Tyre pressure
Vehicle placards list cold inflation pressure in psi, bar or kPa depending on the market, and gauges are sold marked in any of them. A 32 psi recommendation is 2.21 bar; European placards typically state 2.2 bar, which is 31.9 psi.
Pressure
Convert bar to psi
1 bar equals 14.503774 pounds per square inch. Enter a value below to convert instantly.
Bar to psi converts European pressure specifications into the unit US gauges are marked in. A bar is defined as exactly 100,000 pascals, which makes it close to atmospheric pressure but not equal to it — a distinction that matters when a spec says 'absolute'.
1 bar
14.503774 psi
Multiply the number of bars by 14.503773773 to get pounds per square inch. How this is calculated
Need the other direction? Convert pound per square inch to bar →
Formula
Multiply the number of bars by 14.503773773 to get pounds per square inch.
Step by step
- Start with 1 bar.
- Multiply by the conversion factor 14.503773773.
- 1 × 14.503773773 = 14.503774 psi.
Bars to Pounds per Square Inch conversion table
| Bars (bar) | Pounds per Square Inch (psi) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 14.503774 |
| 2 | 29.007548 |
| 5 | 72.518869 |
| 10 | 145.03774 |
| 20 | 290.07548 |
| 50 | 725.18869 |
| 100 | 1,450.3774 |
| 500 | 7,251.8869 |
| 1,000 | 14,503.774 |
Where bars and pounds per square inch are used together
Hydraulic and pneumatic systems
Component ratings, hose burst pressures and relief valve settings are published in whichever unit the manufacturer uses. Mixing units when specifying a replacement part is a safety issue, not just an arithmetic one.
Diving and gas cylinders
Cylinder working pressures are stated in bar in most of the world and psi in the US — 200 bar and 3,000 psi are the two common standards, and they are not the same (200 bar is 2,901 psi).
Espresso and pressure washers
Consumer equipment is marketed in bar in Europe and psi in the US. A '9 bar' espresso machine is 130.5 psi; a '2,000 psi' pressure washer is 137.9 bar.
Everyday bars worth knowing
Values people actually look up, with the reason each one comes up. Every figure is calculated with the same engine as the converter above.
| Bar (bar) | Pound per Square Inch (psi) | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14.503774 | The base conversion |
| 1.01325 | 14.695949 | One standard atmosphere |
| 2 | 29.007548 | A low tyre pressure |
| 2.2 | 31.908302 | A common European tyre placard figure |
| 2.5 | 36.259434 | A common tyre pressure |
| 9 | 130.53396 | Espresso brewing pressure |
| 200 | 2,900.7548 | A European diving cylinder |
| 300 | 4,351.1321 | A high-pressure cylinder |
How these two units are defined
The pascal is the SI unit: one newton per square metre. A bar is exactly 100,000 Pa, chosen because it is close to average atmospheric pressure at sea level (101,325 Pa, which is one standard atmosphere). The pound per square inch is exactly 6,894.757293168 Pa, following from the exact definitions of the pound-force and the inch. Neither the bar nor the psi is an SI unit, but both remain in wide industrial use — the bar in Europe, the psi in the US and in most tyre and hydraulic equipment.
Rounding and precision
The factor is exact, but tyre and workshop gauges are typically accurate to about ±1 psi (±0.07 bar), so converted values should be rounded to one decimal place in bar or the nearest whole psi. Do not round a converted pressure to a 'nicer' number in the direction of lower pressure on a safety-critical system — round toward the manufacturer's specification and verify with a calibrated gauge.
Mistakes people make with this conversion
-
Confusing gauge pressure with absolute pressure
A tyre gauge reads gauge pressure — the amount above atmospheric. 32 psi on the gauge is about 46.7 psi absolute. Datasheets that specify 'bara' or 'psia' mean absolute and are a full atmosphere higher than the gauge figure.
-
Treating 1 bar as 1 atmosphere
A bar is 100,000 Pa; a standard atmosphere is 101,325 Pa. They differ by 1.3%, which is negligible for a tyre and not for a calibration.
-
Using the maximum sidewall pressure as the target
The number moulded into a tyre sidewall is a maximum, not a recommendation. The correct cold inflation pressure comes from the vehicle's door-jamb placard or handbook.
