What is Winter Air in Tires?

So, you’ve just got back from a “fun” trip to the mechanics, where he had a lot of really boring information to give you about your car that you didn’t understand. Throughout the conversation that was filled with dizzying price estimates and various platitudes you never really caught, you may have heard the term “winter air in tires” being mentioned. Basically, winter air in tyres is something that is used during the winter to help boost your tires.

With winter air in tires, during the summer months, the warmer temperatures add on an extra couple of Pounds per Square Inch, or PSI, to your car tires. Even if you were to deal with this small adjustment day-in, day-out in the winter it would always seep out at night when the temperatures hit their lowest. You’ll need to regularly add a couple of pounds back into the tires during the winter, and make sure that you check for the need for winter air in tires before you setoff in the morning.

The side of your tires should come with a little notice for what the recommended cold tire pressure level should be. This also implies that when you take any pressure readings, you should do so in the cold so you aren’t getting that little bit of a boost from the heat, giving you an artificial reading. Tires do work at their peak when they are warmed up, so making sure that you try and get the heat in your tires is also important to improve functionality on the roads.

Why Does This Happen?

Winter air in tires

Put simply, this all occurs due to the perplexing nature of physics.

Static quantities of gas in a container will push against the sides of the container, trying to get out. To solve that problem, you would add heat to help expand the inside because the air molecules inside can then move freer & faster, and make sure that they collide with each other more inside which increases pressure. Using the example above, you can apply the exact same methodology to your tires!

If you are sick of your winters being a little bit more confusing than they need to then make sure that your that the winter air in tires are checked regularly, specifically when the cold weather comes in. your best bet, usually, is to try and do this once every few days and fill up your pressure levels when needed as it can be problematic otherwise.

To health and vehicle happiness

Your fearless Mechanic,

Phil.