It may be uncomfortable and therefore rather unpopular, but that's why checking the air pressure is still important. No matter whether you are traveling with too little or too much air pressure. Both are bad for the tire and ultimately also for driving safety. So: Check the tire air pressure - and not just after you have just replaced the tires. But again and again!
The ADAC advises the following:
Too low air pressure can be dangerous, as road tests of the ADAC show with correct and too low tire pressure. The testers found that even a minus of just 0,5 bar for noticeably unsafe driving characteristics. For example, the directional stability in curves can be reduced by about half and the braking distance can be extended by several meters.
When cornering on a wet road, the particularly loaded front wheel on the outside of the bend can only transmit around 0,5% of the forces of a correctly inflated tire at a reduced pressure of 80 bar; at 1,0 bar the value drops to below 70%. In practice this means that the vehicle drifts out of the curve. When changing lane maneuvers you skid earlier because the stability is missing. ESP can only help to a limited extent in these situations. If there is too little pressure all around, the transferable side forces are even reduced to almost half. This tendency increases again when the vehicle is fully loaded.
Too little air Even on a single front wheel, the braking distance is considerably longer - on a wet road by approx. 10% with an air deficit of 1,0 bar. With full braking from 100 km / h, this means that the vehicle is still traveling at approx. 27 km / h with insufficient pressure when the vehicle is already stationary with correctly inflated tires - which corresponds to an extension of the braking distance from 52 to 56,5 meters. It is also important that the ABS cannot work optimally due to the different tire properties.
Too little air Even on a single front wheel, the braking distance is considerably longer - on a wet road by approx. 10% with an air deficit of 1,0 bar. With full braking from 100 km / h, this means that the vehicle is still traveling at approx. 27 km / h with insufficient pressure when the vehicle is already stationary with correctly inflated tires - which corresponds to an extension of the braking distance from 52 to 56,5 meters. It is also important that the ABS cannot work optimally due to the different tire properties.
The conclusion is clear:
The correct tire pressure depends enormously. Therefore, it is essential to check the tire pressure at least every 14 days. Automatic tire pressure monitoring systems offerAs the ADAC has determined, this is a very good support, which is why the vehicle manufacturers should equip all model series with it.
And what is the right air pressure?
The correct air pressure is in the manual of the respective vehicle. Some manufacturers also write a note in the gas cap or on a sticker near the driver's door. If you want to save a little bit of fuel, you can easily raise the air pressure. But please not too much. 0.5 bar are already an aid in saving fuel. Or just buy a tire with the “AA label”. 😉
