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Your tires are an investment. Even a relatively cheap set of tires can easily run $500 or more, after disposal fees, taxes and installation. Unfortunately, they’re also an investment that is constantly depreciating, so it just makes sense to try to get the most out of your money with a set of tires.

The good news is that even lower-priced tires are designed to last longer than they were a generation ago. At one time, bias-ply tires were only good for about 20,000 miles (a couple of years’ worth of driving!) and early radials were lucky to go 35-40,000 miles before wearing out. Now, with improvements in tire construction and tread formulations, it’s not at all unusual to get 60,000 miles out of a set of tires.

That’s only with the correct care and driving habits, however. These are all good ideas to get the most miles out of your tire investment:

· Check your inflation regularly. An underinflated tire will relax and distribute the vehicle’s weight to the edges of the tire, resulting in uneven wear. Worse, improper inflation will result in higher rolling resistance and heat buildup, which will shorten tire life and possibly lead to premature tire failure. Added rolling resistance also means that it takes more energy to move the vehicle down the road, compromising fuel economy. Check your inflation monthly at least (with a good-quality tire pressure gauge, not the built-in one on a gas station hose) and remember to check them while cold; air expands when hot, which will mean an inaccurate tire pressure reading.

·Rotate your tires. No vehicle has 50/50 weight distribution from front to rear. The weight of the engine puts more pressure on the front tires, as do cornering and braking forces. Regular rotations will even out the wear patterns of all four tires, giving them a break from the constant wear at the center and shoulder and improving ride quality and drivability. Tires should be rotated about every 5,000 miles – many drivers opt for tire rotation at the same time as their oil changes, since the vehicle will already be off the ground on a lube rack. Also, remember that failing to have tires rotated at regular intervals will invalidate a tire warranty!

·Keep your front end aligned properly. Constantly fighting the steering wheel of a car that tries to pull to one side is more than annoying – it’s also wearing your front tires unevenly. If you’re noticing a tendency to drift off the center line, it means that there’s one wheel that’s trying to constantly push or pull the car in a different direction, scrubbing the tread off of that tire. Get a close look at your front tires for wear along an inside or outside edge, or wear across the tread face in a sawtooth pattern (easily felt by running your hand along the tread surface).

· Watch for vibrations. Vibrations mean a wheel that’s out of balance, which can happen due to a hard hit on a pothole or curb, a slight flat spot or a change in weight distribution due to normal wear. If an unbalanced tire is left unattended too long, its internal structure can start to fail and it will cause rapid wear to the wheel bearing, steering and suspension parts.

·         Drive sanely. If you like hearing the sound of squealing tires while cornering or accelerating, that’s the sound of rubber being left behind on the pavement. Enough said!

At Family Tire Distributors in Hollywood and Pembroke Pines, FL, we want you to be safe…and taking good care of your tires is pretty important to your safety. We hope that this list of tips on maximizing your tire life is helpful to you. Is it time for a wheel alignment? Tire rotation? Give us a call and set up an appointment!