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Top-off The Tires Featured on Nov 12, 2008
Challenge
Add air to the tires of your car so they're properly inflated. We'll tell you how.
Individual Result
By filling tires to the right pressure, you will reduce CO2 by 29 lbs and save $4.50 by the end of one month.
Rally Impact
5045 people have reduced CO2 emissions by 72.75 tons by completing this challenge so far. That's equal to turning off the electricity of 102 homes for about 1 month!
Alternative content
Challenge Details
This challenge was originally published on November 15, 2007.
Ever ride a bike with soft tires, and notice it’s a bit harder to pedal? The same thing happens with your car. It needs to work harder when tire pressure is low. So, give your car, the environment, and your wallet a break by topping-up your tire pressure once a month.
The Carbon Connection
Close to 30% of the greenhouse gases released in the United States come from transportation. Of that amount, over 80% is produced by our vehicles driving on the roads and burning gasoline or diesel. Each gallon of gasoline burned by an average car’s engine releases 19.4 pounds of CO2 into Earth’s atmosphere. Cars on average generate about 990 pounds of CO2 per month.
There are several ways for Rallyers to reduce transportation-related carbon impact. We can drive less and walk more. We can carpool or use mass transit where available. We can buy cars that get more miles per gallon. And we can maintain the cars we already own so that they get the best possible gas mileage.
A simple way to reduce the CO2 impact of a car is to keep the tires filled to the manufacturer’s recommended pressure. It is estimated that over 25% of cars in the United States are driving on under-inflated tires. Cars driving with properly inflated tires are 3.3% more fuel efficient than cars driving on under-inflated tires and therefore emit 3.3% less CO2. Given the amount of gasoline burned by cars and trucks in the United States each day, the simple action of everyone maintaining proper tire pressure would mean a monthly reduction of over 90 million gallons of gas. And that translates to a potential monthly reduction of around 1.8 billion pounds of CO2 released into Earth’s atmosphere.
Getting It Done
Reducing massive amounts of CO2 begins with people taking simple actions such as this one. Here are a few suggestions to help you get it done:
- Maybe you don’t personally own a car. But you ride around in someone else’s car. Make sure the owner of your ride checks their tires this month. For instance, you might say, “Mom? Dad? Have we checked the car’s tires? I don’t want to drive to Grandma’s house for turkey on tires that aren’t properly inflated.” And then, when you explain why you care, maybe they’ll join the Rally too!
- Tires lose air over time. Unless you’re keeping an eye on them, chances are your tires are under-inflated. So you need to learn how to check your tires’ air pressure. It’s simple. You should be able to pick up a tire gauge for between $10 and $20 at your local auto supply shop or online. Owners of 2008 model year cars and light trucks will find their new cars now come with tire pressure sensors and warning lights. If you own one of these cars, you can pass your tire gauge on to the next guy.
- Next, you need to find out the correct air pressure for your car’s tires. You can usually find that information on a sticker on the driver’s side door edge, door frame, or sill.
- It is best to check your tires’ pressure when they are cold. Tires heat up as you drive. Test your tires when they haven’t been driven for at least three hours. And don’t forget to check the spare!
- Don’t under-inflate or over-inflate your tires. This hurts the tires. Driving on tires that aren’t properly inflated shortens their lives and they aren’t cheap. And don’t believe the old wives’ tale about keeping your tires under-inflated in the winter to increase traction. Under-inflated tires are more prone to skidding, hydroplaning, and loss of control from blowouts or flat tires.
Rules of the Challenge
The duration of this challenge is 1 month, and the total CO2 reduction is 29 lbs. So, if you accept this Challenge, you’ll see a about 1 pound of CO2 reduction added to your account each day for the next 30 days.
This Challenge is repeatable. Remember, tire pressure changes over time. So check your tires again next month. If you find your tires have lost some air since the last time you checked, reinflate them to the proper pressure, and accept this Challenge again for an additional month of CO2 credit
Remember, you should only accept Challenges when they motivate you to take a new climate- saving action. If you already check your tires monthly, this challenge isn’t for you. Instead, you can help by finding other people to check their tires and take this Challenge.
Learn More
Check My Tires
Proper Tire Inflation
See the Math
Let’s start with the known or estimated numbers:
- The average American car is driven 12,000 miles each year. That’s an average of 1,000 miles per month.
- The average American car gets 19.6 miles per gallon of gasoline.
- Properly inflated tires result in 3.3% better mileage, raising the average car’s miles per gallon to 20.2.
- Driving a car 1,000 miles a month with the increased gas mileage leads to a savings of 1.5 gallons of gasoline per month.
