I noticed the other day that my Honda Fit was getting about 25 highway mpg as opposed to the 30-32 that I’m used to, so I checked and found out that the tires were about 2 psi less inflated than the manual recommends. I gave them all a modest boost (except the back right which didn’t need it) and the mileage jumped back to where it should be. It’s weird, if Obama hadn’t said anything or if McCain hadn’t acted like an ass I might not have thought to check.
This is doubtless a normal day in the life of people who drive more than I do, which means most car owners probably know this at the kind of level that horse owners know not to walk around behind when his ears are folded back. Picking on tire pressure isn’t like scapegoating foreign Arab people who are outside of most Americans’ range of experience. People don’t need to read any white papers to know that it’s stupid. As much as anything that’s why Obama had just the right response: laugh at them. Americans who don’t have their cars taken care of by little people already know that he’s right.
El Cid
My god, why don’t you just dance around in a tutu and beg to surrender to the Caliphate, why doncha? If’n you was a real man, you woulda spent that gay French tire checkin’ la-di-da time lookin’ around for somewhere to drill for more oil, which is what’s going to fix all this mess.
wvng
Hi Tim,
Good post. But I think you are wrong about most people. Most people I know never think about checking their tire pressure unless the tires look low. So this silliness became a useful teachable moment.
As for mileage in a Fit, I have a manual and get between 37 and 42 mpg, both in the mountains and on the flats. Do you have an automatic? I’m asking because my wife has a new, automatic Yaris, the mileage has been disappointing thus far (
Scruffy McSnufflepuss
Yeah, but ANWR’s really far away, and if we drill over there I won’t have to spend 15 minutes checking my tires over here. Plus I’d rather have a beer with McCain than Obama, and if I drive drunk my deflated tires will make it easier for the police to catch me.
Sound energy policy, personal convenience, AND a win-win for the criminal justice system. Vote McCain!
jake
Next you’ll be telling us that properly inflated tires contribute to the handling of the car when we should be dying in avoidable accidents like real Americans!
Scruffy McSnufflepuss
Numerous industries depend upon American automotive deaths. Without auto accidents, for example, the insurance industry would collapse, taking thousands of jobs with it. The health care industry, law enforcement, and the auto industry would also suffer, if cars and the people inside them weren’t periodically bashed to bits on the highway.
Certainly, a selfish liberal like yourself might object to dying in a car accident. But a truly enlightened patriot would take such a mishap in stride, knowing full well that their grisly death will sustain the livelihoods of dozens of their fellow Americans, whose tax dollars thereby sustain our fighting men in Iraq.
Don’t check your tires. Use that tire gauge in a drinking game with your Republican friends, instead. It’s the sensible, American thing to do.
Tim F.
I also drive a manual, but I’m guessing that we drive stick for different reasons.
JWW
Tim,
2Psi, that is in your mind. 2 Psi would have no effect on gas milage or tire wear. That is a basic automotive fact. You are lost in the jungle of voices. We keep tires properly inflated so we can get the longest life from them and provide the ride expected from the vehicle.
But really,2 Psi and a 5 to 7 mpg jump is not only a stupid statement, you are gut hooked. Have a nice ride.
Maybe the quality of the last fill up.
Scruffy McSnufflepuss
Could also be the amount of junk you carry around in your car. When we periodically clean our car, we notice a marked up-tick in fuel efficiency. (Of course, we usually only clean it out after it has over 30-40 pounds of books and other crap in it, so that may be somewhat distorted.)
Joshua Norton
If you were a manly man, like the Republicans, you would have drilled your own oil instead.
Max Power
McCain doesn’t pump his own gas, check his own oil, or fill his own tires.
Probably doesn’t even know how.
Frank
Most car owners don’t know crap about cars beyond get in, turn the key, and press the exhilerator. They are like the ladies in the AAMCO commercial who are broken down and looking under the hood. “What do you see?” sez one. “A bunch of dark, greasy shapes,” sez the other.
Mary
My average cycling speed around the city is about 14 mph when my tires are properly inflated. I have no idea how many calories per mile that works out to be.
Litlebritdifrnt
“Numerous industries depend upon American automotive deaths.”
Good god if car accidents stopped happening then how many chiropractors would go out of business? Oh the humanity (funny how they manage to “fix” everyone for $2,000 which just happens to be the EXACT amount of medpay that most insurance policies have regardless of who was at fault in the accident) “after 2,000 worth of treatment we have decided that the patient has reached maximum medical improvement and will be released from treatment” yeah cause you know you are not going to get any more money from there on. If it walks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck……
tas
Mary — Depending on your weight and if that 14mph is definitely the average, you’re burning 500-800 calories an hour.
Max
I drive a Civic Hybrid; the associated user groups I follow are a bit obsessed about mileage. On of the tips I’ve implemented is to overinflate the tires about 10 psi. It makes for a harder ride, but it reduces the rolling resistance enough to make a difference. I was worried that tire wear might be accelerated, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Ripley
Good god if car accidents stopped happening then how many chiropractors would go out of business?
