Tire pressure examined
John thought purchasing a hybrid would save hundreds of dollars a year in gas; however, no one told him he had to inflate the tires. Image courtesy of timcare.com
You’ve probably heard before that your tire pressure can affect the gas mileage that your car gets, but you’ve probably never had an explanation for why.
In this example, lets assume your car has average tires that should be filled to 35 psi. If all of your tires are filled properly, you’ll have about six square inches of tire making contact with the road at any given time. But what happens if you let some of the air out of one tire and lower the inside air pressure down to just 30 psi? Your tire will begin to deflate much like a balloon, and instead of being round and firm it will flatten. This increases the surface area of the tire that is in contact with the ground from six to eight square inches. Increasing the surface area makes it harder for the engine to pull the tire along and make it roll, so it causes more of a strain on the car, and thus, forces you to use more gas, making your mileage worse.
So, the lesson to take away from this is to check your tire pressure often and make sure all tires are at the correct psi. You’ll be doing your engine a favor, and getting an additional three to four miles per gallon. At that rate, you’d be getting over 30 extra miles per tank, and as much as 1,800 extra miles per year. So it’s definitely worth the time and effort to keep an eye on your tire pressure.
—Seth Berger
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