating on the road with that friction and all.

However, after reading the sidewall of my tires, I realized that my tires require 44 psi! Yeah, I was 14 pounds low. That's a big deal. For a while, I thought that I needed a front-end alignment as the car would drift to the right at lower speeds. That has all gone away with properly-inflated tires.

That said, check your manufacture's suggest tire pressure, buy a gauge and get checking! And if you expect your services to do it for you, make sure they know what it should be.