Checked 21.09.2026
Where the right number lives
| Place | What number is there | Use it |
|---|---|---|
| Driver's door pillar | The car maker's recommendation, often two values | Yes |
| Inside the fuel flap | The same recommendation | Yes |
| Owner's manual | The same, listed by tyre size | Yes |
| Tyre sidewall | The tyre's maximum permitted pressure | No, it is not a recommendation |
A full load has its own number
Most cars carry two rows on the sticker: normal load and full load. The full-load figure is higher, and that is not a rounding — an underinflated tyre heats up most exactly when it is carrying weight.
Pressure depends on the engine and the rim, so there is no table by make here
The right source is the car's own sticker or its manual. If the sticker is missing or unreadable, the brand's dealer can give the figure from the registration data.
What the wrong pressure does to the tread
The wrong pressure does not stay a matter for the gauge: it writes itself into the tread pattern and shows up later at inspection, where depth is read at the most worn spot.
| How the tread wears | What it usually means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Both shoulders more than the centre | The pressure has been too low | Measure cold and bring it to the number on the placard |
| The centre more than the shoulders | The pressure has been too high | The same, in the other direction |
| One shoulder, the other intact | This is not pressure but suspension geometry | Have the wheels aligned, or a new tyre wears the same way |
When to check
Pressure drops even on a sound tyre, because air leaves slowly through the material. The moments worth checking are the ones where the number changes anyway, or where getting it wrong is expensive.
- Before a long drive
- the full-load row
- At the seasonal change
- along with the tyre swap
- After a long stand
- cold