Why is it necessary to inflate tires more on the highway?

Before setting off in your vehicle, it’s often recommended to check your tire pressure. Besides safety, proper tire pressure is also important for a more comfortable ride. For highway driving, it’s advisable to slightly overinflate your tires, and there’s a reason for this.

When should you overinflate your tires?

It’s necessary to check your car’s tire pressure at least once a month. This pressure affects the safety of the car and its occupants, as well as fuel consumption and overall comfort. Tires should be overinflated when the vehicle is fully loaded, such as when going on vacation. Using a tire pressure gauge, you can obtain information about your tire pressure and adjust it accordingly, following the recommendations. For long highway journeys, tire pressure should not be the same as for regular road use, as there are other factors to consider. Therefore, before inflating your car’s tires, make sure you have information about the route you’ll be taking, as well as the load the car will be carrying.

Why inflate tires more on the highway?

Overinflating a tire reduces the width of the tread. Since the road surface is smoother, the curve is wider, and the average speed is higher on the highway, overinflating tires has its advantages. Indeed, with overinflated tires, there is less contact patch between the tires and the road, which significantly reduces fuel consumption, even at high speeds. With underinflated tires, there will be more friction, forcing the car to work harder and thus increasing fuel consumption. However, it should be noted that both underinflating and overinflating tires present risks that should not be ignored, particularly the risk of tire blowouts. Nevertheless, it is better to have slightly overinflated tires when driving on the highway, as the higher speeds, which put more stress on the tires, can lead to punctures and blowouts. Generally, manufacturers recommend increasing tire pressure by 0.2 bar before driving on the motorway. Based on the manufacturer’s recommended pressure for normal driving conditions, tire pressure should be increased gradually according to speed. Therefore, the main reason for inflating tires on the motorway is that motorway driving speeds are generally higher, thus requiring increased tire pressure to ensure proper vehicle handling and greater safety.