How to Make Your Tires Last Longer?

The tires are one of the most important parts of a car, and it’s troubling that many people don’t care too much for them. They’re the rubber wrapped around your shiny wheels responsible for accelerating, braking, and steering. Most don’t understand the importance until they’re left with a flat on the side of the road. In these situations, they’re wondering which god they piss off to be in that situation.

The reality is that tires aren’t cheap, and replacing them too often can be a financial strain. Unless you’re crazy rich, at which point you probably don’t care. Depending on the size and class, you’re looking at over $500 for smaller cars. For the bigger ones, you should expect to be in the four-digit range.

Considering the price, you may want to know if there’s something you can do to get more miles out of your current set. The good news is that there is, and I’ll teach you how.

Ensure the Pressure in Your Tires Is Optimal

During the development process, car manufacturers test multiple tire sizes and pressures. They take multiple factors to decide on the optimal pressure. This has countless advantages, but the one we’re interested in is longevity.

The perfect contact path means that as the tires roll, the full width makes contact with the road, resulting in even wear. On the opposite side of the spectrum, there are things like overinflation and underinflation. The first one is when the pressure is over the recommended one, and the second is when it’s lower.

At a certain point in history, someone decided to make a claim that overinflating your tires improves fuel economy. While it may be true in theory, over time, you’ll end up with uneven wear. The problem with overinflation is down the middle of the tread.

Underinflating is the opposite, where the pressure is below the required one. The car’s weight squishes the tire to the point where the central part of the tread isn’t making contact with the road. In this case, you’re still looking at uneven wear, but it’s on the shoulder areas. 

Check the tires regularly to ensure the pressure is at optimal range. They lose pressure over time, so you should check them once a month or before going on a longer trip. Use a precise gauge, and always make sure to check them when they’re cold before going on a drive. If that’s not an option, you can park at a gas station and wait before checking the pressure. Finding the correct PSI is easy, just open the driver-side door and look for the sticker. Alternatively, you can check out the owner’s manual.

Rotate the Tires Regularly

Contrary to popular belief, your tires don’t wear at the same rate. In a front-wheel drive car, the front ones will wear out at a much faster rate than the rear ones. This is why tire experts, myself included, recommend rotating them regularly.

Rotating the tires means moving them around, allowing them to wear at the same rate. For example, moving the fronts to the back on an FWD car means they’ll get some rest. Slowing down the wear rate on the front and speeding it up on the rear ones means they’ll wear evenly throughout their lifespan.

Tire manufacturers recommend an interval between 5,000 and 8,000 miles. You can also ask your local tire shop about the preferred interval and the type of rotation you can do.

Make Sure Your Wheels Are Aligned

Each car comes with a specific setup about how it should drive from the factory, and the alignment is part of that. As we drive our cars, especially on rough roads, the wheels may get misaligned, a problem that can lead to uneven wear.

The closer the angle of your wheels is to the factory specifications, the less likely you will notice uneven wear. Checking the alignment once a year is a good idea, and you may consider doing it more often if you rack up a lot of miles. I’d also recommend checking it in case you hit a large pothole recently, as that can put a wheel out of alignment.

If you’re paying attention while driving, you’ll notice a misaligned wheel. The symptoms, in most cases, are a car pulling to one side, vibrations, or a steering wheel that’s not straight. Not seeing any of these signs doesn’t mean your wheels are perfectly aligned, so make sure to check them.

Drive Normally 

Many things can reduce the lifespan of your tires, and aggressive driving is one of the worst. Doing a big fat, pardon, obese burnout may look cool in front of your friends, but they won’t pitch in when you need to buy new tires.

All jokes aside, aggressive acceleration, braking, and cornering significantly reduce tire lifespan. Tires rely on friction, which helps with grip and traction and is also responsible for wear. The more aggressive your driving style is, the more microscopic rubber chunks you’re tearing off, thus accelerating wear.

Driving smooth and steady is the preferable style. Don’t accelerate like you’re in a race, and use the brakes gently. If you’re an enthusiast, going into that favorite corner in your neighborhood at a higher speed may be fun, but it doesn’t help the tires last as long as possible. In addition, driving fast on public roads can be dangerous.

Don’t Overload Your Vehicle

The tires carry the entire weight of your vehicle, and even though they’re designed for that, putting too much on them will reduce their lifespan. Car manufacturers specify the maximum load a car can carry, and going over that puts a strain on multiple components, including the tires.

Driving with excess weight in your car, especially for longer periods, means you’ll be stressing the tires more than they should be. This is because, at their optimal pressure, they’ll need to carry a higher load than specified. Over time, the stress will reduce the lifespan of the tires and wear them out faster than anticipated.

Use the Right Tires

My last piece of advice would be to use the right tires. When I say right, I mean to use season-specific ones if you’re not using all-season or all-weather tires. I’ve seen way too many people drive their winter tires in summer, which is one of the worst things you can do regarding tire longevity.

Winter tires have a softer rubber compound, allowing them to remain pliable in freezing temperatures. Driving them in summer means they’re way out of their comfort zone, and the heat destroys them one mile at a time. No, your friend who’s a wannabe racer is wrong. Winter tires aren’t grippier than summer ones in warm weather. Summer tires in winter don’t suffer as much, but the problem with this is that the grip and traction levels will be horrible.

The type of tires can also affect how many miles you’ll get out of them. Putting some super sticky tires on your Corolla won’t make it a race car, but it will mean that you’ll get tires that aren’t designed for longevity. This is why touring tires are the better option, especially the premium models, which have a longer treadwear warranty than the performance ones.

Conclusion

Considering the price of a new set of tires, it’s only natural to look for ways to get the most out of your current set. I’ve outlined multiple approaches that can help you with that if you follow and apply the tips correctly. As long as you care for and inspect your tires regularly, you can be sure they’ll last you for as long as possible.

Featured image by Benjamin Brunner on Unsplash