4 Ways to Increase the Life of your Tires

November 28th, 2014 by

tire-wear_patterns

Easy Ways to Maximize the Life of Your Tires

There are many maintenance costs that come into ownership of a vehicle that are unavoidable, but you can limit these expenses by optimizing your many facets of your car. A simple way to start optimizing your vehicle is to check out your tires. Tires are the single part of you vehicle among so many that actually make contact with ground and affect steering, braking, handling, fuel economy and performance in general. They are responsible for everything your car does and how well it does those things. Here are some simple ways to squeeze as much life as you can out of them .

1. Monitor Your Tire Pressure Weekly

First, monitor your tire pressure regularly, like once a week. It’s super simple to check your tire pressure and only requires a cheap tire pressure gauge. You can check your owner’s manual to see what your vehicle’s ideal tire pressure is for each wheel, this is also posted on a sticker inside the driver door frame on the rear vertical. Maintaining proper tire pressure and checking in regularly will prevent unnecessary wear on your tires while increasing fuel economy and performance. Both over and under inflating your tires will cost you some tire life, that’s why it is some important to check it regularly.

2. Inspect Your Tires for Objects and Punctures

Next, you want to take a look at your tires and just give them a quick inspection for any cuts or holes in the tires caused by objects. A sharp item puncturing your tire may have not caused you an immediate flat, but it could in the future due to a slow leak or if the puncture is complicated by driving the car. If you have an issue with a sharp object in your tire, you can fix it with a tire plug or look into having someone fix it for you.

3. Rotate Your Tires Every 6,000 Miles

The next valuable thing that you can do to maximize the life of your tires is to rotate them. Just to clear up what exactly rotating tires means, each tire on your car wears differently based on where it is on the car and what it is doing. Front tires wear differently than back due to steering and  tires on the left side wear differently than the tires on the right. Depending on your car, the tire rotation pattern is different but it is detailed in your owner’s manual and you should stick to what the manufacturer recommends. Tires should be rotated about every 6,000 miles depending on manufacturer recommendations, the old rule is to rotate them every other oil change if you stick to the outdated rule of an oil change ever 3,000 miles. Rotating your tires will allow all four of your tires to wear as evenly as possible so you can maximize the life of all of your tires.

4. Keep Your Wheels Properly Aligned

The last thing to keep track of in order to get as much life out of your tires as possible is to keep them properly aligned. This is a more complicated process that is best left to professionals but if your tires are not aligned, they will not wear evenly. If you feel that your vehicle is not handling as well as it used to or, more obviously, if your car is pulling to one side or the other constantly. If you have any concern about your vehicle’s alignment, it best to take care of it sooner than later because of the wear it can be causing to your tires and your vehicle. Fisher Auto, as well as other places, offer a FREE alignment check so that you can see if the issue is with your alignment. More often than now, a car pulling to a side will be corrected by an alignment update.
Any questions about the matter above? Post in the comments below!