Read more about these units
Sources for this page
- SI Brochure — The International System of Units (SI), 9th edition
- Special Publication 811 — Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI)
Content on this page last reviewed 12 August 2026. Spotted an error? Report it — see also how these values are calculated.
Convert Bar to other pressure units
1 bar expressed in every other pressure unit on this site.
- Pascal Pa 100,000
- Kilopascal kPa 100
- Megapascal MPa 0.1
- Gigapascal GPa 0.0001
- Hectopascal hPa 1,000
- Decipascal dPa 1,000,000
- Millipascal mPa 100,000,000
- Micropascal µPa 100,000,000,000
- Nanopascal nPa 100,000,000,000,000
- Picopascal pPa 1e+17
- Femtopascal fPa 1e+20
- Attopascal aPa 1e+23
- Centipascal cPa 10,000,000
- Dekapascal daPa 10,000
- Terapascal TPa 1e-7
- Petapascal PPa 1e-10
- Exapascal EPa 1e-13
- Newton per Square Centimeter N/cm² 10
- Newton per Square Millimeter N/mm² 0.1
- Bar bar 1
- Millibar mbar 1,000
- Microbar µbar 1,000,000
- Dyne per Square Centimeter dyn/cm² 1,000,000
- Standard Atmosphere atm 0.98692327
- Technical Atmosphere at 1.0197162
- Torr Torr 750.06168
- Millitorr mTorr 750,061.68
- Pound per Square Inch psi 14.503774
- Kip per Square Inch ksi 0.014503774
- Pound per Square Foot psf 2,088.5434
- Poundal per Square Foot pdl/ft² 67,196.898
- Short Ton-force per Square Foot tonf/ft² (US) 1.0442717
- Long Ton-force per Square Foot tonf/ft² (UK) 0.93238546
- Short Ton-force per Square Inch tonf/in² (US) 0.0072518869
- Long Ton-force per Square Inch tonf/in² (UK) 0.006474899
- Kilogram-force per Square Meter kgf/m² 10,197.162
- Kilogram-force per Square Centimeter kgf/cm² 1.0197162
- Kilogram-force per Square Millimeter kgf/mm² 0.010197162
- Gram-force per Square Centimeter gf/cm² 1,019.7162
- Millimeter of Mercury mmHg 750.06158
- Centimeter of Mercury cmHg 75.006158
- Inch of Mercury inHg 29.529983
- Millimeter of Water mmH₂O 10,197.162
- Centimeter of Water cmH₂O 1,019.7162
- Meter of Water mH₂O 10.197162
- Inch of Water inH₂O 401.46308
- Foot of Water ftH₂O 33.457047
- Inch of Mercury (60 °F) inHg (60 °F) 29.613397
- Inch of Water (60 °F) inH₂O (60 °F) 401.85981
- Foot of Water (60 °F) ftH₂O (60 °F) 33.488317
About the bar
The bar (bar) is a Metric unit of pressure.
About the pound per square inch
The pound per square inch (psi) is a Imperial unit of pressure.
Related conversions
Frequently asked questions
What is 2.2 bar in psi?
2.2 bar is 31.9 psi. European tyre placards commonly specify 2.2 bar where a US placard for the same vehicle would say 32 psi — the two are the same recommendation rounded in different units.
What is 200 bar in psi?
200 bar is 2,901 psi. This is why a 200 bar European diving cylinder and a 3,000 psi US one are treated as broadly equivalent despite being about 3% apart.
Why do some datasheets say 'bar g' or 'bara'?
'bar g' is gauge pressure, measured relative to the surrounding atmosphere; 'bara' is absolute pressure, measured from vacuum. They differ by about 1.013 bar, and substituting one for the other is a common and consequential error.
How many pounds per square inch are in a bar?
One bar equals 14.503774 pounds per square inch.
How do you convert bars to pounds per square inch?
Multiply the number of bars by 14.503773773 to get pounds per square inch.
What is 1 pound per square inch in bars?
One pound per square inch equals 0.068947573 bars.
When would I convert bars to pounds per square inch?
This conversion is common when tire inflation, weather forecasting, diving, and industrial systems.