When I worked in the insurance industry (the auto corner) there was a very large, concerted effort to shut down that very thing. In their jargon, it’s called a MIST claim (Minor Impact, Soft Tissue) or more commonly, whiplash (with the occasional lower back claim).
It’s the bane of the auto insurance industry, because it’s so hard to prove/disprove an injury.
wasabi gasp
I, too, checked and inflated my tires today. After that, I said to myself “Hey, what the heck. Go all the way.” and then I offshore drilled.
tballou
I had a hilarious experience this morning at my local oil change place. They are now pushing a new service to replace the air in your tires with nitrogen (for $50!) The nitrogen is a larger molecule and evidently leaks out slower, maintaining correct tire pressure longer. Their glossy color brochure prominently features Jeff Gordon of NASCAR fame, touting all the safety and economy benefits of proper tire pressure!
I asked the guy there if the McCain campaign had seen this yet and he just laughed!
jbarntt
I noticed the other day that my Honda Fit
Tim, to save the planet and reduce the use of foreign oil in the USA you should stop driving any car. Yours only gets 30-32 MPG at best. That’s pathetic.
I haven’t owned a car in 2 years, public transportation for me. At $3/gal. I made the patriotic and environmentally sound move. I will confess to having rented a car for a weekend camping expedition to the coast.
As true environmentalists and believers in global warming, we all need to reduce our Carbon footprint, just as Al Gore and Obama have done. Increasing your mileage from 25 to 30 MPG hardly gives you bragging rights.
You’re part of the problem not the solution.
Mary
Thanks, tas. I’ve just checked today’s mileage and I can order pizza — woohoo!
(Which will probably be delivered in a shitbox with underinflated tires. Oops.)
El Cid
You are all morally inferior to me. I have made my personal lifestyle environmentally purer than you could possibly imagine. Unfortunately, I cannot elaborate. But take my word for it.
Martin
Two years ago I took the family on a 7K mile road trip and took lots of data.
Tire pressure was very important. We loaded up the roof rack but found that it didn’t have any measurable effect on mileage (which surprised me). It wasn’t terribly high (dry bags tied down in a Yakima basket) and was loaded to be aerodynamic, but still…
RPM was the other big factor. The Element has the usual VTEC engine (same as in the 4 cyl Accord, I think) and if we kept the vehicle at or under 2500 RPM, mileage soared. We used 2800 as a general benchmark for setting our maximum speed. That usually put us around the speed limit except when climbing long stretches when we’d be a bit below.
We averaged 29 for the trip which isn’t bad for a SUV packed to the gills.
Conservatively Liberal
What is really sad is that my wife’s four door ’89 Olds Cutlass Calais (Quad4 engine w/ auto trans) gets 34-38 MPG on the highway. She has tons of room for stuff, and while it is a small car it ain’t a cracker box.
Think where we would be if the CAFE standards were pushed higher since 1989. That a car that is almost 20 years old and has 120,000 miles on it can do as well as (or better) than smaller cars today does not say much for the new stuff.
patroclus
I too checked my tire pressure today (and the right rear tire really needed it), and I probably wouldn’t have done it had it not been for this Obama/McCain kerfluffle.
It’s actually, dare I say it, good government, when our leaders set good examples and gently remind Americans to do what’s good for them (like staying fit and not driving drunk and buckling up…). This sort of thing used to be expected back when things were run right. Not so much anymore…
LB
Funny, these tire pressure talk made me check my tires as well. And I’m probably not alone. So at least smth useful came out of Mccain’s attacks.
zuzu's petals
My son made a point of giving me a tire gauge awhile back, checks when he’s around, and quizes me when he’s not. He’d done some reading on the safety factor, and was on a mission with family and friends.
CNN
Such a good son.
ResumeMan
I should probably research this, but it doesn’t make any sense, for two related reasons:
1. Air is 80% nitrogen.
2. Almost all of the other 20% is oxygen, which is actually a somewhat larger molecule than nitrogen.
So I’m utterly confused. If anyone’s got any info on this I’m interested.
Martin
It’s simple, really. Air is free. Nitrogen is $50. Therefore the nitrogen is 783% better than air.
Honestly: This idiotic idea comes from the space shuttle. Because it uses nitrogen, clearly cars need it too, right? The shuttle uses nitrogen because its tires get exposed to rather high temperatures and oxygen feeds fire. Nitrogen makes the tires a bit safer at high temps. The only way your car tires would reach that temperature is, well, to be on fire, at which point you have bigger problems. Save the $50.
Ash Can
And in other automotive news, a large, posh private bus sporting an Obama bumper sticker caused a traffic accident in Miami.
GREAT NEWS for John McCain, right?
Uh, no. It was McCain’t’s own bus.
(There were no injuries in the accident, so I feel I’m within my rights to point and laugh.)
Ash Can
P.S.: McCain wasn’t on board, but Joe Lieberman was.
sujal
Hey, I check my tire pressure every time my mileage dips below 29-30. And usually, when the mileage drops, I’m low (in the low 30s). I keep my tires at 40psi (they’re rated much, much higher), and it makes a huge difference. The biggest thing i notice is that I can coast longer and on less steep hills in neutral (I drive a stick, too) with properly inflated tires.
