how often do you add air to your tires?

[tonycarguy]

The tires on one of my cars has not needed air for 1500 miles (9 months). My other car, after just one month and 500 miles, needs 2 psi on three tires and 4 psi on the other tire.

What are the odds all 4 tires/wheels are leaking? 2-4psi seems abnormal

 

[HTSS_TR]

It's normal to leak 1-2 psi per month, that why it is recommended to check tire pressure every month.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Usually have to add air when it gets cold and remove when it starts to warm up.

Other than that, just check the air once a month.

Bill

 

[crinkles]

i check it once a week and usually it may be 1 or 2 kPa (less than 0.3 psi) low or down from where i pumped it to (e.g. 220 kPa)

 

[SteveSRT8]

some do some don't.

I have a few (too many) vehicles and I check TP at least once a week in all of them.

I have several tires that never seem to change at all except with severe temp fluctuations.

 

[stranger706]

The Generals on my Mazda need air every month. The Bridgestones on the Explorer never need air.

 

[Hermann]

The Firestone Destination LE's on my truck are very stable, although I check them every week. I hate surprises. The same tires on the GF's SUV are quite stable also. The tire on my motorcycle seem to be down a 1 or 2 PSI between each ride and very temp sensitive, probably due to small air volume compared to car and truck tire.

 

[Craig in Canada]

I've been told that alloy wheels tend to lose air faster than steel wheels (assuming neither have corrosion issues where the bead lies).

The tires themselves can make a difference - how well do they match with the bead seal area of your individual wheels. If the tires have been mount and unmounted several times (ie. you switch to snow tires but don't have a second set of wheels) it could distort the bead seal area.

The mounting can make a difference - was a mounting compound used, or just soapy water, or nothing? The last time tires were changed did the tire shop clean up the mating area of the wheel (wipe down old mounting compound or sand down any corrosion) or did they just take short cuts and mount the new tires because "the customer will never know the difference"?

The valves or valve stems can make a difference - either defects or differences in initial quality of the items.

I have two sets of alloys, one with summers and one with snows. I have to vary with the seasonal temperature changes but I probably only need to top up either set one or maybe two psi in a season that isn't accounted for by temperature variance. Of course sometimes I check my pressures weekly but I'm a bit of a car hobbyist anyways.

Spray some soapy water around the beads, the valve stem, and into the valve body itself and see if there is any visible bubbling. I had a valve get sticky on my snows once and unexpectedly found myself at 13 psi during a drive. Soapy water condemned the valve.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

I check the wife's CR-V about once a month or so. The Civic gets a check every couple weeks due to my heavy travel schedule.
I'd say both cars lose about 1-3 psi every month.

 

[PeteTheFarmer]

My tires are pretty stable as long as the temperature is. I was about 1 psi low when i tested a couple of weeks ago, but other than that I don't think I've had to put any more air in this year.

 

[labman]

More often this time of the year. Less often in the spring.

 

[crinkles]

i check them once a week not just for the air pressure loss but more importantly to catch any slow leaks that may becomea problem in the next week. I have picked up a real slow leak that lost me a quarter of the tyre pressure in 2 days, by doing the weekly check. it was a little wire strand from a road crew broom only maybe 0.1mm in diameter that magically caused a minor leak. i had a long trip scheduled that week so really glad i caught it!

a weekly check is absolutely essential.

 

[Audi Junkie]

I think a normal loss rate is 1psi a month or even less.

 

[daves87rs]

Usually around once a month.

 

[Nayov]

Whenever the TPMS tells me to. So far, it's gone off twice in 4 years.

 

[Hermann]

Originally Posted By: Nayov
Whenever the TPMS tells me to. So far, it's gone off twice in 4 years.


How low were the tires when the TPMS light went off?

 

[sciphi]

About once every 2-3 weeks. The tires are fairly stable.

 

[Nayov]

Originally Posted By: Hermann
Originally Posted By: Nayov
Whenever the TPMS tells me to. So far, it's gone off twice in 4 years.


How low were the tires when the TPMS light went off?

28 PSI. Supposed to run at 35 PSI. 2005 Frontier.

 

[Rand]

I usually look at the tires daily(getting in and out of car etc)
and check 1-2x a month with gauge.


Now the GF's car that gets about 2 nails a month.

I check weekly(inspect visually whenever i see car)

The older the car the more I check.. I had a 15 year old caddilac that lost about 5lb a month from 3 tires and 1# from forth tire. My 85 year old grandma has a 93 lumina and of course she cant check her tires at that age.

Her old dry rotted 10 year old michelins would lose 1-10# each every week depending on tire.
I would just go over weekly expecting to add air.

I finally convinced her to get new tires even though her old ones werent "worn out",

those lose 1-3lb a month

not bad for a 93 lumina with deathcool gasket leaks.64000 orginal miles.
Still runs good, I just cringe whenever I drive it to get her gas or whatever

 

[heavyhitter]

I check my car and truck every other month.

I check my motorcycles every month or sooner before long rides.