Save Money on Fuel by Checking Your Tyre Pressures!

Did you know that having under-inflated tyres affects the handling and grip of your vehicle which can cause it to behave in an irregular or unpredictable way? Furthermore it means that you have a much higher chance of suffering a dangerous blowout, especially on long distance high speed journeys. The tread on your tyres will also wear unevenly if it is over or under inflated and you will need to have them replaced more often.

 By keeping your tyres at the correct pressure your running costs will be reduced as you will save money on fuel. Under inflated tyres require more force to make them turn, and therefore… more fuel.

So… Where do you find the correct tyre pressure for your vehicle? Well there are a number of places to check this. Your vehicle user manual is usually a good place to start as this should also provide information on how much extra pressure you need if you are carrying a heavy load/trailer or if you are going to be travelling at a high speed for a long time.

 Other places it may be are on a label on the front door posts of your car, or on the back of the fuel cap cover. You can also check online at www.tyresafe.org/tyre-safety/tyre-pressure-check.

Now that you know the right pressure for your tyres you need to check that they are correct. To do this you will need some form of tyre pressure gauge like a foot pump or a digital pressure reader (all available at your local car parts store). Remove the dust cover on your valve and attach the gauge.

If your tyres are over inflated…

·         Let some air out by pressing the core of the valve in using a match (or something similar).

·         Deflate the tyre in short bursts and check regularly to ensure you don’t let too much out.

If your tyres are under inflated…

·         Ideally you should inflate your tyres when they are cold as a warm tyre can increase in pressure by 2psi (pounds per square inch).

·         Use a foot pump, plug in a 12v inflator, or use your local fuel stations tyre pressure inflator (these should have charts with all vehicle tyre pressures on them).

Make sure you check all of your tyres, including the spare! Once your tyres are inflated to the correct pressure, put the dust cap back on and you should be ready to go!

At all of our Merityre branches we offer Nitrogen Inflation. By filling your tyres with Nitrogen, they will maintain their correct pressure for longer as Nitrogen doesn’t leak through the tyre’s structure. Normal compressed air consists of mostly oxygen and water vapour, both of which permeate through the tyre casing. By filling your tyres with Nitrogen you will get:

·         Better road holding

·         Longer tread life – up to 25% increase

·         Reduced fuel consumption – Up to 5% reduction

·         No corrosion to the inside of the wheel.

 

You should check your tyre pressures at least once a month, before you go on long journeys, or whenever your vehicle is carrying heavy loads. If you are unsure of anything or would like help, bring your vehicle to your local Merityre branch http://www.merityre.co.uk/find_a_centre.htm and we’ll be happy to do it for you, completely free of charge. 

Inflation Rate: Car Tyre Inflators Under Scrutiny

Appearances can sometimes be deceptive. Like the first part of this title, for example. In this instance, the article isn’t about money, or the consumer price index. It can, however, be about saving you money. Buying a car tyre inflator can be a costly business. On the other hand, since a good one makes inflating your car tyres easier and quicker, it will tend to make you carry out this simple chore more regularly. This in turn means your tyres will remain at the correct pressure; you’ll save money by not burning extra fuel to push under inflated tyres along, your tyres will last longer and will be less likely to fail or suffer damage from overheating.

What are car tyre inflators about? They’re a simple electric pump for blowing up your tyres. Yet, a quick look through the available inflators reveals a lot. Some inflators are powered by your car’s battery, usually via the cigar lighter socket. Some inflators are rechargeable. Some are claimed to be quiet. Some are billed as being rapid inflators - one example inflating a tyre from totally flat to full pressure in four minutes. Others aren’t so rapid - one on test took 15 minutes to do its work.

The car tyre inflator’s abilities don’t stop there. Many have a number of LED lights, so you can utilise their inflating facility at night, which could be useful in an emergency. Most are digital, in that they have a digital readout for the pressure of the tyre to which they’re connected. This readout can usually be set to give a figure in the desired scale, that is pounds per square inch, Bar or kPa (Kilopascals).

Another benefit of a good car tyre inflator is that it can do some of the work for you. True, you have to connect it to the electricity supply (or make sure it’s fully charged). You also have to connect it to the tyre you want to inflate and you ought to oversee what it’s up to. However, the majority of good car tyre inflators feature an auto shut off facility. When the tyre is at the right pressure, the inflator stops inflating - it’s that simple.

All this begs a rather obvious question. Which one do you buy? Well, this is not a buyer’s guide. However, we all know that the Internet is laden with user reviews as well as advertisements. You can spend a happy hour doing your research, on which car tyre inflator has the best reviews.

There are some aspects of car tyre inflators that you may want to consider before buying. A quick look through some of the web tests of these devices reveals much. One point relates to a very old, well-worn adage: you get what you pay for. This is scarcely surprising and you won’t get a lot for very little money. You will have the choice between quiet inflators, fast ones, rugged ones and so forth. However, one overarching drawback seems to apply to even some of the more expensive car tyre inflators. More than one test website offers the advice to add a top-quality tyre pressure gauge to your shopping list. Quite a number of the tests discovered that the on-board digital pressure gauges were not necessarily accurate. Comparison will out, of course, during your research. On the other hand, you shouldn’t really need to buy an additional pressure gauge. As a responsible motorist, mindful of your own safety, that of others and the way in which incorrect pressure shorten tyre life, you already have a quality pressure gauge. Don’t you.

Merityre are a leading UK independent supplier of car tyres. Why not visit their website at www.merityre.co.uk and see where you can buy your next set of tyres.