Cold temperature causes tire to deflate?

Every 10 deg F drop lowers about 1 psi.

 

That means they are 25% below the minimum... the danger zone. Add air at your soonest convenience!

Higher PSI equates to better efficiency and less tire wear anyway. Some people stick with the automaker's "best tradeoff" recommendation. Others choose close to or at the tiremaker's cold pressure maximum.

 

You should get a good gauge and check your tire pressures at least monthly. You should check them in the morning before your drive the car which warms the tires up.

One usually unmentioned reason for running higher than sticker tire pressures, such as 42/40 is that you can lose more pressure before handling and tire wear take a big hit.

Don't trust any dealer or shop to inflate you tires to the right pressure, always check them yourself with a good gauge as soon as practical.

 

I've wondered myself about this... I had my tires inflated to 42PSI just before winter struck, and when I checked them last weekend they were all back down to 35 (which might help to explain my decrease in MPGs lately). Have a lengthy (and the first for this car) road trip planned in a few weeks, so want everything in tip-top shape before I leave.

 

Here you go.



Tire Tech Information - Air Pressure, Temperature Fluctuations

 

Yes, get a simple stick gauge for beginners, and get used to it. I've got a few, got another recently when I couldn't find one, and dang if I could get it to seat properly. Found the old one again, and no problems.

Check pressure when the tires are cold, and try to add air when you've only driven a mile or two. If you have to add air to tires after extensive driving, overshoot a little, and check them again when they're cold.

 

I don't agree with the 1 month part. My Yokohama AVID ENVigor didn't lose any air the first 6 months (I manually changed the pressure after that from 48 to 51 or some simialar change up near my sidewall max of 51).

I'm sure with older tires, especially with dry rot invovled, that rule might apply but with a proper setup on good tires you might not see any air lost due to time.

 

In my case they were 185/65/15 just like all Gen II stock tires. They were higher quality than the OEM and most cheaper tirees but not larger.

 

If just one tire was lower I'd suspect the valve stem, I'd get a valve stem tool and check tightness, then I'd drip some oil on the valve and check for leaks
Yes tires lose air every minute of every day, so get a good air pressure gauge

 

It's just an old rule of thumb. I agree it doesn't seem to apply much anymore.

As for the new troll. Don't quote it. Just ignore it. It's been reported.

 

Are you setting it correctly? You have to set it at the coldest part of the day and not inside an insulated garage.

 

It is most likely a slow leak. A tire shop should be able to find it. I doubt that SoCl weather would be cold enough to cause a problem other than the standard rule of thumb 1 psi per 10 degrees F pressure drop.

Modern tires can have screw or nail in them and leak as slow as a couple PSI per week.

 

So, did you check for a leak at the valve stem?
You could take off the wheel and find something large enough to submerge it in "water" upright or better yet vertically, follow the bubbles

 

Wondering, what troll?
Reported for what?
Was a post deleted?

 

You can use a spray bottle filled with soapy water to find air leaks too.

 

It shouldn't be a factor if you aired them up correctly. If you did then you hace a leak or faulty TPMS.