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Show You How Have To Check Your Own Tire Pressure "Once I could depend on the corner service station to check my wife's car," a businessman complained to a friend recently. "Now, she saves money at a self-service station and is probably driving driv-ing a time bomb with bad tires and no oil." WITH the increasing popularity of self-service gasoline stations, the Tire Industry In-dustry Safety Council advises motorists to seek out those stations with air pressure towers in order to keep their tires properly inflated. The American Petroleum Institute reports that of the 189,000 service stations in operation in 1976, more than 68,000 of them offered some form of self service. OF THAT number, more than 25,000 were total self-service self-service stations and approximately 43,000 were split island stations, offering both self-service and full, attended-service, but at separate pump islands. "Correct tire pressure is necessary for safe driving, good tire mileage and responsive res-ponsive steering," according to Council Chairman Malcolm R. Lovell, Jr. "INDUSTRY experts say properly inflated tires can add five percent to gasoline mileage, or an extra mile per gallon, because they roll easier." "Proper tire inflation is one of the most neglected aspects of maintenance and care related to passenger automobiles au-tomobiles in the United States," according to a report by the Sub-Council on Product Safety of the National Business Council for Consumer Con-sumer Affairs. THE consequences of this neglect are serious to the American consumer in many respects," the Sub-Council held. Government studies have found that underinflation by 4 to 12 pounds can reduce tread life by 10 to 40 percent and that more than one out of four cars has at least one seriously underinflated tire. Overinfla-tion, Overinfla-tion, on the other hand, causes excessive tread wear to the center of the tread, and causes tires to run hard and makes then vulnerable to impact im-pact damage. REGARDING the dwindling number of air towers at service stations, an official of the American Automobile Au-tomobile Association remarked, "We have said it's going to be an increasing problem as the trend goes to 'gas and go.' We advise motorists mo-torists to make each third f i Hup at a full-service station." sta-tion." J.K. Aldous, managing director of AAA's Public Affairs Af-fairs Division, added, "We also encourage people to use an accurate hand tire gauge because service station air pumps are Very rarely accurate. ac-curate. "THE reason for making every third fillup at a full-service full-service station is so a motorist mo-torist may have his tires, oil, battery, window washer wells, wiper blades and lights checked in order to prevent damage to the car and insure longer car life and carefree driving." "Air pressure should be checked when tires are cold every two or three weeks and before long trips," Lovell said. 'The best time is in the morning when you have driven less than a mile." LOVELL said that some air escapes from all tires over a period of weeks. A tire with four or more pounds of pressure pres-sure below the amount recommended by the vehicle manufacturer in the owner's manual is considered seriously underinflated, he pointed out. Underinflation by 4 pounds can cut tread life by 10 percent, per-cent, he continued. THE proper amount of free air is the cheapest service ser-vice you can give a tire, and it will do the utmost toward extending ex-tending its useful life while saving gasoline at the same time," Lovell said. American motorists could save at least 800 million gallons of gasoline a year if they would only inflate their tires properly, he concluded. |