Tires, wheels and pressure

Pressure, tread, sidewall markings and date codes. Every pressure value comes from the vehicle placard, never from this site.

Common failure modes

• Pressure read from the sidewall instead of the placard
• Pressure checked warm
• A tire well past its date code

Procedures

• How to check if your spare tire is there, in good shape and has enough airA flat tire is discovered at the worst possible moment, and that is exactly when most drivers learn their spare has a pr
• How to check the tire sealant and inflator kit your car carries instead of a spare tireMost new cars no longer carry a spare wheel. In its place there is a small case in the trunk holding a bottle of tire se
• How do I check that my lug nuts (wheel nuts) are still tight after a tire shop, a mobile fitter, or a roadside wheel change?A tire shop, a mobile fitter, or your own roadside wheel change tightens the wheel nuts with a torque wrench, but nearly
• How to check your tire pressure and put the right amount of air in your tiresTire pressure is the cheapest safety check on a car and the one people most often get wrong, because the big number moul
• How to check tire tread depth and know when you need new tiresEvery tire sold in the United States carries its own wear gauge, moulded into the tread. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety St
• How to read the tire and loading information placard and work out how much load you have left for passengers and cargoYour vehicle's Tire and Loading Information placard carries more than a tire pressure number. Federal regulation 49 CFR
• Read the treadwear, traction and temperature grades moulded on a tire and know what they do and do not compareMost passenger car tires sold in the United States carry three federal grades moulded into the sidewall: a TREADWEAR num
• How to read a tire sidewall and find out how old your tires areEvery tire carries its own date of manufacture, its size and its limits, moulded into the sidewall. The code that gives

Where this stops

Wheel removal, hub work and anything involving a supported vehicle is deferred to a later phase.