- Each gallon of gasoline burned by an automobile releases 19.4 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Now put all that together to get the following equation:
Your numbers may vary. You may drive your car more or less than the national average. Your car may get better or worse mileage. And perhaps your tire pressure was closer to ideal or even much worse than the average level of under-inflation. The important thing to look at here is just how much carbon dioxide gets formed and released each day as you drive your car. At almost 20 pounds of CO2 and $3.00 for every gallon of gas you use, even small increases in your gas mileage result in big savings at the other end of your tailpipe.
Discussion 58 comments so far
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If it wasn’t for technology, I would never know that I need air in my tires. My veh lets me know when the pressure is low and it’s low right now. I will be at a service shop right after work to get my tires inflated and reduce some carbon at the same time!
by bye
i dont have a car-laugh out loud lol- im in mr. tewarthas class
I am already done. I have temp and pressure sensors in all my tires and spare tires, summer and winter, plus in camping trailer (total of 16 wheels/tires). SmarTire.com for more details. I check it on a regular basis and air up as needed. It warns me, too, if I’m below a certain percent, before it becomes an issue. For me this is more of a safety issue. Better fuel mileage is an extra bonus.
DONE! THIS IS SUCH A SIMPLE TASK.
This is something I can remember to do….
This was so easy, how could I go wrong?
Well I always encourage my family to do this, We have aprox. about 5 cars in our home. The owner of each car knows exactly what to do and when to take it. This is for the oil change and checking the engine. But I always remind them about the tires since I learned about this like 4 years ago and I still practice it, so we do take the tires to a gas station and check the air, if it needs some air we put some, its perfect!!! You save money because you wont waste so much gas and you help the environment. It’s just right. I won’t just do this for one month, but for the rest of my life.
simple stuff, but I’m usually on my Schwinn
We did this today.
This was an easy challenge to do, and it is good for me, my car, and our planet. I really enjoyed it!
My mom and I always fill the tires on our car.
i was planing on going out and doing this, this afternoon so i just got back and my tires were so so so low!
I just bought these awesome caps for my tires, and they show green when there is 33psi in the tires, and go red when they is lower than 30psi, I found them at walmart for only 5$! they are paying themselves off already!
There are two issues here. Keeping tires inflated and increasing the size or OD of the tires. I have done both.The results are I am getting two extra miles per gallon with the new size tires. All my life I have kept tires inflated to the proper pressures. But I have increased the range of my car by 80 miles. Now that is good savings.
We have a student and staff preform checks on all of our school vehicles on Thursdays. They check all the fluids and the tire pressure of each one. This particular student is learning this skill in preparation for a job after high school.
It was really easy and actually improved my mpg. This something everyone should pay attention to.
Just checked and adjusted the air in both vehicles this past weekend.
i actually checked mine sunday!
I do this every month anyway…. here in Pittsburgh, my little Civic won’t make it up the icy hill if the tires aren’t properly inflated :P
And SU86 - Your car dealer is lying to you about the effects of nitrogen in your tires. ALL GASES expand and contract when heated or cooled. It’s called Boyle’s Law, and it’s a natural consequence of the laws of thermodynamics. Any beneficial effect of nitrogen in tires is due to a) reduction of moisture inside the tires, and b) tire walls being less permeable to nitrogen than oxygen - the N2 leaks out slower than the O2.
For the last several years, I have run our vehicles 5 to 10 lbs. over the factory recommended inflation. Usually, we run our cars at 40lbs. cold. This is still in the safe range, and doesn’t cause any tire damage or premature wear.
In Oswego County we know that you need the proper tire pressure on your snowtires if you expect them to accomplish what they are designed to do.
this one is easy! If you get your oil changed at Valvoline or any of the other oil change places, they will check your tire pressure any time you go in to have the windshield wiper fluid topped off…which you can have done any time you want after having your oil changed!
The Toyota dealership I go to offers nitrogen for tires. Nitrogen does not expand or contract so the tire pressure is always perfect in my Prius. My miles-per-gallon average has increased from 48.3 mpg to 52.5 mpg since I switched to nitrogen.
I already top off my tires once a month if they need it so this was pretty simple to manage.
I am very picky about the running of my vehicles. I do most of the work on them myself. But the most recent purchase in new and not old (1960’s or 1970’s) which make a lot of my own work harder. But tire inflation is actually much easier. Instead of having to get my pressure gauge out and check every tire in good weather and bad, I just push a button and the pressure for each tire appears on the screen. Instead of checking the pressure once a week, I check at least once a day. I guess newer cars have some nice features.
yeah i did it all the way
yeah saves carbon all the way
yeah! i did it and im the true green playa now!
