What are the basics?
There is no way to tell exactly how long a tire change lasts. The lifespan and mileage of a tire depend on a combination of factors: its design, the driver’s habits, the climate, the road conditions, and the care that’s put into the tires.
A few milestones and tips:
Keep five years in mind
After five years or more in use, your tires should be thoroughly inspected at least once per year by a professional.
Ten years is a maximum
If the tires haven’t been replaced 10 years after their date of manufacture, as a precaution, Motion Automotive recommends replacing them with new tires. Even if they appear to be in usable condition and have not worn down to the tread wear indicator. This applies to spare tires as well.
Proper care expands a tire’s lifespan
You can increase your tire’s longevity by maintaining the correct air pressure, performing regular tire rotations and vehicle maintenance.
What damages tires?
Physical factors:
- Age
- Wear and Damage
Road conditions:
- Potholes, obstacles, curbs, sharp objects, speed bumps
Climate:
- Extreme temperatures
- Rain, snow, and ice
- Oil, grease and other chemicals
- Strong sunlight and ozone
Driving habits:
- Speeding
- Quickstarts and emergency braking
- Driving on damaged roads
- Failure to notice a change in handling, noise or vibration
- Failure to consult a professional when something changes
Neglecting basic tire maintenance:
- Air pressure
- Not routinely checking for wear or damage
- Alignment and rotation
- Neglecting to get a professional tire inspection in the event a tire has been impacted or sustained damage
- Not balancing tires after they are installed
- Improper tire storage
- Use of sealants that have not been approved
Improper usage:
- Using summer tires on snow and ice
- Mixing tire types
- Using tires on damaged wheels
- Using the wheel and rim sizes that are not compatible
- Fitting tires that do not have a speed capability and load index at least equal to or higher than those originally specified by the vehicle manufacturer
- Reinflating a tire that has been run flat or seriously underinflated
- Using a spare tire of different size at speeds over 50 mph
Six things NOT TO DO when changing a tire
Changing a tire is something you may find yourself doing one day if a problem were to crop up with one of your car’s current tires.
DON’T change a tire at the side of the road
Areas that are well away from the road are the best places to do a tire change in Dallas Texas. If you find a tire suddenly needs changing while driving on the road, and you can’t safely stop your car somewhere away from the road, then you’d be better calling a breakdown service.
You need a fair amount of room to do a tire change in Dallas Texas properly and safely so trying such a thing right by the road is difficult. Not to mention it would be putting yourself and other road users at unnecessary risk. Changing tires on the motorway hard shoulder should be considered a big no-no as well.
DON’T change a tire on loose or uneven ground
If you’re going to change a tire on your car, then you are going to want to do it in a spot where the ground is flat and smooth.
Attempting a tire change on somewhere that is gravelly or on a grassy surface is a bad idea because it’s more uncomfortable to work on and there’s a risk that things like the jack could slip while in use.
DON’T have any passengers in the car
Say you’ve had to change a car tire in short notice and you’ve managed to find a suitable spot to make a tire change in Dallas Texas. Make sure any passengers with you (both humans and pets) get out of the vehicle before you begin the process of changing the tire. Make sure they go somewhere safely away from the car and the road.
Having someone shuffling around in the car during a tire change in Dallas Texas adds unnecessary and potentially obstructive weight and they’ll just make the job harder than it needs to be.
DON’T do any checks or work under your vehicle while it’s raised on a jack
A car jack is needed to prepare your car properly for a tire change. But this tool is not suited for undertaking extensive work underneath your car.
So, while using the jack for a tire change, avoid the temptation to even look underneath your car during this process, even if there’s something else about the car you want to check.
Any kind of work on your car that requires spending time underneath your car requires appropriate tools, or you could take the car to a service garage. A car jack alone doesn’t make it safe enough to work underneath your vehicle.
DON’T use the jack anywhere you’re not supposed to
A car jack is only meant to be used on specific areas of a vehicle. While changing a tire, you’ll want to put the jack at the recommended lifting point closes to the wheel that’s being removed.
If you don’t put the jack in the right place then you could damage the underneath of your car and the jack may not hold the car in place properly, causing an accident. Consult your vehicle’s owner handbook to establish the appropriate lifting points.
If for whatever reason, you don’t have the owner’s handbook on hand, then you could check for details online or contact your car maker’s customer service for help.
DON’T leave the car in neutral
If the vehicle you’re changing a tire on uses a manual gearbox, then you mustn’t forget to leave it in the right gear. You’ll want to leave the engine off before you start the tire change, but the gearstick should be left in either first or reverse gear.
The reason you want to do this is that the handbrake only operates on two wheels, usually the rear wheels to be exact. If you put the car in first or reverse gear with the engine off, this creates the effect of locking the front wheels, which for most cars are the driven wheels.
If your car has an automatic gearbox, then it is okay to leave it in the ‘Park’ or ‘P’ setting.