Where the rubber meets the road is where the control of your vehicle takes place. It doesn’t matter if you have the most advanced traction and stability control systems if your tires are bald and unable to grip the road. This will show itself in a big way when you encounter rain or snow with a set of tires that appears to be sanded down to a smooth finish. The problem is tires can be expensive, but as important as they are you need to spend the money. Here are some way you can make your tires last longer so it doesn’t sting as much when you do need new ones.
Buy Winter Tires in the Summer – Your all season tires are really made for three seasons and those are the ones without snow. If you live in an area that gets snow every year you should buy winter tires in the summer and have them mounted on a new set of rims. Doing this will give you the right tires for the bad weather and help your all season tires last longer.
Buy Leftovers – Tires that have sat around on the shelf for a long time can still be great for road driving when purchased new. Some high performance tires are on the shelf for years and eventually receive heavy discounts because the performance drivers don’t buy them. These are great for the road and offer you the same warranty as tires that were manufactured recently.
Rotate Your Own Tires – Unless this is part of the oil change package you purchased, and usually it costs more to add tire rotation to the package, rotate them yourself. Most tires today do not have directional tread and can work on every position of the vehicle. As long as all the tires are the same width you can put them on all four positions of the vehicle and only need a jack stand to get the job done and move the tires around at home. Doing this will help your tires wear evenly and make them last longer.
Air Pressure – It’s important to check the air pressure on a regular basis in order to keep your tires in good condition and operating efficiently. You can find the tire pressure range on the side of the tires and you should choose a number in that range to have all your tires inflated to. By doing this you will be able to make your tires last longer and avoid possible blow outs or losing fuel mileage on the road because you didn’t pay attention to your tires.
Ignore Treadwear Numbers – This is a number that is expected as an average of how long your tires might last. When you check the air pressure you should check the treadwear using the penny test to ensure the tread is deep enough for you to continue driving on the tires. Your tires could last as many as 20,000 miles beyond the treadwear numbers or not even make it to that number at all, your driving habits are what determine that factor.
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