How to make your tires last longer

Tires are a very important, albeit expensive purchase. While the common recommendation is to replace your tires about every three to four years, if you drive 12,000 – 15,000 miles per year¹ there are things you can do to help make sure your tires don’t wear out too soon and even help them last longer so you spend less money in the long run.

1. Avoid driving with a flat tire

Thanks to advanced tire technology, flat tires aren’t as common as they once were, but they do still happen. Driving on a flat tire can increase the damage to the tire and/or wheels which can cost you more money, and it can pose a safety risk to yourself and other vehicles on the road due to the flat making it difficult to drive in a straight line. When you drive on a flat tire, the wheel rim pinches the tire close to the road and shreds the inside lining of the tire. If you continue to drive on a flat you can grind, damage or bend the rims, which can lead to permanent damage.¹² The result? Instead of repairing a tire, you now have to replace it, and possibly more than one which can cost as much as $720.² Brake lines, rotors, calipers, and suspension components could also be damaged beyond repair when you drive on a flat tire.³

Of course, you never want to sacrifice your safety for the sake of your tire, so if you have to drive on it to get out of harm’s way, go ahead and drive on it at slower speeds with your emergency blinkers on until you reach safety.

2. Fill your tires correctly

Do you know what the best tire pressure is for your car? While your owner’s manual will list the correct pressure, you can also find it on a sticker attached to the edge of the driver’s side door, glove box door, or fuel door.

Monitoring your tires for the correct pressure will help prevent larger problems down the road like excessive wearing from bowing. Many newer vehicles also have a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) which alerts you when your tire pressure is too low. If the warning light pops up on your dashboard, your tires may need immediate attention to avoid further damage. Keep in mind that cold temperatures can affect tire pressure, and if there is a large drop in temperature (cold front or change in season) you should monitor your tire pressure more closely. Filling your tires at least once every winter is recommended.^4 15

Want to learn more about how to fill your tires with air?

The penny test

How do you know when to replace tires? If you don’t own a tire tread depth gauge, here’s a way to check tire tread using a penny: stick a penny (Lincoln’s head facing down) into the tread groove. If the top of his head is visible, it’s probably time to replace your tires at a nearby tire shop.¹¹

Tip: Stay on top of things. Check for tread wear indicators at least once every two months if you drive a lot or drive far distances.

On the hunt for new tires? Read our comprehensive article on all you need to know before you buy. (link to article 1 *everything you need to know before buying new tires*)

3. Watch that alignment

If you experience your vehicle pulling or drifting to one side or notice severe wear on the inside or outside edge of your tire, it may be time to get your tires aligned.⁵ For most vehicles, alignment means correcting the subtle tilts in your car’s camber, caster, and toe-in or toe-out. Specialized equipment is used and can be done at your preferred tire shop or by your mechanic to correct the alignment, often in fractions of an inch.

4. Balance your wheels & rotate your tires

While alignment adjusts the angle of your wheels, balancing involves applying weights on the tire rim, inside and out.⁶ If your car begins to vibrate around 60 or 70 miles per hour, it’s time to get your tires balanced. Over time, your tires begin to change shape as they wear down due to normal aging of the front-end car parts, potholes, and hard braking. Driving through material that can clump on your tires, like mud and snow, can also affect the balance. Cleaning your tires and a test drive can determine if you need to balance your tires and what type of weight application is most appropriate. While making sure your wheels are balanced, it’s also important to have your tires rotated. Rotating your tires every 3,000 to 5,000 miles (or when you go in for an oil change) will help even out the wear on your tires and help them last longer.¹³

5. Be careful parking

The shoulders and side walls of an automobile tire are considerably less durable than the tread area because they are not protected by tread blocks or a steel belt. If you scrape the sides of your tires along a curb while parallel parking, you quickly shorten the life of them. Continually bumping into curbs when parking diagonally can also damage the shoulders and sidewalls of a tire quickly.⁷

6. Avoid potholes

All potholes can damage automobile tires, but potholes on asphalt roads are the most destructive. The potholes on an asphalt-covered road have sharp, unforgiving rims. The rims of asphalt-road potholes force a tire to flex and stretch, which can cause abrasions, punctures and tears. The greater the velocity with which a driver hits these types of potholes, the greater the odds are of tire damage or failure occurring which means a trip to the nearest tire shop to purchase a new set.⁸

7. Don’t skid or peel out

Accelerating and stopping rapidly damages the treads of a tire more quickly than any other driving action. Breaking the surface tension between tires and the road creates tremendous friction that eats away at the treads. Following the three second rule while driving can help keep you from situations in which you would have to rapidly brake. The more cautiously a driver accelerates and brakes, the longer the vehicle’s tire treads will last.⁹

8. Avoid gravel roads

The three-quarter-inch rock on gravel-covered dirt roads is made of crushed quarry rock. It is sharp and jagged and does more damage to highway tires than almost any other driving surface does. If a vehicle is equipped with off-road tires, gravel-covered dirt roads are not a major concern, but tires designed for highway travel do not typically fare well on gravel roads.¹⁰ If you cannot avoid driving on gravel you should make sure to drive slowly, drive in the center of the road when possible, use existing tire tracks if there are any, leave extra space between you and the vehicles ahead of you and pass with great caution if you find yourself behind a slow moving vehicle.