59
votes
Why don't people hand pump their tires?
There is no theoretical reason why you couldn't use a bicycle pump to fill car tyres. Indeed I used a double barrel foot pump to pump the tyres on my wifes' bicycle last night that I usually use for ...
- 23.4k
45
votes
Accepted
Why don't people hand pump their tires?
People do that. Sometimes, at least.
I have a high quality (high volume) bike pump at home, and occasionally I use it to check the pressure on the car, or to top off if it's obviously missing ...
- 820
16
votes
Why don't people hand pump their tires?
Huh? I totally do this. I’ve had tires with slow leaks, around 10 psi each month. You’d be surprised how effective a bicycle pump is.
50 pumps is equal to around 5 psi for the tires on my Mazda 3.
...
- 6,569
14
votes
Accepted
When buying a new tire at car shop, they pumped the new tire and it popped loudly, is that normal?
This is absolutely normal. What's going on is they are seating the beads of the tire against the rims. In order to get them to do this, they have to over pressurize the tires a bit, which then allows ...
- 160k
9
votes
Accepted
What is considered to be low tire pressure?
As far as what is considered low, IIRC, TPMS will indicate low pressure when they are ~5 psi under. Most will also state when they are too far over as well. 31-32 psi is a bit lower than the ...
- 160k
8
votes
Should I over- or under-inflate my tires when towing?
The conflicting advice is confusing to sort out, because the logic seems to have got the cause-and-effect connections wrong. So let's start again...
The tires are the only part of the vehicle that is ...
- 2,974
8
votes
Accepted
two different psi's for tires for my vehicle
The tire rating is the maximum the tire can support in any vehicle, and usually isn't used.
Your vehicle doesn't need that maximal pressure. Therefore, fill it to the specs of the vehicle, not to the ...
- 15k
6
votes
Can this be patched?
Expect to be told that damage that severe is not able to be safely repaired. It's not able to be unsafely repaired either. It's time for a replacement tire.
Sidewall damage, unless cosmetic, is ...
- 4,915
6
votes
Accepted
What would be so wrong with using ATV preventative tire sealant in a street car?
For the product to provide long-term preventive sealing, it needs to remain in a fluid state. Driving a car on the highway with a tire full of liquid is dangerous.
Fix-a-flat style repairs are ...
- 1,612
6
votes
Accepted
How can I be sure if my tyres are cold for adjusting their pressure?
Driving such a short distance is unlikely to have a significant effect on tyre temperature/pressure. So driving straight there from "cold" and setting to the manufacturer's recommended ...
- 10.3k
6
votes
How can I be sure if my tyres are cold for adjusting their pressure?
Remember when Mom used to feel your forehead to see if you had a fever? It's as simple as that.
Feel the sidewall of your tire. If it's cold -- which in mechanic-speak means it's the same temperature ...
- 7,478
5
votes
Why don't people hand pump their tires?
Yes you can, but as several answers here point out, the difference in volume between a bike and car tire make it less practical.
If you have changed a tire on a bike you know it has an inner tube ...
- 1,473
5
votes
Should I be pumping air to a higher pressure when the weather is hot?
Vehicle manufacturers quote recommended pressures with the tire cold (meaning: not immediately after driving) and at "typical" atmospheric conditions. Essentially, they're quoting the pressure at room ...
- 1,144
5
votes
Accepted
2014 Honda Accord: Low Tire Pressure light still on & oil life still showing 40% after recent tire repair & oil change
Oil life indicators try to predict the degradation of the oil using a combination of engine run time, driving distance, number of cold engine starts and similar data. It does not actually check the ...
- 109
5
votes
Accepted
Do I buy the "regular" or TPMS tire-valve-stem caps for my 2004 Acura MDX?
To my knowledge, a valve stem cap is a valve stem cap ... whether it says TPMS or not on it, shouldn't make a difference. If the TPMS is built into the valve stem (like quite a few are), everything is ...
- 160k
4
votes
Accepted
How to know the tire pressure of my car?
Usually in the driver's side door jam there's a sticker which looks something like this:
It gives you what the tire pressure should be and load ratings for your vehicle (usually). If it isn't in the ...
- 160k
4
votes
Why don't rubber tires burn due to friction heat when the vehicle is moving
Basically two reasons : the material is designed to support the temperatures in normal use (excessive temperatures can be caused by low pressure and subsequent failure) and the tyre also radiates heat ...
- 34.7k
4
votes
Accepted
Motorcycle Tire Pressure for Rain
This advice/information comparing car and bicycle tires and their tendency to hydroplane by Sheldon Brown maybe helpful.
My takeaway from reading this is:
If you have a "car like" tire with a wide ...
- 14.5k
4
votes
Uneven readings for tire pressure
Well, there's a few things going on here:
your tire pressure monitoring system is saying the pressures are OK (first line at the top)
the units for these numbers are kiloPascals (kPa, right next to ...
- 12.2k
4
votes
Can this be patched?
If a shop says we can fix it - leave - that damage has affected the plies used in the construction of the sidewall and it will fail even if they can get it to hold air.
I had a sharp stone do this to ...
- 34.7k
4
votes
Should I over- or under-inflate my tires when towing?
I think the terms you're using - over-inflate and under-inflate - aren't the best descriptors.
There's a maximum tire pressure, around 50 psi for many tires. Inflating past that PSI would be over-...
- 300
4
votes
Why don't people hand pump their tires?
Your bicycle air pump is designed to provide high pressure air, relatively speaking to a low volume container, the bicycle tire. If you have a high performance tire, it will be even higher pressure ...
- 4,915
3
votes
Should I over- or under-inflate my tires when towing?
I had this same question, and while I mostly agree with alephzero's answer, I wanted to provide a way to actually account for the increase in tongue weight (the trailer's load on the vehicle).
Let's ...
- 286
3
votes
Why list cold tire pressure?
Because "cold" pressures are much more likely to be consistent then "warm" pressures and barring things like one side of the car having been in hot sun for a few hours should be pretty evenly "cold" ...
- 10.3k
3
votes
Tire pressure with tires on vs off the car
The air pressure in tires are affected by temperature, which is why one measures and adds air when the tires are cold, undriven. When inflated, the shape of the tire will change slightly, as it ...
- 4,915
3
votes
Accepted
How long can a flat tire sit before the sidewall is ruined?
The tire shop should be able to give you the definitive word, but I'd not have an issue patching it and putting it back out on the road. As long as you don't see any dry rot occurring (cracks along ...
- 160k
3
votes
Accepted
Can low tire pressure cause the ABS warning light to come on?
The ABS and traction will detect that the rotational velocity on all tires do not match the expected. A low tire changes the effective radius of the tire, and therefore the rotational velocity will ...
- 2,115
3
votes
Why don't people hand pump their tires?
Convenience
Many answers already note that the labor involved depends much less on the tire pressure (higher in bicycles) than its volume (much higher in cars).
In North America at least, it is ...
- 131
3
votes
Why don't people hand pump their tires?
There are three forms of bicycle pumps:
Track pumps. They are operated by your hands (aided by your whole body), and have a very long stroke. Most of these are optimized for high pressure (>100 psi / ...
- 15k
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