Thump Tire Checkfor passenger vehicles

The ring is a screen. The placard on the driver door is the spec.

A few psi on a passenger tire barely moves the pitch. Lock a gauge on one tire of this size, then compare the others. Cold, before the drive.

CORNERS

0 of 5

HOOD
TRUNK

Spare

Front left

Sticker 32 psi

Waiting on a corner

Pick a tire and strike the tread, or play a bench tone to hear soft against the sticker.

Bench tones for a 35 psi passenger tire. Not your sticker.

DOOR STICKER

Driver door jamb, not the maximum on the sidewall.

front
32
rear
32
spare
60

GAUGE ANCHOR

Gauge one road tire. Strike that same tire. Lock the pair. Do not anchor on the spare if it is a different size.

32psi
HOW TO STRIKE
  1. Cold tires. Same rubber mallet or thumper every corner. Hit the tread, not the sidewall.
  2. Phone on the ground a forearm away, mic uncovered. One firm strike.
  3. Front and rear stickers often differ. A pickup rear can be higher when the bed is loaded.
  4. On a dually, skip an inner you can only clip. A sidewall hit is a different tone.
  5. A compact spare is often 60 psi and a different size. Do not use its ring as the anchor.