Taking care of your tires is a big part of maintenance for your vehicle. Properly cared for tires last longer, which saves you money in the long run. You could spend upwards of 

$800 for a set of inexpensive tires for your vehicle, and that’s a big chunk of change.

When Do Winter Tires Make Sense?

If you change out your vehicle’s tires for the winter and summer, you don’t want to do it too early or too late. Know when the first snows typically hit for your area. Switch to winter tires a few weeks before. The tread on a winter tire is more flexible than that of all-season or summer tires, which means it wears faster. You want to wait as long as you can to switch to winter tires, but not so long that you are stuck driving with summer tires in the snow. Winter tires have a more aggressive tread and help keep better traction during the winter. They only make sense if you get a lot of snow where you live. You also need to switch back to summer tires as early in the spring as you can while making sure that you won’t have a surprise late snowstorm.

 Checking Air Pressure

Check the air pressure in your tires at least once per month. If you have air pressure sensors, you should check the air pressure manually every three months. Never rely on computer systems. Keeping proper air pressure in the tires keeps them from wearing unevenly. If the tire has too much air pressure, the center of the tread will wear faster. If the tire doesn’t have enough, the outside edges of the tread will wear faster.

Checking the Alignment

When you check the air pressure in your vehicle’s tires, check the tread. Look for uneven wear. If just one side of the tread is wearing, you most likely have an alignment problem. If you don’t have the vehicle aligned, the tires will continue to wear unevenly and will eventually have to be replaced sooner than if you had the vehicle aligned.

How to Save When You Buy Tires

Check for sales on tires. Most tire shops run sales on different brands throughout the year. You might also consider a good all-season tire so you are not changing tires twice a year. If you absolutely cannot afford new tires, ask your tire shop if they have some good used tires. Often, people change their tires when they have plenty of tread left on the old tires or they change rim sizes when the tires are almost new. You can often pick up a set up barely used tires for a great price.