If you’ve spent any time in the auto industry, you know that checking the air pressure in a tire on a regular basis is important for maintaining the safety of the vehicle. No driver wants to be stranded on the side of the road with a flat tire. However, there are other reasons to check for proper tire pressure as well.
Maximizing Fuel Economy
Proper tire pressure has a huge impact on the fuel efficiency of your vehicles. Your fleet of trucks gets the best mileage when the air pressure in their tires is ideal. Additionally, keeping better pressure in your truck’s tires will improve their lifespan Tires that are not inflated properly can have a shorter service life. Even under-inflating them by as little as 10 percent can reduce the tire’s service life by 10 percent as well. The likelihood that a tire will fail increases dramatically as the inflation percentage drops. If tires are underinflated by 20 percent, they will experience a reduction in service life of 30 percent. Under-inflating them by 30 percent cuts their lifespan in half!
What’s Causing All of This?
Under-inflating your truck’s tires causes the main body of the tire to flex more, which starts breaking down the compounds that make up the tire. This causes the tire to fail long before it normally would.
Don’t Go the Other Way
You might be tempted to go the other direction and over-inflate your tires “just to be on the safe side;” however, that technique can be just as harmful. It leads to uneven wear on the tread (specifically, greater wear on the center of the tire), which can lead to a blowout on the road. For the proper performance, maintain the tire pressure recommended by the manufacturer.