Regular Tire Care Can Improve Gas Mileage and Maximize Vehicle Safety.

[xcel]

80 percent of drivers do not properly check their tire pressures …

PRNewswire – April 21, 2006



PHOENIX, Ariz. - According to a 2006 survey, more than 80 percent of drivers do not properly check their tire pressure. For that reason, the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) will be kicking off the fifth annual National Tire Safety Week this Sunday, April 23 and is encouraging Arizona drivers to be more aware of what it takes to maintain safe tires.

Governor Janet Napolitano has voiced her support by issuing a statewide proclamation that will serve as an official weeklong reminder for Arizona drivers to check their tires. The RMA joined forces with the Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety, Discount Tire, AAA-Arizona and the Arizona Department of Public Safety in Phoenix today to launch this year's effort to educate drivers on how and why it is so important to take care of their tires.

"Unfortunately not enough drivers realize the benefits that proper tire care can have," said Donald B. Shea, RMA President and CEO. "A quick check of your tires can improve your vehicle's gas mileage, maximize the lifespan of your tires and lead to a safer overall driving experience, but our research shows that not enough drivers are getting the message."

An RMA nationwide survey conducted in February, found:

• Only 19 percent of drivers properly check their tire inflation pressure. Properly checking tires means checking at least once a month before tires have been driven even a mile and inflating them to the vehicle manufacturer's recommended pressure, not the pressure listed on the tire sidewall.
  
• 28 percent of drivers wrongly believe that the best time to check their tires is when they are warm after being driven at least a few miles.
  
• Less than half of drivers know where to find the correct tire pressure - on a sticker in their vehicle that's usually found on the driver's door or in the owner's manual. 53 percent wrongly believe that the correct pressure is found on the tire sidewall.
  
• 73 percent of drivers do not check the tire pressure in their spare tire.
  
• Each month, three out of four drivers wash their car while only about one in five correctly checks their tire pressure.

RMA urges drivers to invest just five minutes each month for basic tire maintenance. If Arizona motorists are not sure about the best care for their tires they can have their tire pressure checked throughout the year free of charge at Discount Tire company locations, AAA-Approved Auto Repair facilities and many other tire retail stores.

National Tire Safety Week is an initiative of RMA's "Be Tire Smart - Play Your PART" program to promote proper tire care, which leads to a safer driving experience. This year more than 14,000 tire retailers nationwide are participating in the effort to educate motorists about the importance of tire care. PART stands for Pressure, Alignment, Rotation and Tread, four basic elements of tire care.

More information about the "Be Tire Smart -- Play Your PART" program and National Tire Safety Week can be found at http://www.betiresmart.org.

Additional tire safety information can be found at NHTSA's web site, http://www.safercar.gov and on AAA club web sites at http://www.aaa.com.

The Rubber Manufacturers Association is the national trade association for the rubber products industry. Its members include more than 100 companies that manufacture various rubber products, including tires, hoses, belts, seals, molded goods, and other finished rubber products. RMA members employ more than 120,000 workers and account for more than $21 billion in annual sales.

[philmcneal]

i'm not surprised, many people have the habit of, "i'll fix it when something happens." Their lives are too busy for something they think is so insignificant although I beg to differ.

53 percent wrongly believe that the correct pressure is found on the tire sidewall.

at least those guys will notice their car glides more farther than usual

[johnf514]

My girlfriend drove around once for weeks with completely deflated tires. I kid you not - when I finally drove her Mustang one day, I noticed immediately something was wrong. Her pressure? 16 PSI. 2 pounds over atmo. Ouch.

Just look at the darn things once in a while! Not only was she getting terrible MPG, but she was in danger of a blowout (or a shred-up, I don't know if blowouts can happen at 16 PSI) and had to replace all four tires due to sidewall damage.

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by xcel

Nice looking tire. Looks familiar! Ive seen four just like that one but I can't remember where just now. Im getting old I guess.

[xcel]

Hi Dan:

___When I find a news item worth posting to the front page, I like to find a pic that not only gives some credence to the story but adds a personal touch. I was thinking of you when I pulled that RE92 pic from one of may unlikely sources. In any case, there you go. The magical RE92 in all its glory taking a lead in a story about tire pressures

___Good Luck

___Wayne

[krousdb]

Speaking of the RE 82's, I have about 600 miles on them now and the wet/dry traction has improved dramatically. Tirerack has a blurb about giving tires an opportunity to break in. There are oils that are used to facilitate the removal of the tire from the mold that need to wear off before full performance is available. One of the reasons that I initially went with the Kumhos were the reviews on Tirerack. I am beginning to think that those who were bashing the RE 92's about poor traction had a bad experience during the initial break in period, similar to my severe oversteer on two occasions. Things like that are what you remember and you dont notice the improved performance later. Anyway, the decreased rolling resistance is incredible! I have a 1.5 mile long ICE off coast that has a hairpin curve very near the beginning. I normally come out of that curve at 35 mph. With the Kumhos the speed would gradually drop down to 25 mph by the time I get to the 25 MPH speed limit sign. Sometines with a headwind I get down to 18mph. But with the RE 92's, my speed stays at 35 mph the whole time, sometimes a little faster. The RE92's actually extend the ICE off coast by a few hundred yards.

On the way home, now it is a gradual uphill slope, the instantaneoius FE with the Kumhos is 45-50 MPG at 30 MPH. With the RE 92's it is more like 55MPG at 30 MPH. This is a 5th gear DWL at about 1200 RPM. WHo woulda thunk that yoiu could climb hills (albeit gradual ones) at 30 MPH, 55 MPG?

[xcel]

Hi Dan:

___You are bringing tears to my eyes! I had hope you would find a benefit once those RE92’s were scrubbed and it appears that you already have. They still aren’t the greatest traction tires in the world by a long shot but for a LRR tire, I cannot think of a better one. To bad they didn’t make the Insight based RE92’s in 16” for the Accord I looked at the SP31’s and that is a no go as well

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Originally Posted by johnf514

My girlfriend drove around once for weeks with completely deflated tires. I kid you not - when I finally drove her Mustang one day, I noticed immediately something was wrong. Her pressure? 16 PSI. 2 pounds over atmo. Ouch.

Just as an FYI, tire pressure gauges are actually measuring the relative difference between the tire pressure and the ambient air pressure. Thus, if you're at sea level and saw 16psi on the gauge, the absolute pressure was 30.7. If you took that same tire up to Estes Park, CO where ambient air pressure is about 11.3, your tire pressure gauge would have read 19psi or so. At any rate, yeah, running tires at half their suggested pressure is never a good thing.

Oh.. plus you separately asked if you get blowouts from extremely low pressure. I suppose it would depend on what you call a blowout. What can happen is it can lose the bead on the rim suddenly while cornering, instantly dropping the rim on the ground. See: Ford Explorer rollovers due to underinflated tires. I've personally watched two grossly underinflated tires literally die right in front of me. One was - I'm not making this up - a Ford Explorer driven by a woman. It kept throwing off tire chunks, but apparently she never noticed. It got lower and lower until it just dropped the rim to the ground and was throwing off rubber like mad in big, thick chunks. She pulled off to the shoulder like it was no big deal, fortunately. The other time was some lady in a mid 1980's Honda Civic - same exact scenario. It was just throwing off chunks of rubber until the tire finally came off the bead and dropped it to the rim, at which point the tire was again throwing off huge chunks of rubber in all directions and the driver simply pulled to the side of the road.

Straight line, it's not really a big deal. The problem is when you rip that tire off the bead in mid-corner, or by making sudden braking and/or lane changes following the rim getting dropped to the ground.