Tires can be expensive. This is especially true if you have larger tires or drive an all-wheel drive vehicle, which requires all four to be changed at the same time. Then when you throw in tough winter conditions, you have winter tires to account for. It adds up fast, so it’s no wonder people want to make their tires last as long as they can.
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Check Your Tire Pressure Often
Check your tire pressure to ensure it’s at the proper inflation at least once a month. In the colder months of the year, when tires tend to lose more pressure, you may even want to check the pressure every couple of weeks. The amount of tread on your tire is related to how the tires are inflated. Tread is thicker in the middle part of the tire and thins out toward the sidewall. If you’re regularly driving on under-inflated tires, the edge of the sidewall is running on the pavement more than it should, wearing out the edge of the tire.
By keeping your tires properly inflated, you can help ensure that tire wear mostly happens where the extra tread is. Just a dollar in the air machine at the gas station every month can make your tires, which cost several hundred dollars, last a lot longer.
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Have Your Alignment Done Twice Per Year
Having your vehicle’s tires aligned isn’t as affordable as checking the air pressure, but the benefits are worth the effort. When you hit large bumps and rough roads, there’s a chance that your vehicle’s wheels will rotate out of position ever so slightly (less than a degree in many cases). This can also make the tread on your tire wear out unevenly. If you notice tread wearing out on one side more than another or more down the center than the rest of the tire, it’s definitely time for an alignment.
There are two key benefits to keeping your tires aligned. First, the tires themselves will last longer. Second, you’ll achieve much better fuel economy with properly aligned tires. The more you’re out of alignment, the faster your tires will wear down unevenly.
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Rotate Your Tires
Many tire shops will give you free rotations if you buy your tires from them, so be sure to take advantage of that if you can. Rotating your tires is required because the front and back tires will wear out at different rates. Front tires tend to take more of a beating because of the extra weight up front. Rotating your tires every 5,000 to 10,000 miles will keep the tread wear even between front and back tires. If you have an all-wheel drive vehicle this is especially important since tread levels on front and back wheels need to be kept more consistent.
Increasing the life of your tires is easy with just a few bits of maintenance each year. The extra money you save from not having to replace tires as often can go towards higher quality tires or paying off your car payment early.
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