Out of all the parts of a standard vehicle, the tires are probably the parts that wear out the most often. Due to the nature of their function, this shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. The amount of friction caused by the rubber grinding against the road will cause them to wear down sooner or later. Even though manufacturers have improved at making tires that don’t wear out as fast, these parts still run out of tread eventually.
Fortunately, there’s a lot you can do as the car owner to make this inevitable process happen at a much slower rate. If you want to know how to maintain your tires so that they last longer than usual, peruse this guide to gain some helpful tips.
Check Your Tire Pressure Regularly
One of the things that can negatively impact the wear and tear of your tires is a lack of tire pressure. Not having enough air in your tires will make accelerating, braking, and steering more difficult, and these challenges will wear the tires down more quickly.
Checking your tire pressure about once a month will prevent this issue. Even if your vehicle has a feature that notifies you when your tire pressure is getting low, you should still check it on your own. These systems aren’t always the most accurate and may not inform you of minor decreases in pressure.
Be sure not to over-inflate your tires when the time comes to fill them up, either. Over-inflated tires can cause similar problems. Plus, you run a greater risk of popping one the next time you hit a large bump or pothole.
Remember To Rotate Your Tires
Tire rotation is also crucial for improving the longevity of your tires. Due to a variety of factors, some tires will wear out more than others. Switching the front and back tires will even out their gradual deterioration, helping you improve the set’s overall lifespan.
Fortunately, you won’t have to do this chore as often as checking your tire pressure. Still, it’s wise to have a shop that specializes in tire installation services rotate your tires once every 5,000 miles or so.
Be Aware of Your Tire Alignment
While it’s not a common issue, misaligned wheels can also wear out your tires faster than usual. The accelerated damage is due to how your tires rotate and come into contact with the ground. Even a slight misalignment can cause unnecessary wear and tear.
If you ever notice your tires pointing in or out, you should take your car in for an alignment immediately. However, some misalignments are difficult to detect with the naked eye. Many shops have high-grade technology that will be able to determine if the alignment of your wheels is off.
Have Your Tires Balanced
Tire balance is another crucial factor to consider when looking into maintenance routines that’ll help your tires last longer. Uneven wear is a problem that can occur with any set of tires. If it does, it can cause even further wear and tear that you could’ve avoided through a proper tire balance. A tire service shop can add weights to your wheels that’ll help balance your tires out, which will prevent further uneven wear.
Keep in mind, however, that even new tires can be unbalanced. Small imperfections can cause a tire to vibrate while moving, leading to additional wear and tear. This potential issue means that you should have a professional balance your tires, no matter how old they are.
Switch Tires When Needed
People who like to squeeze as much performance out of their vehicle as possible will likely change their tires according to the trip they have planned. However, the average driver might need to switch out their tires to better suit their region’s demands. Mountainous roads and snowy conditions sometimes require a higher grade of tire that will help drivers ensure they don’t lose grip while on the road.
Using tires not made for these extreme conditions will cause them to wear out very quickly. If you deal with these circumstances often, having a second set of tires might be necessary to ensure your normal set lasts longer.
Avoid Driving on a Flat
Even though most people will pull off to the side of the road any time they suddenly get a flat tire, not all drivers do. No matter how close you are to home or the nearest shop, driving on a flat tire is never a good idea. While driving on a flat can harm the tread, it’s even worse for the interior of the rubber since the metal rim will place unnecessary pressure on it.
In most cases, patching a flat tire will be very cheap or even free. If you drive on one, though, you risk destroying the inner tube and possibly the tire as a whole. This excess damage will force you to buy a new one, making it nearly impossible to maintain an even tread across your set.
Improve Your Driving Habits
While most of these suggestions involve standard maintenance routines, our final tip is something you can do more actively to improve the longevity of your tires: improve your driving habits. While you should always avoid reckless driving for the sake of everyone’s safety, slowing down during your commute will significantly reduce the amount of wear and tear your tires endure.
Quick acceleration and hard braking will force your tires to rub up against the road much more than a calm start and stop would. While sudden stops are sometimes unavoidable, frequent reckless driving will have you buying new tires more often than most other drivers.
Replace Each of Your Tires at Once
In the end, no matter how careful you are, you’ll need new tires eventually. If you followed each of our tips, they should all need a replacement around the same time, but that’s not always the case. If you only need to replace two or three of your tires, you should consider buying an entirely new set instead. This measure will help ensure that your next batch of tires wears out more evenly than your current set.
Of course, you don’t want to forget about the spare, either. Even though your spare tire likely didn’t see much action on the road, time can still wear out a tire. Replacing your spare will help ensure that you don’t run into further difficulties if the day ever comes when you need to use it. The last thing you want is another flat tire because you failed to replace your spare tire in the last decade.
