Tire pressure

[denguy]

The car didn't feel right going down the road, it seemed like the wheels had gone out of balance. The tires looked OK but I checked the pressure anyway. They were all down 5-10 lbs. There had been a sudden 15* temp drop recently and I think that's what caused the situation. The Festy is so light that the drop in tire air pressure didn't change the look of them much.

[NicholasJackson]

Yeah that happens, i had a car tyre completely deflate once overnight from the temperature drop.

[WmWatt]

Here in Ottawa the temperature ranges between 30C in summer and -20C in winter and the pressure does not change by more than 2lb. I'd say you both have other issues.

[ericsmith32]

Older the tires and bigger the swing the more you'll loose. The Escapes lose 5lbs every couple weeks the Festiva's is newer and looses less than 2 in that time.

[Safety Guy]

Here's an article from Tire Rack:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=73

From the article:

"The rule of thumb is for every 10° Fahrenheit change in air temperature, your tire's inflation pressure will change by about 1 psi (up with higher temperatures and down with lower).

In most parts of North America, the difference between average summer and winter temperatures is about -50° Fahrenheit...which results in a potential loss of about 5 psi as winter's temperatures set in. And a 5 psi loss is enough to sacrifice handling, traction, and durability!"

Tire volume from small to large tires may have an effect as well.

Karl

[Crankworm]

The tpms check tire light always comes on in the wife's minivan about this time of year.