Tire pressure plays a critical role in every vehicle’s performance, fuel economy, handling, and much more. Besides improving your vehicle’s overall performance, the right PSI can significantly increase your tire’s life. However, tires tend to leak air no matter how excellent their quality is. Some of them leak it slowly, while others lose air within seconds.

Understanding the main reasons behind tire pressure lose can be an excellent way to identify and steer clear from them. Doing so can increase your tire’s life while keeping you safe. So without further ado, let us discuss some common reasons behind PSI drops.

Changes in the Temperature

Temperature is arguably the most common reason behind pressure loss. Sure, your tire may not have any leaks, but excessive temperature changes can impact tire pressure – expanding during hotter months while contracting during colder months.

Tires can easily lose around two percent of air pressure if the temperature drops anywhere around 5 degrees. That said, the opposite is true as well, and temperature increases can increase tire pressure, taking it to two percent or more.

Punctures

It goes without saying that punctures are the biggest cause behind pressure loss in tires. It’s also worth keeping in mind that a tire can get different kinds of punctures, causing a PSI drop or a complete blowout.

Sharp objects like glasses, pins, nails etc are often the main cause behind slow leaking punctures. While these punctures may generally be on the smaller side, their impact could be huge and drastically drop your tire’s PSI.

Damaged Valve

For those who don’t know, the tire valve helps retain air, making it easier for you to refill your tire using an air pump. Make sure that your valve is completely airtight when you close it, as a lose one could leak air. As you would expect, damaged or faulty tire valves allow air to escape slowly, reducing PSI whether your vehicle is moving or still.

However, make sure that you do not tighten the valve stem tube too much, as that too could result in air loss. So, if you do plan to change the valve stem core down the line, make sure no to tighten it excessively.

What You Can Do About Maintaining Tire Pressure

– Steer clear from roadside hazards such as glass shards, potholes etc, as even the tiniest piece can result in air loss.

– Check the tire valve’s tightness regularly to make sure there are no air leaks

– Inspect your tire for damage, small punctures or any other issue (no matter how minor it is) every time you go for a drive

– Pump you tires with air on a regular basis to counter the natural PSI loss, which often happens because of temperature changes and osmosis.

 

In addition to the maintenance steps mentioned earlier, using an automatic tire pressure monitoring system could also help you steer clear from trouble. Why? Because this device provides highly accurate results. Consider using a tire pressure monitoring system once a week or twice a month to check whether your tire has the right PSI.