Air for Tires

[Thunder]

Anyone know a gas station to have free air for tires? I'm in Del City and the one near me, 7-Eleven, has a missing end piece to stick into the air tube.

Before I go get free air, my tires is said to be 32 psi, but my dad said to have it 35 psi. When I first got the car and had free tires adjustment, Hibdons had the tires at 60 or 80 psi. So, if the factory recommends 32 psi, how much higher can I go to have the car sail graciously and save on the gas?

[JWil]

Every 7-Eleven in the metro has free air.

Holy crap... Hibdons had your tires at 60-80 psi??????

Don't overinflate. Keeping it 35-36 should be fine.

[Thunder]

Yeah, when I got the car at Express Credit Auto on I-240, they sent me down the street to Hibdons to have free tires check and alignment. After that, I drove it for several days before I showed the car to my aunt and uncle and he checked the tire pressure and told her, then she told me that too much air in the tires and can burst. It was 60 or 80 psi, not sure which one it was. He gave me his pressure gauge and taught me how to use it. I'm going to raise it up to 35 psi, right now it is around 32 psi. The front tires is brand new and the back tires is the same that came with the car.

[metro]

higher pressure, better gas mileage but rougher ride, lower pressure smoother ride. honestly you should just ask hibdons or refer to your owners manual for proper air pressure. It will vary upon season, especially in summer and winter. Your tires will tell you the max pressure allowed. Mine at 44psi max but hibdons recommends them at 29psi for most of the year to get a smooth ride.

[FRISKY]

You should use actual tire wear to choose the correct tire pressure. Too much pressure and the tire will wear out in the middle, too little and it wear out on the two edges. The correct air pressure will cause the tire to wear evenly across the tread.

[drumsncode]

It may sound silly to you, but I use a high-quality bicycle tire-pump for inflating my car tires. It has a lot of advantages. It's always handy and you can do it in the comfort of your garage or driveway.

The only disadvantage is that it takes a lot of arm work to add 5 pounds of pressure, but hey, you needed the exercise anyway, right?

[okiebadger]

Or, if you are a bit muscularly challenged like me, 12v air pumps that use the car electrical system are very inexpensive and can be used whenever and wherever you need them.

[MadMonk]

I keep my tires at about 36-38psi. When I worked in a tire shop I never saw a tire worn out in the middle. They are almost always worn out on the edges. Under-inflation, poor alignment, and never rotating are what kills your tires.

[jsibelius]

It may sound silly to you, but I use a high-quality bicycle tire-pump for inflating my car tires. It has a lot of advantages. It's always handy and you can do it in the comfort of your garage or driveway.

The only disadvantage is that it takes a lot of arm work to add 5 pounds of pressure, but hey, you needed the exercise anyway, right?

Back in the late 1980s, I had a bicycle pump that operated off the car's power port (back then, that would have been the cigarette lighter). Perhaps they can still be had. If so, it might not be a bad idea to keep one handy. Then, you never have to worry about having quarters, having to buy gas in order to be called a "customer," or whether someone has stolen the business end of the air tube.

[windowphobe]

As a general rule, the manufacturer of your motor vehicle recommends a specific tire pressure, and there's a sticker to that effect somewhere on it. (Mine: 33 psi front, 30 psi rear.)

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Under-inflation, poor alignment, and never rotating are what kills your tires.

That's not what kills my tires

[FRISKY]

^^^
Ha-ha! Yep, low tire pressure isn't what kills my tires either...

[zuluwarrior0760]

If you want to really extend your tire life, you should fill them with Nitrogen
instead of air.

There is one place downtown that still fills with nitrogen.

Nitrogen keeps the tire cool in the summer and it's molecules are too large
to seep through the sidewall in the cold......I noticed my truck rides slightly stiffer on nitrogen, but I've noticed much better wear pattern since using it first
about 7 years ago.......it is especially recommended on rarely used spares....
because air never seeps out......It's an inert gas, so it's completely safe........

There's a reason that every race car and every aircraft uses it.....

Go to Swanson's at 9th and Hudson to get it with your next set of tires......
I swear by that place.....

[SoonerDave]

There's a lot of hype and talk about nitrogen inflation of passenger car tires, but most people forget that normal air is about 78% nitrogen as it is.

Anyway, there is a neat automotive website that has a Q & A on the topic of nitrogen in the tires. Bottom line is that the difference, if any, is marginal at best. Read and judge for yourself The Straight Dope: Is it better to fill your tires with nitrogen instead of air?

David

[zuluwarrior0760]

you're right.....compressed air is 78% nitrogen.
It's also 20% oxygen and it is eliminating the oxygen
content that provides most of the benefits.....

I'm not debating how subtle or how dramatic the benefits
are of getting rid of the oxygen in your tires are, but
it never costs me a dime to get it with a set of tires,
nor does it cost me a dime to get them checked and topped off...
I always pay less for tires than @ Hibdon or Jackie Cooper
and I get Nitrogen to boot.....
Noone is saying that Nitrogen is a detriment over air, so why not
use it? I don't know if I believe the numbers on fuel savings,
my truck still gets crappy mileage, but even if it is 1%, that's money
in my pocket......The one difference I "can" quantify is I notice a dramatic
decrease in how "often" I have to top off with air compared to before.....
especially during the winter months.....

Nitrogen in Tires : Information about Nitrogen Tire Inflation News, Benefits, Generator Dealers, Location Finder & More

[windowphobe]

I get my N2 at A to Z (NW 10th and May).

There's definitely less pressure loss over a period of time. Actual gas mileage doesn't seem markedly different.