Tips on checking your car tyre pressure

Checking the pressure of your car tyres regularly and maintaining them will ensure good handling, steering and safety, as well as comfort, long tyre life and optimum fuel economy.

Air hoses with tyre pressure gauges are available for use at most service stations; however, we recommends you buy a simple pen-shaped pneumatic/mechanical gauge to ensure accurate readings.

• Check the tyre placard – usually inside one of the front door openings – or the owner's manual for the correct tyre pressures for your car. The pressure often differs for the front and the rear tyres.
• Unscrew the cap on the air valve of your tyre.
• Push your tyre pressure gauge firmly onto the tyre valve.
• Look at the pressure reading on the gauge.
• If the reading is low, attach the air hose to the tyre valve and increase the pressure to the correct level, rechecking with your own gauge if necessary.
• Screw the cap back onto the tyre air valve.

Rotate your car tyres regularly

Routinely moving your car’s wheels and tyres around the car – such as from the front to the back – helps even out the wear across all four of them, lengthening the life of the set. Different cars wear the front and back tyres at different rates, or can have different tyre sizes front and back, so there is a correct way to rotate tyres for each model. This is usually described in the owner’s manual. If you’re unsure, check with your nearest centers for car servicing, where you can also have the job done. It is much easier to rotate tyres with the car up on a hoist than with a jack in your driveway, so it makes sense to do a routine tyre rotation when you get your car serviced.