Purchasing the Right Tires for Your Car

Your tires are literally where “the rubber meets the road.” The tires you ride on affect the quality of the drive, the safety of everyone in the vehicle, the gas mileage of the engine, and even the exterior’s aesthetics. To call them essential is an understatement. Purchasing the right tires for your car is critical to be safe on the road.

Tires also go through more use and abuse than most parts of a car. Every mile leaves them worse for the wear. Eventually, the features of the tire that made it attractive in the first place started to become a liability. The tread begins to wear down, compromising the driving experience and giving you less grip on the road. Anywhere the rubber becomes thin makes flat tires a risk as well. Important as tires may be, they become a liability after a certain point, so you need to monitor your tires for signs of age and damage and replace them as soon as issues appear. 

This is your guide to make sure you purchase the right tires before your current tires give out.

How Long Do Tires Last?

The short answer is around six years or 50,000 miles of travel. Past that point, tires become less reliable, and any tires older than ten years need immediate replacement. The longer but more accurate answer to the question of how long tires last is that it depends on how you drive.

Harsh driving such as accelerating quickly and breaking suddenly – will wear your tires down faster. So will exposure to severe weather, including extreme heat and sand or cold and ice. If you infrequently drive, sitting idle in the same spot could create weak points in the tires, likewise, for driving on rough terrain, even for a short period. 

The make and model of the car play a role, along with the make and model of the tires themselves. For all these reasons, it’s hard to make universal statements about how long tires last – some will last longer than six years, and others will need replacement much sooner.

Instead of relying on a schedule to tell you when to replace your tires, track their condition yourself. Notice if your car feels or drives differently – tire issues could be to blame. Take the time to inspect the tires as well visibly. Watch for evidence that they’re losing air faster than expected. 

Most important, check the amount of tread remaining. Here’s a simple test: place a penny with Lincoln’s head facing down into the treads of a tire. If you can see the top of his head, it’s because there’s minimal tread left to cover the penny. It would be best if you had new tires.

Purchasing the right tires – What do I need?

That question has two answers. One, you need the kind of tires recommended for your vehicle by the manufacturer. That means you need the correct tire size to fit your car. In the next section, we will cover how to ensure you get the right size. 

The second answer to the kind of tires I need is whatever kind offers the performance you want. The tire market is full of options that will fit your vehicle. Some offer sporty performance, others upgrade your handling on slick roads, and the tires look cool. It’s up to you to decide what you want – and essential to spend some time on the decision. 

Most people choose tires based on cost or replace them with whatever they had before. But as we outlined earlier, your tires significantly impact your overall driving experience for good or bad. It’s worthwhile to spend some time (and possibly some money) to get tires that suit your real-world driving needs.

How to Choose The Right Tire Size

Picking the right size tire is an essential part of the replacement process. Fortunately, it’s relatively easy. Even effortless. You should go to a mechanic or tire shop to purchase and mount your new tires. They can look up precisely what size tires your make and model needs. You could also look in your owner’s manual. 

One final place to look is on the tire itself. At several places on the side of the tire, you will find a number that looks something like “255/60 R16.” The figures might be different, but they will look much the same. They indicate the tire size if you need to reference your current size. Leave it up to a professional to tell you how to choose tire size.

How to Avoid Premature Tire Replacement

Tires are expensive, and getting them replaced is a hassle. Purchasing the right tires for your car is a high priority. It’s the kind of automotive maintenance you want to put off for as long as possible. Understandable. Give yourself as much time as possible by keeping your current tires in good condition. With a few strategic steps, you can avoid unnecessary wear and tear and prevent common types of damage. Here are some tips:

• Watch Your Tire Pressure – Underinflated tires can throw off your handling, reduce your gas mileage, and cause extra wear to the surface of the rubber. Check the air pressure in your tires once a month, and visually inspect the tires regularly to see if they look flat. Check the side of your tire to learn the correct PSI to inflate to.
  
• Get Your Tires Rotated – Your four tires will not wear evenly – some wear faster than others. Keep that from leading to a tire failure by rotating your tires every 5,000 miles. Some people get their tires rotated every time they have their oil changed.
  
• Have the Wheels Balanced – An unbalanced wheel (where the heavy spot of the wheel isn’t balanced correctly) can also lead to uneven, unnecessary wear on the tires. The best policy is to have your wheels balanced by a mechanic every time you have them rotated.
  
• Fix Any Alignment Issues – Your car is out of alignment when the wheels toe in or out rather than riding in a straight line. Alignment issues can make your vehicle pull to one side and cause rapid wear on your tires. If you notice an alignment issue, get your car to a mechanic soon. Otherwise, have a mechanic check the alignment every six months.
  
• Keep Your Car Off the Road – Long road trips are challenging on your tires. Instead of subtracting hundreds or thousands of miles from the life of the tires (and spending hours or days of your time behind the wheel), consider auto shipping instead. Your car, truck, van, SUV, or collector auto rides on the back of a vehicle trailer or inside an enclosed trailer. It moves between any points in the continental US without putting your tires through the stress of travel, not to mention the work it spares your engine and every other aspect of the auto.

The Original Car Shipping Quote Calculator

Direct Express Auto Transport originated the instant car shipping quote calculator in 2004. It is still the best, most sophisticated, reliable tool available anywhere online. We offer three options that we call tiers of car shipping estimates. The standard rate is the cheapest car shipping quote, but it may take longer. Use it if you are patient. The expedited car shipping rate is our most recommended, and we have countless satisfied customers because the shipping process tends to go quicker. The rush rate is our highest level of car shipping service, and we have many customers who are glad they went with that method.