How Long Do Tires Last?

Although original-equipment tires can last for 50,000 miles or more, how long any tire lasts is dependent not only on the tire itself, but on how that car is maintained. Here’s how to determine how long a car’s tires will last, as well as how to extend their lifetime.

Related: How to Properly Check and Put Air in Tires

The Tire Itself

Most modern tires are given ratings for traction, temperature and tread wear, all of which are stamped on the sidewall of the tire. (Note that tires for winter driving, trucks and trailers may not have some or all of these ratings.) While traction and temperature are rated with letters (A, B or C), the tread-wear rating is a number typically between 180 and 860 for passenger-car tires.

While the tread-wear rating doesn’t translate directly to a miles-of-life figure, it does indicate tread life relative to another tire. For instance, a tire with a tread-wear rating of 500 has been shown in tests to last twice as long as a tire with a rating of 250. However, these tests are performed by the tire manufacturers, not the government, and though the tests are supposed to be uniform, there may well be some variances. Thus, the rating should only be used as a general guide.

It’s also important to note that dedicated winter tires — which carry a symbol on their sidewalls that looks like a snowflake inside of a mountain — are only designed to be run in low temperatures and typically don’t carry a tread-wear rating; they may not carry a traction or temperature rating, either. These tires have a soft tread compound that grips better in cold weather (which “stiffens” regular tires and reduces their grip at low temperatures), but they can wear very quickly in warm weather.

New tires often come with a tread-wear warranty. This, too, might be an indication of tread life expectancy when comparing one tire to another. But benefitting from that warranty if your tires don’t last that long can be tricky. The warranty may not only have a lot of caveats (you might have to have even wear across the tread and prove frequent rotation), they often prorate the tire’s mileage and require you to apply any warranty reimbursement to the same or similar tire at full price.

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How the Car Is Maintained

Tire pressures, tire rotation and suspension alignment all play a role in how long your tires last.

A big factor in tire wear is inflation pressure. Maintaining proper tire pressures is the easiest and cheapest way to extend the life of your tires, and it’s also important from a safety standpoint. Proper tire pressures for your car — which may be different for the front and rear tires, or when carrying a heavy load — are typically listed on a sticker affixed to the front driver-side door jamb.

The listed pressures should always be maintained, but tire pressures themselves change with the outside temperature (for example, the air inside the tires contracts when it gets cold out, lowering the pressure) and can also get low due to normal slight leakage. Thus, it’s important to check your tire pressures regularly, at the very least with the change of seasons. You may also find that your tires have been running underinflated if you check the tread depth of the inside, center and outside tread grooves and find the center groove to be deepest.

Tire rotation (periodically moving the front tires to the rear and vice versa) can also extend the life of the tires by evening out the load and wear. Manufacturers often include tire rotation in the vehicle’s maintenance schedule. Lacking that, it’s sometimes recommended to have the tires rotated at every oil change, particularly if the tread isn’t wearing evenly.

Additionally, improper wheel alignment can also affect tire wear. When the car is traveling straight, the tires should essentially be vertical and pointed straight ahead, but they might not be due to worn suspension components or being knocked out of kilter by potholes. Any misalignment can cause uneven tire wear — along with some steering issues.

Although the tread-wear rating and tread-wear warranty are indicative of how one tire might compare to another in terms of how long it might last, there’s a lot you can do to extend the tread life of any given tire.

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