Every component in your vehicle requires frequent maintenance, and most will need to be replaced at some point. One of the most wearable parts is your tires. Of course, they sometimes need to be replaced, but you can avoid replacing them prematurely by rotating the tires to wear them evenly. How often should you change your tires? This comprehensive guide will tell you how often you should change your tires and how to change them for different cars with different transmission layouts (i.e., 4WD, AWD, FWD, and RWD), as well as many helpful maintenance tips.
A Guide to Changing Tires in a Car: Why Should You Change Your Tires?
Most drivers don’t pay attention to their car’s tires because they …… It’s boring, and it’s not a high-tech part. However, they are essential for your safety and driving experience, as they are the only parts of your car that come into contact with the road.
The condition and age of your tires can greatly affect your steering, handling, and your car’s traction.
Unusual tread wear and what it means
Different tread wear patterns. Image courtesy of Point S.
Different problems can lead to unusually different tread wear patterns. By checking your tire’s tread wear pattern, you can learn important information about possible problems.
The three most obvious tread wear patterns are center wear, edge wear, and inner/outer edge wear. Center wear is caused by constant tire overinflation, causing the center of the tire to come into contact with the road. Wear on the inner and outer edges means constant under-inflation, which causes these parts to have the most contact with the road. If excessive wear occurs on the inner or outer edges, it means you have a misalignment problem.
Two other common tire problems caused by wear and tear include bulging and blistering of the sidewall.
Tire cupping, also known as tire scalloping, is an uneven wear pattern that occurs due to irregular up-and-down movement or bouncing of the wheel. This problem comes in the form of tread wear that appears in the dents along the tread edges of the tire.
This is more common in older vehicles with aging suspension. If this problem is ignored, it can cause premature tire wear, hinder normal contact with the road surface, and seriously affect the vehicle’s steering, handling and braking ability. In short, both your safety and your wallet are at stake here.
Another common wear and tear of tires is sidewall blistering, which literally means that there are bumps or bubbles on the sidewall. Air bubbles or bumps in the sidewalls are usually the result of a physical impact, most likely into a deep pit. The inner lining of the tire is damaged, forming small holes or tears in the sidewall. Then the air may enter the structure of the tire and you will get a blister.
This impairs the strength of the sidewall layer. If left untreated, sidewall bubbles can cause a flat tire or a puncture, both of which can lead to serious accidents.
Sometimes, sidewall bubbles or bulges can be caused by a structural failure of the tire. This can be the result of the natural aging of aging tires, even if you rarely drive.
How often should you change your tires? Age
Tires are made of natural rubber, synthetic rubber, and other compounds. If you stretch a rubber band continuously for a long time, it will create tiny cracks throughout the process and eventually break. The same thing happens with a rubber band that has been sitting around for a long time doing nothing: when you stretch it, it will crack.
The wear and tear of car tires is similar. The more you drive, the faster your tires age. Even if you don’t drive at all, the longer your tires are left in place, the faster they will age and deteriorate.
How tire rotation works
Depending on whether your car is front-wheel-drive, rear-wheel-drive, or all-wheel drive, each tire will have a different wear rate depending on the level of use. In front-wheel drive, for example, the front wheels have to work harder than the rear wheels: steering, braking, and bearing the weight of the engine and front axle.
Rotating your wheels regularly will evenly wear all four wheels, extending their life and improving your driving performance and safety.
Car Tire Change Guide: How Often Should You Change Your Tires?
Change your tires at least every six months or every 10,000-12,000 km. Image courtesy of GayWheels
Professionals offer a variety of tire rotation schedules. Rotation is generally recommended at least every six months. Some tire manufacturing companies recommend replacing tires after every 10,000-12,000 kilometers driven. That said, following the manual will be the ultimate choice.
Of course, how often you should change your tires also depends on many factors, and if your tires are wearing out faster than the average driver, make adjustments as needed to ensure your safety and driving performance. Here are the main factors that affect the rate at which tires wear out.
Factors that affect the rate at which tires wear out
Conditions of maintenance or use
If you’re a reckless driver, it’s no wonder your tires age faster. Bless your tires if you tend to hit the side of the road, or drive on steep cobblestones, or have a habit of turning the steering wheel when the car isn’t moving at all.
Even inflating tires requires care. Under-inflated tires will be in more contact with the road, increasing wear. If your tire is punctured, make sure it is repaired properly.
The type of road
Tires that drive on flat, flat roads will retain their strength for a longer period of time than tires that drive on bumpy, hilly, or mountainous roads.
Also, cars that drive at a constant speed and make fewer stops mainly on highways have longer tires than cars that drive around towns because the latter have to stop, slow down, and accelerate frequently.
Environmental impacts: heat and ultraviolet rays
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), tires, like all other materials on the planet, age faster in hotter climates and often when exposed to direct sunlight.
Direct exposure to UV light breaks down the oil and chemicals in tires, which preserves the flexibility and durability of the rubber, accelerating the aging process.
If you install the spare tire in the rear of the car, it will age a little slower than the four wheels on the ground, but it is already exposed to heat, light, and air, so it is considered “in service” and remains despite its age.
