Is it safe to drive with insufficient tire pressure?

[LeWalter]

Tire pressure is insufficient when it is recommended not to continue driving, because driving with insufficient tire pressure is very dangerous. For safety reasons, it is best to stop immediately. Continuing to drive with insufficient tire pressure will have the following effects: 1. It will increase the contact area between the tire tread and the road surface, increasing driving resistance and fuel consumption. 2. It will cause severe wear on both sides of the tire, and the sides of the tire are the most fragile parts. 3. It will increase the friction coefficient, leading to abnormal heating of the tire, a sharp rise in tire temperature, softening of the tire, a decrease in strength, and an increased risk of a blowout.

[StSilas]

Last time on the highway, the tire pressure warning light suddenly came on, and I immediately pulled over at the nearest service area. Driving with a flat tire is really playing with your life! The tire sidewall gets repeatedly folded, and it might blow out on the spot, especially in summer when the road temperature is high. Even if you drive slowly, wearing out the tire is the least of your worries—the steering wheel becomes extremely heavy, the braking distance increases, and the car feels like it's sliding on ice during sharp turns. The worst part is that fuel consumption skyrockets. I've seen people push it until the tire comes off the rim. So now I always keep an air pump in the car and top up the tire pressure immediately when it's low. Safety is not something to take lightly.

[DeJoel]

This is a frequent topic in our car enthusiasts' group chat - never drive when tire pressure is 25% below the standard value. Last week, Old Wang went to the suburbs with only 1.6 bar in his front right tire and ended up losing control during a turn, crashing into the guardrail. Abnormal tire pressure causes the wheel rim to directly compress the tire sidewall, which lacks the steel wire protective layer - just a few kilometers of driving can lead to bulging and complete tire failure. Thinking back, it's terrifying - last winter I drove 10 kilometers with 2.0 bar pressure, and later found the inner wall had worn down to the cord layer when removed. My advice: when you see that yellow exclamation mark on the dashboard, address it immediately - don't gamble with your life.

[StEzra]

Tires are like the air cushions of sneakers - when pressure is insufficient, the entire load-bearing structure collapses. Driving on flat tires causes abnormal bending of sidewalls, with temperatures soaring above 80°C, directly breaking rubber molecular chains. At this point, the internal tire cord layers become like repeatedly bent wire, experiencing metal fatigue that leads to either bulges or blowouts. More dangerously, steering angles become misaligned while ABS and ESP data gets completely scrambled. Experimental data shows that when tire pressure is 30% below standard, braking distance at 80km/h increases by over 7 meters. Therefore, even if the repair shop is just two kilometers away, you must inflate the tires before moving.