How to Check and Add Air to Car Tires

Article provided by wikihow the wikihow manual.

Keeping the appropriate air pressure in your tires is one way to help maintain the safety of your vehicle. Low air pressure can lead to accidents, extra wear on your tires and overuse of gasoline. Learning how to check and add air to car tires is an essential skill that every driver should master.

Steps

1. 1
   Obtain a tire gauge from an auto store or auto department of a hardware store.

   
   

   • Simple gauges work well. Digital gauges are not necessary.
   • Gauge prices range from a couple of dollars to $20.
   • Tire gauges measure pounds per square inch (standard) or kilo Pascal's (metric).
2. 2
   Determine how much air should be in your tires.
   • Look at the writing on the side of your tires or on a sticker on the inner panel of the door. The tire will have a recommended PSI or KPA number. This is the pounds per square inch or kilo Pascal's that your tires need.
   • View your vehicle owner's manual if you are uncertain about the amount of PSI or KPA for your tires.
3. 3
   Check the air in your tires when the tires are cold.
   • Allow the car to sit for .5-to-3 hours before checking air in car tires for the most accurate reading.
   • If you must drive to check the air in your tires, try to make the trip less than 1 mile (1.6 km).
4. 4
   Unscrew the cap off of the tire's valve stem.
5. 5
   Place the tire gauge onto the tire valve stem.
6. 6
   Press the tire gauge firmly down on top of the valve stem.
   • Some air may escape when you begin applying pressure. However, the air should stop leaking out once the pressure is increased and the gauge is evenly on the valve.
7. 7
   Read the gauge to gain information about the PSI or KPA in your tires.
   • Standard gauges will blow out a stick. The notch on the stick where it stopped when blown out is the reading.
   • Digital gauges will give a digital number as the reading.
8. 8
   Carry out the process with all 4 tires to maintain a balance among them.
9. 9
   Gain access to air either by getting an air hose and compressor ready or putting money into an air machine.
10. 10
    Place the air hose nozzle over the open valve stem.
11. 11
    Add pressure to the nozzle as you did with the tire gauge.
    • The nozzle is on correctly when air stops leaking from the outside of the tire and is going inside of the tire.
12. 12
    Allow a small burst of air to go inside of the tire.
13. 13
    Remove the hose when the burst is complete.
14. 14
    Use the tire gauge to see the new pressure of air in the tire.
    • Do not go over 5 PSI or KPA than is recommended for your tires.
    • If the pressure is still too low, add another small burst of air and recheck the pressure.
    • Continue the process until the PSI is met.
    • If you put too much air in the tire, press against the pin in the valve stem with the gauge and let a small amount of air release from the tire. Recheck the tire pressure.
15. 15
    Replace the valve stem cap.

    
    

Tips

• Place the cap to the valve stem in your pocket or in a location where it will not get lost.
• For the best maintenance, check your tire pressure once a month.

Things You'll Need

• Tire gauge
• Access to air hose and compressor

• Article provided by wikihow the wikihow manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Check and Add Air to Car Tires. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.