Vortechtral Posted January 3, 2017 Report Share Posted January 3, 2017 Hey, so I have been wondering after doing some googling with winter tire pressures, and how much to actually put in a tire during the cold months. The general rule of thumb that's been flying around for who knows how long is every 10f change you add or remove 1 to 2 psi in the tire. Is this general rule of thumb pretty spot on or is there a better method to finding out? I've been looking for a good spreadsheet to give me some good temps but nothing really popped up. Hell one after like 0f all the psi stayed the same so that kind of raises a red flag or two, or is there diminishing returns with this after a certain temp and psi no longer really changes with tire pressure? If I fill up my compressor outside in the cold, and fill the tire with what should be the same temp air that's outside (or real close to it) would I be able to fill to 35, or would I still need to put more in to make sure the tire is actually properly inflated (if i'm going with the general rule of thumb)? I just don't want to be driving with what could be under inflated tires cause I wont know what my actually tire pressure will read in the cold. Any help, hints and tips regarding this would be greatly appreciated. Because there seems to be a lot of differences in information from one spreadsheet to another, and I would like to know for myself that i'm filling my tires for winter properly. Thanks, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 3, 2017 Report Share Posted January 3, 2017 It's really simple - you always use the same PSI regardless of the temperature so you don't have to do any conversions. The temperature change affects the amount of air that it takes to reach 35 psi but it doesn't change the 35 psi reading (or whatever pressure you normally use). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lildisco Posted January 3, 2017 Report Share Posted January 3, 2017 Compressed air = hot air, regardless of where you fill it up at. Just remember to check your pressures after you drive around for about 15 minutes or so, i keep the fronts around 37 & the rears around 38. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 3, 2017 Report Share Posted January 3, 2017 I'll be glad to test it but I don't find that true at all with my small pancake compressor. Even while it's running the air coming out is near room temperature. It might be true on larger compressors that run more frequently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burrcold Posted January 3, 2017 Report Share Posted January 3, 2017 I keep mine at 33-34 (cold) in the winter, so that they're around 35-36 at operating temperature. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vortechtral Posted January 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2017 my compressor is a small one as well. I just assumed because it pulls air from its surrounding area into the tank it would still be rather cold. never tested the temps of the air coming out in winter or summer. However thank you for the replies and ill keep filling my tires to 35 like I always have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cds71 Posted January 4, 2017 Report Share Posted January 4, 2017 I keep mine at 33-34 (cold) in the winter, so that they're around 35-36 at operating temperature. ditto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbwt Posted January 10, 2017 Report Share Posted January 10, 2017 I just run the tire pressure recommended on the door. Use snow tires so air pressure will not make a real difference in how they work and gain traction. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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