A tire is the only support between you and the earth to save you from an accident. Many common incidents like poor mileage, tire blow-out or even uneven tire wear may occur due to incorrect pressure. So, it’s the best practice to check the tire pressure before every ride or each time filling the tire with gas.
Tire pressure is actually an important consideration for any riding. You don’t know what is missing unless you correctly inflate the tire. Even, if you want to ride on a single-track like mountain trails, a casual stroll or road biking, paying deep attention to the tire pressure is inevitable.
Moreover, it's no matter you are a frequent or regular rider, and you should preferably check the tire pressure before every riding. Here is how to check the tire pressure without a gauge. So, go through the article to know the details.
How to check Tire Pressure without a Gauge
Though using a gauge is the best practice to inflate air into the tire, sometimes you may not have a gauge. Hence, you can check the tire pressure manually without the help of the pressure gauge. Here are some DIY ideas.
Hand Pressure
By this method, you can check the pressure by hand to push the tire. If you feel that the tire is soft enough, you may inflate much more gas. On the contrary, if it feels like a rock, it shows the highest pressure.
Weight on the Wheels
You can put maximum pressure on the wheels. Hence, the tire will deform by at least 10% that indicates low pressure. So, you have to inflate more gas into the tire until the deform rate gets 0%.
Eyeball Method
It is the easiest method but you have to be experienced and expert to apply the eyeball method. You can check the tire pressure by watching from a little distance. At first, keep the vehicle on a flat surface and keep observing from some distances. If you see the tire is protruding out one or two millimeters at each side, you should inflate more. Also, you should stop or exit the gas if it feels too hard like a rock. Sometimes, excess gas results in accidents for weighting much on the wheels.
How to check tire pressure with a gauge
- Before going into the deep of any aspect of the vehicles like car, read the manufacturer's manual carefully. You can also check the driver's side door for the standard pressure of the tire. Always check the lowest as well as the highest inflation of the tire recommended by the manufacturer.
- The recommended PSI (pounds per square inch) for usual vehicles such as cars, minivans, sedans, and mini pickups is 27 to 32. Sometimes it can reach up to 40 for some specially designed vehicles. On the contrary, the PSI of the large vehicles such as trucks and SUVs is around 45. So, the more burden the vehicles can carry, the more inflation the vehicles need.
- So, at first stem the cap from the valve of the tire. The valve stem is generally black and about 1-inch long. Then press the air pressure gauge into the valve stem evenly to inflate the gas. Record the reading of the gas valve.
- You may find a hissing sound that indicates the pressure gauge isn’t attached to the valve tightly. So, it won’t provide you an actual reading. Reopen the pressure gauge and press it again into the valve. Hence, you’ll get the real reading of the gas.
- However, if you use a digital model gauge, it'll give you the reading automatically. On the contrary, if you use a traditional model gauge, you should have deep attention on the recommended reading.
- Furthermore, if the cap doesn’t hold the gauge precisely to inflate the air, reopen the cap and weep it with a clean cotton cloth. Always keep it from dirt and moisture away to hold the gauge well.
Final Remarks
Though it is possible to check the tire pressure without a gauge, it is somehow risky to apply the methods. Also, it doesn't always provide an accurate result which may be misleading for the new drivers. So, always keep a gauge to measure the tire pressure. Unless it is possible, check the tire pressure from any mechanical workshops before inflating gas.
However, you can add some extra pressure to the tire if you carry some heavy loads on the wheels. But, don’t exceed the highest PSI recommended by the manufacturer. It’ll result in burst out the tires frequently.
Happy Driving.