After a long drive, your tyres heat up — increasing their pressure and affecting accuracy when checking PSI. This guide explains how tyre temperature changes after driving, how long to wait before taking a pressure reading, and why cold-tyre checks are essential for accurate results and road safety.
If you’ve ever touched a tyre after a long drive, you might have noticed that the rubber is warm to the touch. While this usually bears no real impact on the tyre in terms of wear and tear or its safety features, it does impact the PSI reading and whether the tyre measures at the correct pressure or not.
When a tyre becomes warmer, the PSI reading increases. This means that it is only once the tyre has cooled that you can get an accurate reading and really understand if your tyre pressure is correct or not.
Keep reading for our expert advice on how long to wait before testing your tyre pressure after a drive.
When to Test Tyre Pressure After Driving?
It’s best to delay tyre pressure testing until around two hours after driving or using your vehicle, to allow the tyres sufficient time to cool.
This ensures an accurate reading and means that you can then add air if needed before your next drive.
NOTE: The same science is true with temperature drops in your surrounding environment. As the temperature cools, you will tend to find that your tyre pressure drops by a few PSI – becoming especially prevalent during the winter months. It’s integral that you top this drop in pressure up - and take regular readings of your tyre’s pressure to ensure that your vehicle is as safe and easy to control as possible.