Reinforcement materials
Anti-ozone compounds are additives in plastics and rubber that can be added to rubber to slow down the inevitable aging process to some extent. These antiozone agents prevent trace amounts of ozone in the air from causing cracking in plastic and rubber materials, hence their names “anti” and “ozonant”.
These tires usually have a higher mileage rating. If you’re looking for tires that last longer than average, you should look for improved ozone crack resistance.
Tire rotation patterns for different gearbox layouts
How often should you change your tires? All-wheel drive, front-wheel drive, and rear-wheel drive, refer to different types of engine and transmission layouts. They are used in certain driving situations to ensure safe and easy control of the vehicle. Each system handles the power sent to the tires in a different way, so each system has different tire wear, so these vehicles require different tire rotation patterns.
According to the Tire Industry Association, there are three tire rotation modes given that today’s AWD, FWD, and RWD vehicles are fitted with the same size front and rear tires. Before performing a specific rotation pattern, check your manual to see if your tires are unidirectional, meaning they must only rotate in one direction to work properly.
The 3 tire rotation modes cover most of today’s vehicles. Image source: LCHS Vehicle Ownership
A Guide to Changing Tires in a Car: All-Wheel Drive Vehicles
AWD is a full-time “on” system that mechanically or electronically changes the kinetic force sent to each wheel for optimal balance and drivability.
Subaru’s advertising campaign sums up AWD’s strengths well: “Shifting power from slippery wheels to grippy wheels.” When traction is lost, the engine’s power is transferred from the slippery wheel to the other wheels, helping the car quickly regain traction and thus improve fuel economy.
An important note is that while many people believe that AWD vehicles have more uniform tire wear than other types of drivetrains, that doesn’t mean you’re immune to uneven wear and can skip tire rotation.
This is because, on the one hand, the inherent weight difference between the front and rear of any vehicle can also affect tire wear. Secondly, all-wheel drive systems don’t always drive all the wheels all the time. Keep in mind that depending on the chosen driving mode and driving conditions, the transfer case and electronically controlled differential may divert power between the front and rear wheels, creating uneven wear.
For AWD vehicles, the optimal mode is criss-cross: right forward to rear left, front left to rear right, rear left to front right, rear right to front left. Another way to remember this is that what is in front is behind, what is on the right is left, and vice versa.
Front-wheel drive vehicles
While four-wheel drive and four-wheel drive have become more popular recently, most cars on the road are usually front-wheel drive, i.e. the engine’s power is transmitted to only two front wheels.
One advantage of a front-wheel drive car is better traction when climbing hills, as the power is all on the front wheels. However, this also means that traction is lower compared to the AFW system in normal driving conditions: if one of the two front wheels loses traction and slips, only one wheel is left to find grip.
For FWD, swap the front tire directly to the right rear position on the same side, i.e., right front to right rear and left front to left rear. Then, cross the rear tire: move the right rear tire to the left front and the left rear tire to the right front.
Rear-wheel drive vehicles
Rear-wheel drive is reversing front-wheel drive. When you press the accelerator pedal of a rear-wheel drive vehicle, power is transmitted to the rear wheels, maximizing the car’s acceleration performance. That is, the rear wheels provide the force that pushes the car, while the front wheels determine the direction of the car.
For rear-wheel drive vehicles, the rotation pattern is also the same as for front-wheel drive, but the opposite. Move the rear tire straight forward, i.e. left rear to left front, right rear to right front. Each front tire is then moved to a relative rear angle, i.e. right front to left rear and left front to right rear.
Note
How often should you change your tires? If you’re dealing with a high-performance vehicle with different sizes of front and rear wheels, you’ll need to adjust the tire rotation pattern described above. Special attention also needs to be paid to vehicles fitted with one-way tires that are designed to rotate in only one direction.
In these cases, as well as for regular vehicles, if you have any questions about the correct tire rotation, consult the owner’s manual, consult the dealer, or consult a professional (preferably someone familiar with your vehicle and driving style). But whatever you do, spin them if possible. At the very least, it can help you extend the life of your tires and save you money.
Special: when to change the tires
How long do tires last?
As with the rest of the car, the answer varies depending on the quality of the tires, the driving conditions, and how they are used. That is, there are general estimates of the average lifespan of car tires.
Experts generally agree that your tires will last at least 50,000 miles under normal driving conditions, which equates to about 3-4 years of driving time. However, many car owners complain that their new or replacement tires only last about 20,000 to 30,000 miles.
In short, no commitments. While you don’t need to spend a lot of money on expensive tires, the best thing you can do is do your research and buy some quality tires instead of the cheapest option.
How to know the age of the tires
Replace old tires and look for new tires with the most recent production date.
You can determine the age or year of manufacture of a tire by looking up the Tire Identification Number (TIN) on the sidewall of any tire. The TIN will be the last set of numbers in the longer set of letters and numbers after “DOT”.
An example of DOT code is: DOT Y9RJ FPUU 2618. Each set of numbers is separated by a space.
The last set of numbers for this tire consists of 4 numbers, indicating that the tire was manufactured after 2000. Specifically, it was produced in the 26th week of 2018, which means that the tire is brand new.
Another example of DOT code is: DOT JI3P FUM0 137.
The last set of 3 digits is “137”, indicating that the tire was manufactured in the 13th week of 1997.