I did it! And as they say at Staples: “that was easy”
Eddie, Where did you have the air exchanged for Nitrogen? Is this available at any tire location? Thanks, Lucky777
Just topped off my tires
Weather can effect tire pressure be sure to check them more every winter!
i try and check my tires every week or so. os i’m good there
Will start checking them on a regular basis – it’s something I’ve never done.
Having soft tires is a life long bad habit. I just bought a tire gauge to monitor them…..but once the cold weather hits I am not making any promises. However, being aware is a good start.
personal proof this challenge would be effective in saving gas and saving money…when my stroller is low on air it takes a great deal of extra work to push the kids around. after a trip to the park and back, i’m out of gas.
We try to check our tires once a month or as necessary. I drive a Honda Fit and the tires are those sports tires, so you can really tell when they need air.
i accepted this challenge on the first go around, and i like that it has been reissued with the dollar savings attached. since we’ve all been shopping around for the best gasoline prices, this is a no brainer … it’s like getting a couple gallons for free! i drive a hybrid and try to keep it as efficient as possible, and i think the tire pressure makes a difference. rally on!
I checked my tires yesterday and inflated them last night. I have reminders from my Onstar system in my car through email and that really helps me remember to check my tires.
Over the weekend I have done just that and the car is rolling to perfection
That nitrogen idea sounds really good… I’m gonna see if I can’t get that done around here somewhere. Of course I live in the lost land of South Carolina where we probably don’t even have that kind of “new fangled gadget” yet… LMAO
This is my hardest challenge yet, I seem to be tire lazy. As easy as checking the pressure is, and I even keep the damn guage in the glovebox too, soemhow I never seem to remember to do it even once a month and am guilty of driving anyway when I know a tire needs some air, like VISIBLY. So this is a hell of a challenge no matter how easy it is on implementation. BUT IMA DO IT!
But, almost 80% of the atmosphere is nitrogen already. How feasible is nitrogen filling? How much energy is used to “purify” the nitrogen? Is is really purified or does is still contain the almost 20% oxygen that occurs naturally?
Just ensure proper inflation and call it good!
I not only topped mine off but I had them filled with nitrogen. It is a new service at most tire dealerships. It was free with new tires and $2 per tire to exchange it for air in older tires. The nitrogen keeps the tires cooler so this helps the tire last longer. It also does not seep through the rubber. (Nascar has been using it in their race car tires for years)
my boyfriend takes care of this one for us, since we rarely drive the car- our monthly big grocery trip is the perfect time to tune up the car, check tires, etc.
What a novel and easy concept. Another way to easily increase gas mileage is to check/replace used air filter elements. I use K&N brand air filters which can be cleaned and reused for up to 1,000,000 miles.. There is an additional cost up front but environmentally worth it.
also, keep an eye on the presure gauge throught the cold seasons!!! tires dont heat up and expand in cooler climates
Currently running the Prius at 42/40—a little overinflation improves the mileage.
this is a great idea
Completed this task this morning on the way to work. Just remember that the gauges on the pumps at the service stations are usually way off, so it’s worth it to invest the few dollars in a more accurate pressure gauge of your own! A stick gauge usually goes for less then a dollar, while the dial version can be found online for under 7.
Great idea!- colder weather almost always drops tire pressure. There are quite a few things that people can do to keep their vehicles running cleaner and more efficiently.
Just got back from the gas station. All of my tires were 10-15 PSI lower than they should have been. I had no idea what any of this means or even how to test my tires (for the most part I understood it, but had never done it). Anyone can go ask at the local gas station and they are very willing to give a quick explanation and help you out! Now all my tires are just right and I feel great!
Hey Bolson, Yeah tight bike tires reduce friction, which reduces your effort.. less heavy breathing…less exhale of CO2… hmm we’ll try to do the math on that. :) We are gonna add a feature soon that gives folks credit for recruiting new Rallyers. So, if a challenge doesn’t apply them, folks can put their energy into spreading the word, and get some points for it.
How many points do I win for already never using a car? Maybe I should just air up my bicycle tires.
Nice, Lizard! Sounds like you are already a tire pressure guru this month. How about takin’ a different challenge or recruiting some new Rallyers instead? (Technically, we like folks to only accept challenges that represent real changes to their existing routines.)
Did that and my air filter just this past weekend…call it a premonition?
Congrats to keith_96161… fastest Rallyer in the West. Quick-draw on the tire gauge. First one to accept this challenge (about 20 seconds after publication).