Attention Nerds: Correct Tire Pressure Saves Gas

Since lots of folks will be hopping in their auto-cars this week to visit distant relatives, I figured it would be a good time to mention one of the fuel-saving ideas that I employ with my piece of junk Ford Focus Ultralemon 2001. This is a completely unsexy tip, but it's important to make sure that your tires have the correct pressure, especially before embarking on a long trip.

It takes a true nerd to go around testing the pressure in your tires with a shiny silver gauge, but that's what I do, and you should too. It's not good enough to eyeball the tires for signs of flatitude and the gauges at gas station air pumps are dodgy. We want precision! According to the Department of Energy, you lose about half a percent of your fuel efficiency for every 1 psi drop in pressure of all four tires. Also, incorrect inflation will cause premature wear on your tires that will eventually force you to replace them sooner than normal. Not to mention the fact that low tires cause your engine to work harder and wear faster. Are you convinced yet?

Here's how to fill your tires to the correct air pressure, AKA, if you can dodge a wrench, you can fill your tires:

1. Drive your car to a place with a functioning air pump. Wawa has free ones in many locations. Otherwise, this exercise will cost you a few quarters. The closer the station is to your house, the better. You want to measure the tires cold, so that heat won't increase the pressure and skew your readings.

2. As you climb out of the car, take a gander at the inside of the driver's-side door. You should see a placard that lists the car's recommended tire pressure. This placard is sometimes inside the glove compartment door. A lot of people mistakenly use the pressure listed on the tire itself, but that's the MAXIMUM pressure and not what you want. Knowledge is power.

3. Walk around your car and take off the valve caps, remembering to put them in your pocket so you don't lose them as I almost always do. You want to take the valve caps off before you start the air pump, so you don't have to mess around with them while you're on the pump's clock. It sucks to have to stick more quarters in the machine to get it going again.

4. Whip out your trusty tire gauge and test each tire. If the pressure in a tire is a little too high, use the tip of the gauge to bleed of a little air and then retest. If the pressure is below what the placard (I love that word) recommended, fire up the pump and add air to the low tires. The pump's built-in gauge will give you a good idea of where you're at. When you're done adding air, retest the tires and bleed off any extra.

5. Reach in your pocket and put the valve caps back on.

6. Wink at the cutie walking into the station's Quickie Mart. Awww yeah. (optional)

One final tip here. If you get your oil changed at Jiffy Lube or some such place, they usually set the tire pressure at 32 by default, regardless of what's actually recommended. If you checked inside the door and your car needs a different pressure, be sure to let the attendants know. Oh, and if they try to change your air filter for you, say no. Buy one yourself and install it. It's super easy and much cheaper.

Happy Holidays everyone. Please drink responsibly, a lot. Responsibly.

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