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Okay, you’re driving to a destination and your tires suddenly went flat, so you’re considering putting in air immediately, but the puzzle is, can you put air in tire while car is on? A lot of drivers believe that inflating a tire when its hot/warm is not proper.
Well, you can put air into a tire while the car is still on. But, if the tire is hot or warm, it is advisable to let it cool down a bit before putting air. When air is added to a hot tire, as the tire cools down, it may deflate below the expected range.
This article explains what you should know about putting air in tires and how to check tire pressure!
Understanding Tire Pressure Level (PSI)
Firstly, you have to check the tire pressure before inflating or deflating a tire. Checking the tire pressure is very important because there’s a limit to the amount o air you should add to a car. Car tires would blow if the inside pressure reaches 200psi or anywhere close to that number.
Tire pressure is determined by the amount of air inside; under hot weather or when driving on the highway conditions, the inside temperature of the tire tends to increase by about 50 degrees, which would also increase the pressure by about 5 psi.
However, as much as it is advisable to overinflate a tire, it is also not good to drive deflated tires or tires with low pressure. That said, as a driver, you should have a tire pressure gauge – you could get one for about $5 – $10 in auto stores.
With a tire pressure gauge, you can monitor your car’s tires pressure to determine the inflation/deflation level.
The standard car tire pressures usually range from 30 – 35 psi, but for trucks, the required pressure is higher. Typically, all the tires should have the same amount of pressure – except your car’s manual clearly says you need different pressure levels for the front and rear tires, respectively.
See Also: Does Firestone Fill Tires With Air For Free?
Can You Put Air In Tire While Car Is On?
Yes, you can. Unless you’re the one doing it – at home before you drive out – you would need to drive the car to where the tires would be inflated.
However, ensure not to drive above 2 miles (3.2km), else, the pressure readings would be inaccurate, which would mean that you’d end up not adding the exact amount of air/pressure needed for your car tires.
When tires are hot, the pressure readings would be inaccurate, and judging from the inaccurate reading you’re faced with, you’d definitely overinflate or underinflate the tires, which is not good.
So, if you’ve driven for a long time before noticing your car tires are running with low pressure, it is advisable to wait for some time for the tires to cool down before reading the gauge to add more air.
In essence, it doesn’t matter if the car is turned on or turned off when air is being added to the tires; what matters is the temperature of the tires – are they hot or cold? If the tires are hot, wait until they cool down, and if they’re cold, you don’t have a problem.
Summary
So, can you put air in tire while car is on? Sure, you can, but make sure the tires are not hot when taking the pressure readings. You should have your own tire pressure gauge so you can take the reading yourself.
Car tire pressure gauges have an air release channel; if your tires are overinflated, you can deflate them to the required level using the pressure gauge.