My wife makes fun of me about this, but I keep track of my mileage and have seen the cycle over and over in the years I’ve owned this car.
On the other hand, I just got brand new tires on the car and mileage has gone down measurably (1-2MPG on average). Turns out these tires are rated even higher, so I’m trying to find out what the safe limits are for them… 50psi seems like a really high number for a car tire (The tire claims max pressure is 57psi… I’ve never seen a car tire that high before).
Scruffy McSnufflepuss
He’s right, Tim. You have to kill yourself now. It’s the only way to redeem your soul, and atone for your many crimes against Gaia.
Looks like suicides all around, in fact. I suggest we do it as Democrats always do these things best- circular firing squad!
chopper
wouldn’t it be funny if the bus crashed because it’s tire pressure was low?
outside of the great symbolism of the straight talk express(tm) crashing…
chopper
i love public transit. i take it pretty much everywhere. then again, i also don’t lecture people who may not have access to the country’s best public transit system about what assholes they are for driving a car.
infoshaman
I’m old enough to remember when the gas station attendant who pumped your gas also offered to check your oil, water and tire pressure. Recently I had to drive to 5-6 gas stations to find a gas station that (a) provided a air pump and (b) provided an air pump that actually worked. No wonder folks drive around on half-inflated tires.
Mr. Peabody’s moral: Out of sight, out of mind.
Sherman’s moral: It’s all good for the oil industry.
(Back to the wayback machine…..)
infoshaman
I’m old enough to remember when the gas station attendant who pumped your gas also offered to check your oil, water and tire pressure. Recently I had to drive to 5-6 gas stations to find a gas station that (a) provided a air pump and (b) provided an air pump that actually worked. No wonder folks drive around on half-inflated tires.
Mr. Peabody says the moral is: Out of sight, out of mind.
Sherman has a better one: It’s all good for the oil industry.
(Back to the wayback machine…..)
Billy K
I’ve had a couple bum tires with slow leaks for months. I’d forget to air them up, and about 50% of the time I would be running on a couple tires at 20psi. Two weeks ago I finally got those tires fixed/replaced, and I’ve noticed a dramatic increase in fuel efficiency. I basically get one more extra day of commute for the same tank of gas.
I wish I had an Obama tire pressure gauge.
Scruffy McSnufflepuss
Hearts and minds. People take to it well when smug elitists condescend to them from essentially urbanized vantage points about how they’re evil monsters for not taking advantage of the non-existent rural or ex-urban public transportation systems when they commute to work.
b. hussein canuckistani
You scum. I bicycle everywhere so I don’t add weight to buses, and look at you wasting fuel by riding public transit.
And if you buy a bicycle, I’ll start walking everywhere so I don’t waster rubber tires and chain grease.
Scruffy McSnufflepuss
Yes, but then you use up more calories, selfishly wasting food resources to replenish your musculature at the expense of American agricultural resources.
The only selfless path is to kill yourself, for the good of America. We should all kill ourselves, so as to leave the smallest carbon footprint imaginable.
Tax Analyst
I’ve always KNOWN that it’s important to check tire pressure and that it affects mileage…but I always find a reason why I don’t want to do it at that particular moment when I am at a service station that actually has the air pump thingee to get it done. Late last night I stopped for gas and I was REALLY gonna do it then ’cause of all the political hubbub…but some other customer was already using it and seemed to have fallen in love with the equipment. I guess he was trying to get the EXACT-to-the-decimal-point pressure on each tire. So I go tired (ha-ha, “tired”, get it?) of waiting and went home.
Ed Marshall
I’ve deflated my tires to 10 psi over Obama’s uppity demands and right thinking Americans will do the same.
Nah, I don’t even own a car anymore, I bike to work or take the bus in a city with a completely disfunctional bus system. I’ve got internal applications in at work to take a new internal post in Chicago or New York so I don’t have to care one way or another. It’s not all about being a good citizen but it was a big shove in that direction.
I completely understand that isn’t an option for everyone.
jbarntt
You scum. I bicycle everywhere so I don’t add weight to buses, and look at you wasting fuel by riding public transit.
Nice that you oppose public transportation and prefer private modes. You do sound very much like a fellow conservative, so let me explain why I chose public transportation over a bike.
My commute is 10 miles through heavy traffic and in the Pacific NW it rains a lot, making a bike commute highly impractical. I compromised with public transpo.
Not ideal, I grant you, but the best I could come up with.
We all have choices to make to do the best for the earth, and indeed save it as Nancy Pelosi is doing. Kudos to Al gore also, for offsetting his heavy Carbon footprint with buying energy credits from his own company.
An interesting thought: What if we all of setup a Carbon trading company and used it to offset our jet setting life style ? Perfect ! We don’t have to change our lifestyle, yet we save the planet.
Lastly, I think your use of private means, your bike, is highly suspect as it evades government control. Personally I, as a liberal, prefer that we use means of transportation that can be controlled by our betters.