mmcartalk
Expert
- Messages
- 4,158
- Reactions
- 2,675
Once again, we're getting into mid-to-late fall, when temperatures through most of the Continental U.S. start to drop significantly (the Coastal-California area, with its year-around mild weather, may be one of the few exceptions). Two things, in general, this time of year, for vehicle owners/drivers, need more than the usual amount of attention and caution.
First, it is deer-mating season, and, with the inevitable quest for romance, large males (bucks) are typically chasing after smaller females (does). Often oblivious to traffic and danger, they will sometimes charge right across roads, with little or no warning. Obviously, a collision with an animal that size, besides the injury or death it causes the poor creature, certainly does one's vehicle no good. Indeed, a friend of mine, some years ago, totaled his Mazda MPV minivan hitting a deer...it was only a little more than a year old, so that shows you what kind of damage can be done. Worse, the deer, before hitting the windshield, bounced off the front fender, in a spot that did not trigger the air-bag sensor, and his wife, riding shotgun, ended up needing a number of stitches from the impact (she otherwise survived OK). In the D.C. area, this fall, I haven't seen as many deer running across the roads as I usually do during mating season...but it still bears caution and keeping one's eyes open, even with some of the new automatic-braking systems that automatically scan for obstacles and stop the car for you.
Second, the drop in air-temperatures can and does affect the pressure in your tires....(roughly) 1 PSI for every 10 degrees in air temperature. The recommended cold PSI for your tires (which means after the tires have been sitting overnight or out of the sun, in the shade, for at least 3 hours) can be found in the Owners' Manual, on a sticker down low on the drivers' door-jamb, or, in some cases, on a sticker inside the glove box. Do NOT go by the PSI figure moulded into the tire sidewall, in the black rubber....that is the maximum PSI allowed for safety reasons. As the temperature drops (particularly on cold mornings), you may have to add some air. I keep a portable air-compressor in my trunk, for that very reason (they typically cost $30-50), that plugs into the car's power-outlet, for that very reason....and, of course, if needed, to be a Good Samaritan to others, should they be stuck with a flat. Newer vehicles, of course, have the built-in tire-sensors that monitor the PSI for you. Some of them (if the bean-counters at the factory don't win) actually display all four PSIs in the tires.....others (if the bean-counters win) cheap out with less-sophisticated sensors that simply compare wheel-rotation specs and flash a warning light if one or more them is slow. A tire wth low pressure, of course, will have a smaller outside diameter, and roll faster at the same road-speed. If the light flashes, you sometimes have to go find which tire it is by actual inspection. Even the more sophisticated individual-tire sensors aren't always foolproof...they sometimes take a minute or two, on a cold morning, to stabilize the reading after the car starts rolling, so you can't necessarily rely on their initial reading.
Yes, it can be a nuisance (I'll be the first to admit it), when the outside temperatures swing up and down wildly, such as in late fall and early spring, to have to continually add more and more air to the tires as the temps drop...then sometimes have the tires with too much pressure if the temperature suddenly goes way, or if you generate a lot of heat with them by driving fast with the car heavily loaded. But, until the engineers can come up with a mass-produced vehicle-tire that can operate normally, on paved roads, without air, That's basically what we are stuck with. Yes, run-flat tires come on some vehicles, but, if the air leaks out, they are generally only good for about 50 miles or so, at 50 MPH or less...hopefully, to get you to the nearest repair or tire-shop. They can be expensive to replace, short-wearing, and their stiff sidewalls (to support the car's weight, of course, without air), can give a relatively uncomfortable ride.
First, it is deer-mating season, and, with the inevitable quest for romance, large males (bucks) are typically chasing after smaller females (does). Often oblivious to traffic and danger, they will sometimes charge right across roads, with little or no warning. Obviously, a collision with an animal that size, besides the injury or death it causes the poor creature, certainly does one's vehicle no good. Indeed, a friend of mine, some years ago, totaled his Mazda MPV minivan hitting a deer...it was only a little more than a year old, so that shows you what kind of damage can be done. Worse, the deer, before hitting the windshield, bounced off the front fender, in a spot that did not trigger the air-bag sensor, and his wife, riding shotgun, ended up needing a number of stitches from the impact (she otherwise survived OK). In the D.C. area, this fall, I haven't seen as many deer running across the roads as I usually do during mating season...but it still bears caution and keeping one's eyes open, even with some of the new automatic-braking systems that automatically scan for obstacles and stop the car for you.
Second, the drop in air-temperatures can and does affect the pressure in your tires....(roughly) 1 PSI for every 10 degrees in air temperature. The recommended cold PSI for your tires (which means after the tires have been sitting overnight or out of the sun, in the shade, for at least 3 hours) can be found in the Owners' Manual, on a sticker down low on the drivers' door-jamb, or, in some cases, on a sticker inside the glove box. Do NOT go by the PSI figure moulded into the tire sidewall, in the black rubber....that is the maximum PSI allowed for safety reasons. As the temperature drops (particularly on cold mornings), you may have to add some air. I keep a portable air-compressor in my trunk, for that very reason (they typically cost $30-50), that plugs into the car's power-outlet, for that very reason....and, of course, if needed, to be a Good Samaritan to others, should they be stuck with a flat. Newer vehicles, of course, have the built-in tire-sensors that monitor the PSI for you. Some of them (if the bean-counters at the factory don't win) actually display all four PSIs in the tires.....others (if the bean-counters win) cheap out with less-sophisticated sensors that simply compare wheel-rotation specs and flash a warning light if one or more them is slow. A tire wth low pressure, of course, will have a smaller outside diameter, and roll faster at the same road-speed. If the light flashes, you sometimes have to go find which tire it is by actual inspection. Even the more sophisticated individual-tire sensors aren't always foolproof...they sometimes take a minute or two, on a cold morning, to stabilize the reading after the car starts rolling, so you can't necessarily rely on their initial reading.
Yes, it can be a nuisance (I'll be the first to admit it), when the outside temperatures swing up and down wildly, such as in late fall and early spring, to have to continually add more and more air to the tires as the temps drop...then sometimes have the tires with too much pressure if the temperature suddenly goes way, or if you generate a lot of heat with them by driving fast with the car heavily loaded. But, until the engineers can come up with a mass-produced vehicle-tire that can operate normally, on paved roads, without air, That's basically what we are stuck with. Yes, run-flat tires come on some vehicles, but, if the air leaks out, they are generally only good for about 50 miles or so, at 50 MPH or less...hopefully, to get you to the nearest repair or tire-shop. They can be expensive to replace, short-wearing, and their stiff sidewalls (to support the car's weight, of course, without air), can give a relatively uncomfortable ride.
