How often do you check, bring your tires up to their recommended air pressure?
When it has been "published" through media sources that there is
3,000,000,000 - 4,000,000,000 gallons of gasolinewasted each day in the U S - because some motorist are running their tires - _under inflated_.
"air up - save a lot" - you'll have to do it, george is too busy - with other things.
m h o =A0v =83e
Each day? 3,000,000,000 gallons EACH DAY???!!!!!!
Gawd, don't you just love the posters who have a webTV account..........
I do a visual check just about every time I get in the car, and check the pressure with a gauge about weekly. I always check and fill the pressure hot, not cold. The tires are195/55-R15's. I tend to overinflate them just a little. Maybe around 38 or 39 psi, hot.
ok, good deal, your tires, your money. I feel like you have a reason for the way you check 'em.
me, I read the air pressure instructions on the driver's door jam - it said check air pressure when cold,
I do it once a month, and cross switch the tires every six thousands miles, or thereabout.
flat tires are not common around here, but the other day I had a flat / low tire - boogied down to tires r us,
they removed the tire. it had THREE 8 penny nails about a half inch apart - center tread, said it couldn't be repaired.
m h o =A0v =83e
That's very odd to have three nails that close together. Could someone have stuck them under your tire before you drove off?
Also, stay off the brakes! I see so many people go flying past me rushing to the red light ahead, then clamping hard on the brakes. Every Joule of heat that comes off the brakes originated in your gas tank. I guess I make some people mad 'cause I coast up to a red light instead of rushing up to it and stopping to do whatever they need to do at a stop.
In addition to the heat from the brakes representing wasted energy, it takes a lot less energy to coast through a light at 30 mph and reaccelerate than it does to reaccelerate from a dead stop!
Somebody hates you (outside of Usenet).
Setting aside the question of who might want to stick nails into whose tires... The revolution in how houses and small buildings are put together has a remarkable effect on tires. (So, perhaps, has some devolution in how contractors clean up after themselves at the end of the day.) Various kinds of screw-shooter fasteners are strewn all around -- shipping crates and so forth also make a contribution, I'll bet.
Make a point of walking and "studying the ground," or more specifically the gutter, on busy streets -- especially ones that don't get swept very often -- and you'll be amazed. Let's not even get into the loading areas by those home-improvement superstores...
Several times, believe it or not, I've picked up the better part of a boxful of such fasteners as my good deed for the day (with the selfish side benefit that I seldom have to actually buy the things unless I'm gearing up for a specific big project).
Good thing that tires are much better than they useta be...
Back to the original subject: Every few years some organization or other conducts a study and discovers that [Big Scary Percentage] of people are driving around with at least one tire mis-inflated by [Another Big Scary Percentage]. Direct gasoline waste is widely cited as about 1% worse gas mileage for every gallon for every 2 psi of underinflation, on typical passenger cars and tires. Misinflation also wastes petroleum by causing premature tire wear (and thus additional oil consumption to make more replacement tires). And then there's safety...
To tie the two topics in this thread together: A tire might be misinflated because of its small natural inevitable rate of air loss... or because there's something wrong with it, like a nail stuck in there or something. Occasional checking of the air pressure can give you an early clue, always better than a late clue from the standpoints of both safety and cost savings, that your tire's got something wrong with it...
--Joe
Current US population: 295,734,134 US gasoline use per capita (average): 464 gallons per year
295,734,134 x 464 = 137,220,638,176 gallons per year total US consumption.Now, the allegation of 3,000,000,000 gallons wasted per day on underinflation:
3,000,000,000 x 365 = 1,095,000,000,000 wasted gallons per year.According to our Webbie, the US is wasting EIGHT TIMES the total fuel it actually uses. Amazing! Where ARE you getting all that fuel?!
Oh, I suppose I should cite my sources:
| Somebody hates you (outside of Usenet).
mysterious posters like him are Mr.know all, loathed by many I'm sure
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