Tires are one of the most important parts of any vehicle because they provide the necessary traction to keep your car moving and ensure that you’re safe on the road. However, they can’t last forever and will eventually need to be replaced. But you, as an owner, can do a few things to make sure that the car tires last longer and get the most out of your investment.
In this article, I’ll show you some practical tips I use to prolong the lifespan of car tires. I’m sure that by following these tips, you can save some money, stay safe on the road, and enjoy a smoother ride.
Inflate Your Tires Properly
The most important thing you should do is to take care of the proper inflation of your car tires. Due to improper inflation, tires can often wear unevenly or just wear much quicker than usual.
Inflating is the easy part; just make sure to check the owner’s manual of your vehicle and check for the recommended tire pressure. You can also find that info on the driver’s side door jamb or at the gas cap. Once you have the correct pressure, use a tire pressure gauge to check the pressure and adjust if necessary. Also, only check the tire pressure when the tires are cold because that’s the only way to get accurate readings.
Proper car tires inflation does a few following things:
- Extends the tires’ lifespan
- Improve fuel efficiency
- Improves safety and handling
I suggest checking the tire pressure every 2 weeks or before any longer road trip.
Rotate Tires Regularly
Even though tire rotation doesn’t particularly mean that the car tires will last longer, it ensures that you’ll always have an even wear for both the front and the rear car tires. With time, the weight distribution of your car can cause uneven wear on your tires, with the front tires wearing out faster than the rear tires. But if you rotate them, that way the tires will wear more evenly.
Even though the rotation schedule may be a subjective topic, I suggest that you rotate tires every 5,000 to 7,000 miles. If your car is rear or all-wheel drive, you can do it somewhere at 20,000 miles or even longer.
The good thing is that you can do this all by yourself. Just jack up your car and quickly rotate the front wheels with the rear ones. However, you might need some jack stands because you’ll have to remove two tires at once to do the rotation. We recently wrote a guide on replacing the car tire, so check out that guide if you don’t know how to do it properly.
Avoid Overloading Your Vehicle
Overloading your car can put excessive stress on car tires and significantly reduce their lifespan. When you overload your vehicle, the extra weight cause tires to wear out faster and even leads to a blowout in some extreme cases.
Most people won’t have a problem with this, but here’s a quick advice I can give you. If you don’t need something in your car, and it’s heavy, don’t drive it. Put it somewhere in your garage. Also, be aware of the vehicle’s recommended weight limit. You can check that in the owner’s manuals.
If you constantly overload your car, it won’t only affect the tires. It will also affect the handling, fuel efficiency, and suspension wear. So, whenever possible, don’t drive too much cargo in your car.
Clean and Condition Car Tires
Over time, dirt, grime, brake dust, and other contaminants accumulate on the tires, causing them to look dull and worn out. And not only that makes your car ugly, but it also contributes to quicker car tire wear.
By cleaning and conditioning your tires regularly, you can restore their shine and protect them from UV rays, and other harmful factors.
Cleaning car tires is pretty simple. Just follow this procedure:
- Work when the car is cold
- Rinse the cars with a hose or by using a pressure washer
- Spray high-quality wheel cleaner on rims and tires
- Take a brush and agitate the tires to clean as much dirt as possible
- Rinse off the wheel
- Once the tires are dry, apply some high-quality tire dressing. I like using this Nexgen Wet Look Tire Shine. It’s easy to apply, and it lasts longer than most other dressings that I have used in the past.
To conclude, clean and conditioned tires will look better, stay protected, and in the end, last longer, which saves you a bunch of money in the long term.
Bottom Line
Proper tire maintenance is essential if you want to prolong their lifespan, so you can get the same lifespan as marketed by the manufacturer. Furthermore, it will also make your vehicle safer and more reliable on the road.
Of course, don’t expect to do some miracles and prolong the tire lifespan for 20,000 miles. But from my experience, you can expect to prolong their lifespan for up to 5,000 miles with proper care and maintenance. So, it’s surely worth it, especially because of the safety factor for you and other passengers.
