Proper Pressure

Proper pressure in tyres in NZ is a very rare thing. Take it from us. In our experience as tyre experts, most of the tyres in this country are either under-inflated or over-inflated. That’s dangerous and costly and we want to help you avoid that.

In many ways, having the correct air pressure in your tyres is just as important as giving your engine a regular service. With just the right amount of air pressure in your tyres, they will last longer, reduce fuel consumption by a pleasantly surprising degree, enhance handling and prevent accidents. On the other hand, when you don’t maintain correct air pressure you get poor petrol mileage, a limited tyre life, poor handling (perhaps even a loss of control), and potential vehicle overloading.

Slowly but surely, our tyres lose pressure every single day. This happens through the process of permeation where a tyre just loses air naturally. As a rule of thumb, you can expect a tyre to lose up to two kilopascals of air per month in cool weather – and this is accelerated in warmer weather over summer. Tyres are also subjected to flexing and impacts that will diminish air pressure. That’s why you should refill your tyre more often than you probably do. Think of it as refilling your tyre just like you do with your petrol tank; with this in mind, it’s a smart move to refill your tyres every other time you fill up at the service station. That will keep the pressure at just the right level.

Another good time to monitor your air pressure is when the tyres are rotated – and that should be done regularly as well. Most vehicles have different tyre pressures on the front and rear axle, so it’s important to have this adjustment made. And don’t forget to have the pressure in your spare checked. Permeation happens all the time, even to spares in the boot. Meanwhile, the space-saver type spare requires a higher air pressure level than other tyres and is basically rendered useless (due to overloading) at lower air pressure levels.

We’ll happily set you right when it comes to getting it right on the tyre pressure front. It’s something you might pay attention to occasionally – but not often enough. Let’s change that. By maintaining the correct pressure all the time, you’ll benefit in so many ways so contact us and let’s discuss proper pressure.