Ever had your car checked and been told that you need to replace the tires—long before their mileage is up? There are a number of things that wear down tires prematurely, and you want to avoid them. We asked professionals to share ideas for getting tires to last as long as possible. Read on for their replies:
Melanie Musson is a writer for AutoInsurance.org. She specializes in travel, insurance, recalls, and vehicle safety.
Alignment
The type of tire you have on your car will play a big role in the wear. A winter tire, while superior for gripping slick roadways, is made of softer rubber and will wear more quickly than an all-season or highway tire. If you use a winter tire, make sure to get it changed out for a summer or all-season tire after the winter is over.
Properly inflated tires wear more slowly, so check the pressure regularly and fill as needed. Any time you slide off the road, hit a curb, or go over a bad pothole, pay attention to possible alignment problems. A vibrating or shaking sensation is one sign of bad alignment. Another sign is your car pulling a certain direction. If your alignment is off, you’ll take years off your tire life. The inside or outside tread can wear quickly when your alignment is off, and even when most of your tread is plenty deep, your tires will need to be changed.
Right type
Depending on your location, ensuring that the right type of tire is fitted at the right time of year could improve both the life of the tire and your safety on the road. It’s generally accepted that a winter tire (designated M+S) offers far superior performance and grip to a summer or all-season tire when the temperature is below 7 degrees (44 F). Constructed of a softer rubber compound than a summer tire, a winter tire will equally wear much quicker than a summer tire in warmer temperatures.
Our advice for optimal safety / life of a tire is to ensure you have the most appropriate tires fitted to suit the weather conditions. Of course, you would not want to be changing tires on a regular basis. You can usually do this bi-annually (start / end of winter season), but this could extend the life of your winter tires dramatically. (Generally speaking, winter tires are more expensive than their summer counter-parts.)
Rental cars are generally maintained to a very high standard; however, you should still check the tread depth and general condition of all tires when renting a car before you accept. Returning a damaged tire (possibly due to excess wear) is likely to be your responsibility should you need to replace it.
Phil Partridge – Marketing Manager at Rhino Car Hire
Stacy Caprio | Founder, Growth Marketing
Reduce the highest speeds
When you reduce the highest speeds you drive in your car, you will extend your tires’ lives. The faster you drive, the more the tire tread wears down, so even if you drive the same amount of mileage at a slower rate, your tire treads will last longer and thank you with a longer lifespan later down the line.
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