Toyota Irvine Ca Tells You About The Importance Of Tire Pressure

Most of the time we don’t think about our tire pressure unless something goes wrong or the warning lights illuminate on the dashboard. Tires are a very important part of a vehicle, they impact how a car turns, stops, and accelerates. Proper air pressure allows everything to operate just as it was designed.

At the dealership of Toyota Irvine CA we care about keeping your vehicle running properly. Not only can we help with tires, but our service specials also make addressing other essential items on your car more affordable. 

Safety 

The tires are literally what connects your car to the road, no other part of your vehicle touches the road. This makes your tires extremely important for safety. They affect braking directly, cornering, and acceleration performance. 

Low tire pressure allows the sidewalls on tires to flex more than usual. This makes your turns feel mushy, that sidewall flex generates heat in the tires which can cause a blowout when driving at highway speeds. 

When your tire pressure is low, it takes longer for your car to stop. The middle portion of the tread doesn’t touch the road like it does when tire pressure is at the correct level, reducing traction. The loss of traction means the vehicle skids further before coming to a stop in an emergency situation. In really close calls, tire inflation could be the factor that causes a collision. 

Tread Life

If your tires are overinflated, the exact opposite will happen. The entire weight of the vehicle rests on the center of the tread instead of the edges, causing the section to wear faster. This isn’t as big of an issue as underinflated tires, thanks to modern tire technology. But, chronic overinflation will cause your tires to not last as long.

People don’t want to purchase tires more often than necessary, considering they’re a fairly expensive item. Your tires will last longer if you make sure to check your tire pressure. 

Checking Pressure

Many new cars have a tire pressure monitoring system, you usually only get a warning once the tire pressure is already dangerously low. So relying on just this isn’t the greatest idea. 

You should be checking your cars tire pressure on your car about once a month. You can even get a handheld tire pressure gauge to make this easy on you. All you’ll have to do is unscrew the valve, put the gauge on the stem, and check what the tire pressure is reading. You should check the tire pressure when the car has been sitting for a few hours since the tires have been driven on heat up, increasing the pressure slightly. 

If you still have questions come to the dealership of Toyota near Irvine for all of your vehicle servicing needs.