How to Keep the Right Amount of Air in Your Tires 

Adding air to your tires is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to practice proper maintenance. It may not seem like a big deal, but keeping your tires prpoperly inflated is an integral part of having a healthy vehicle. If the air pressure is not correct on your tires, you’ll wear through them more quickly, and unevenly, which means you’ll need to spend a larger amount of money at the tire shop on tire replacements and rotations. Having the improper amount of air in your tires also puts unnecessary stress on other parts of your vehicle, such as the suspension, brakes, and steering. This can cause further costs in repairs, or simply lower the resale value of your car. Finally, a vehicle with the wrong amount of air in the tires is more likely to have a tire blow, which is not only costly and highly inconvenient, but can cause further damage as well.

Keeping the proper amount of air in your tires is a very simple process, with only three steps:

Check the Air Pressure in Your Tires 

The first part of checking the air pressure is to determine what the proper air pressure for your tires is. You can find the desired air pressure level (measured in PSI) on the sticker that is placed inside the driver’s door frame. If for some reason this sticker is gone, you can find the information in your owner’s manual, or sometimes printed on the side of your tire. 
Once you know the proper PSI, unscrew the cap on the tire valve, but make sure to keep track of the cap! The caps are little and can roll away or get lost very easily.
Insert the tire gauge onto the tire valve. At first, you’ll hear some air escaping; once you find a snug fit, the noise will stop, and a bar will pop out of tire gauge, giving you a reading. Note the tire pressure, to see where it is relative to where it should be. 

Add Air to Your Tires 

Once you’ve determined the current air pressure and the desired air pressure, it’s time to add air to your tires (assuming you have a lower PSI than is desired). To do so, simply pull the lever on the air gun. You’ll hear air being forced into the tire. Release the lever, and the bar will pop up once more, showing you the current air pressure. Continue to fill air until you reach the desired PSI.

Release Some Air 

Contrary to what you may think, it’s very bad to have too much air pressure in your tires, as your suspension takes a lot of impact, and the chances of a blown tire dramatically increase. If you overshoot the amount of air you put in the tires, you’ll need to back off and remove some air. To do so, simply shift the position of the air gauge over the tire valve, until you hear air escaping. Return the gauge to the normal position to get a reading after you’ve released some air.

Repeat these three steps on all four tires, and you’ll be sure to keep the air pressure in your tires at the optimal level. Just be sure to check the air pressure about once a month, and your tires and wallet will thank you!