Infiniti Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
TPMS: Safeguarding Your Commute
The Tire Pressure Monitoring System on your
Infiniti is designed to keep tabs on how much air (in pounds per square
inch, or "psi") is in your tires. When the tires are running low, or suffer
a rapid loss of pressure due to puncture or blowout, the system in your car
will give you an immediate warning.
Why is this important? Believe it or not, it's not always easy to tell
when you've suffered a flat tire while you're driving in a straight line
(it's pretty easy to tell when you're turning because the car won't hold a
curve). Your Tire Pressure Monitors radio a signal to the brain of your car
to alert you to safely pull over and inspect them - potentially saving you
from losing control and causing an accident.
Tires Lose Air, Even Without Holes In Them
Eventually, every tire goes flat - whether
it's being used or not. Ever park a bicycle in the garage for a few winter
months and find out you need air come spring? The reason for this is that
rubber is a porous material, much like human skin. Air molecules are small,
they slowly penetrate through these microscopic holes. This process is
accelerated because the air in the tire is pressurized, which forces the
air to push its way back out into the atmosphere faster. TPMS alerts you
when your tires are low on air and need a fill-up.
The Importance of Correct Tire Inflation
There are two problems that tires suffer -
overinflation and underinflation. Both are problems that need your
attention on a regular basis. If you take a cross-section of a tire and
look at the side wall and tread surface, it looks like a three-sized
box.
When you overinflate a tire, these three sides stop looking like a box
and start looking like a circle (imagine your tire is more like a donut on
the wheel and less like a three-sided tire). This overinflation stresses
the side walls, which can cause a tire blowout. Tire overinflation also
causes the car to lose contact with the road; the contact patch of the
tread rounds out so that only the middle of the tire touches the pavement
instead of the whole tread (from side wall to side wall). If your car
doesn't have TPMS - you may not know that you could be dangerously losing
grip.
Underinflating a tire is equally a danger - the cross-section of the
tire stops looking like a three-sized box and starts looking like a flower
vase that bows out at the base and tapers at the top. Without sufficient
psi in the tire, the handling of the car is completely compromised - when
you turn, the lack of stiffness in the side walls that the air pressure
creates causes the contact patch of the tires to lag in response to the
steering input. Imagine if the soles to your sneakers weren't connected to
the body of your shoe, but instead would let your foot slide around -
walking would feel impossibly funny.
Free Air Fills at Infiniti of Mission Viejo
Infiniti of Mission Viejo is the one-stop tire shop for your performance
vehicle. Every vehicle should have its air pressure checked once a week -
even if it is equipped with a Tire Pressure Monitoring System. The tire
video at the top of this page explains how to check it and how to reset
TPMS in case you aren't close enough to stop in. We're happy to check your
tire pressure and reset your Tire Pressure Monitoring System for you
anytime. Also visit our Tire Sizing and Information Page for more
information on tire sizing and tire sizing.
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