How to Get the Most From Your Tires

Conventional wisdom tells us that one of the most essential parts of your vehicle is your tires since they are the only point of contact between your car and the road—and yet, many of us aren’t taught driving habits that help extend the lifespan of our tires. Even worse, we often pick up bad habits that cause our tires to wear out quicker than they should. Focusing on traffic laws and safe behavior is absolutely crucial, but we should also know how to drive in a way that is easy on our cars and their tires.

Thus, we thought we’d take a look at some common things you might be doing that are causing your tires to wear out sooner. Whether you’re looking to save money by making sure your tires last for as long as possible or you simply want to put off your next visit to a tire shop, these habits could be working against you—but don’t worry, as we’ll also go over some ways you can help improve the lifespan of your tires and get them to last longer.

There are plenty of overt ways we can harm our tires while driving, like hitting a curb while turning or driving right into a pothole. Most of us try to avoid those things, of course, but there are also some subtle ways you might be wearing out your tires without realizing it. If you were never taught to avoid doing these things or simply got into the habit of them without realizing it, then it can be difficult to recognize how you’re wearing out your tires. Here are some of the most common ones we see…

When you use your brakes, the friction between your slowing tires and the immovable road brings your vehicle to a stop. This friction wears down the surface of your tires and is the main reason you need to replace them. Hard braking is, not surprisingly, harder on your tires than gentle braking; similarly, cornering aggressively can wear them down faster, too.

Braking isn’t the only part of driving that wears down your tires, as every moment that you’re moving causes wear and tear. If you tend to accelerate hard and fast from a stop, then you’re wearing your tires out faster. We should also note that your tires have a particular speed rating they’re designed for. If you’re pushing the limits beyond their speed rating, then they’ll wear out faster or even be seriously damaged.

Tire pressure is absolutely crucial for getting the most from your tires, as improper tire pressure will cause your tires to wear faster and make for an unpleasant drive. Over-inflated tires provide poor traction and make poor contact with the road, which leads to sharper areas of wear in the center of the tread. On the other hand, under-inflated tires are less responsive and tend to wear out at the edges faster.

Just as your tires are rated for certain speeds, they are also designed to handle certain amounts of weight. If you have a truck that you like to load up with a lot of stuff, then make sure you have tires rated to handle how much weight you put in the bed. Overloading your vehicle can potentially damage your ride and will wear out your tires a lot faster.

This is one of those weird personal ticks some of us have, but it’s one to avoid. Dry steering refers to adjusting your steering wheel while you’re at a stop. If you find yourself doing this frequently—either due to nervous energy or while getting out of a tight parking spot—then it’s a good idea to break this habit and go easier on your tires.

The best way to take proper care of your vehicle, including your tires, is to follow its scheduled service calendar. Ignoring things like rotating your tires, checking your brakes, and aligning your wheels can greatly reduce the lifespan of your tires. Even worse, you might be ignoring something else that can become a serious and costly problem in the future.

Fortunately, it’s not all doom and gloom when it comes to your tires and properly caring for them. While there are plenty of things we do each day that can shorten the lifespan of our tires without realizing it, there are also quite a few simple things you can do to get them to last longer. Keep in mind that no matter what you do, eventually, you’ll need to replace your tires; even if you never drive on them, their rubber has a certain lifespan and will decay over time.

Remember how we said over- and under-inflated tires wear out faster? Well, there’s an easy fix for that: check your tire pressure on a regular basis, at least once a month, though twice a month is even better. Checking your tire pressure is quick and easy; just be sure to then adjust the pressure to have it at the right level. Proper tire pressure gives you a better ride, keeps your tires in good shape, improves your car’s fuel economy, and can even help you avoid a crash or blowout.

Fast driving, aggressive cornering, and hard braking all wear down your tires—so the solution is to break those habits. This can be difficult if you’ve become accustomed to any of these behaviors, but it’s well worth it. Get into the habit of accelerating smoothly from a stop and drive in a way that gives you plenty of room for gentle braking when coming to a red light or stop sign. Of course, you still need to brake hard to avoid a crash, and you’ll need to accelerate more aggressively when merging onto a freeway, but you can generally lighten up on the gas and brakes when driving around town.

Proper service for your vehicle keeps it running great and helps your parts last as long as possible, which includes your tires. Check your vehicle’s service schedule and pay particular attention to how often you should have your tires rotated and your wheel alignment checked and adjusted. Then, follow that schedule. Rotating your tires and aligning your wheels properly ensures your tires wear out evenly and helps them last as long as possible. You’ll still have to replace your tires after a while, but this will help them last longer and provide you with a better driving experience.

As we’ve said a couple of times now, no matter what you do you’ll need to eventually replace your tires because they wear down through daily driving and decay over time. Still, practicing good habits can greatly improve how long your tires last, which saves you money and lets you avoid the need to replace them frequently.

Once the time comes that you do need new tires (usually due to the tread wearing down), then it’s important you don’t wait and that you get new tires for your vehicle as soon as possible. Driving on tires that are worn down greatly reduces your traction and control, increasing the potential for a serious crash. So when the time comes, replace your tires, and you’ll stay safer on the road.