How much should the tire pressure sensors be affected by cold weather? This is my 3rd winter and the first time I’ve had an issue. Each tire has consistently been reading 27 or 28 PSI for the past few days, with 35 being normal. Is that much of a swing normal? We’ve been in an unusual cold stretch here for the past 2 weeks. Daytime highs have been in the middle teens, with night time lows in the single digits. The truck is garaged though, which remains above freezing give or take. Would nitrogen be a good investment? Any one running nitrogen?

 

Air up to 35psi with cold tires.

Cold winter temps will pull down tire psi.

TPMS not affected by temp.

N2 not worth the trouble.

If one tire drops psi much faster, inspect for leaks etc.

 

General rule of thumb is 1 psi for every 10F drop.

 

Your pressure should increase if you go for a drive. Tires do warm up while driving, I see my tire pressure increase about 5 lbs after driving for a while. It been really cold here. Cold weather can cause leaks so I would drive around a while, not far, 20 miles, then fill it up.

Nitogen, no need. That's more for tires that don't move much. Like my RV has Nitrogen tires. Help prevent rot to the tire. The RV just sits a lot.

 

This is pretty consistent with my observations over the years. If you are really concerned about it you need to leave your truck outside, let the wheel/tires get to ambient temperature (several hours at a minimum), then adjust your tire pressure. If you are setting your tires to 35 psi while in the garage, that is the main issue; you are setting them in an artificially higher than outside temperature. You can also attempt to compensate by using the 1 psi per 10 degrees rule and add air for the total difference between the inside garage temperature and the outside temperature. That should get you close enough.

 

The TPMS are not affected by temperature, and I've found them to be quite accurate by comparing pressures with a high quality air pressure gauge. Tire pressures can be greatly affected by temperature. How much is a matter of the temperature differential as well as your altitude and the tire itself (softer tires have more pressure swing). I have never relied on a rule of thumb, and have never found the 1psi/10 degrees rule to be reliable. I'm also not a proponent of nitrogen, although using nitrogen will not hurt anything as far as I'm aware; but it won't help much, if at all, either (IMO). "Normal" is very much a relative thing, but considering the winter we're having this year, I'm not surprised by what you're seeing.

In my climate, I typically adjust my tire pressures 4-6 times per year, and check the pressures often (at least once per week). The TPMS makes this amazingly convenient for us.

Even though your truck is garaged, and the ambient (cold) temperature will be higher than it would be outside, it's probably still reasonably close, at least enough to not worry over when adjusting pressures.

Just for reference, my pressure spec is also 35 psi, with factory Goodyear Wrangler AT's. In summer, with nighttime temperatures in the low-mid 70's F, I set my pressures at 35 psi. Extended driving in 85deg F would bring them up to 38-39 psi. By October, with nighttime temperatures in the low 30's, the cold pressures were reading 33 PSI, so I readjusted them to 35 psi cold. Now in January, with low temperatures averaging -15F, They still read 34 psi cold. Extended driving at 0F brings them up to 37-38 psi. I keep an eye on the pressures but haven't yet adjusted them since October. Yesterday the low temperature here was -17F. Tomorrow the forecasted low is 23F. With such variable temperatures, I don't expect to be adjusting tire pressures, but I will be keeping an eye on them.

In weather like this, the ultimate (driving) high pressure reached is as important as the low (cold) pressure. Unfortunately, we almost never see specs for recommended higher pressures. The tire only tells you the maximum allowable pressure, which should be well above what you will ever see.

 

Check tires monthly, cold, and adjust pressure. Mine are due to be checked this weekend, temp is minus 5, but will be 20 degrees higher starting Monday.

 

As said before I find them to be very accurate when checked with a tire pressure gauge. I thought one of my sensors was malfunctioning because after airing up it would show lower than the others by 1 or 2 psi more every few days. Bought a high quality gauge and they had the same readings. Turns out it had a very small leak that needed to be patched.