We get a lot of questions about tires. It makes a lot of sense; tires are a major purchase. More than likely, you are going to be spending at least $1,000 when it comes time to replace your tires. That is some pretty big coin for any of us. As the only part of our vehicle physically touching the ground, tires make a huge impact on performance on the highway and on the trail. Making an informed decision about which tires to buy is a wise idea.
One question our readers often ask is how many miles does a certain tire last? That can be a difficult one for us to answer. Unless we’ve driven on that particular tire until the end of its life, we can only make an educated guess. And even then, several factors can affect tire wear. Vehicle weight, how hard the driver is on the throttle, and the terrain it’s used on can impact (sometimes significantly) tread life. If one person gets 50,000 miles out of a set of tires, it doesn’t mean everyone will.
We might not be able to tell you exactly how long a particular tire will last, but we can tell you how to make the tires on your vehicle last their longest – no matter the brand. There are concrete steps you can take to ensure your tires live the longest possible life. Amazingly, many skip these steps, or neglect them, only to see their expensive tires wear down more quickly than they should. What follows are tips to maintain a happy, long-term relationship with your tires.
Another extremely important step to getting the most out of your tires is to keep your suspension properly aligned. Lots of people get an alignment when putting on a new lift kit, but never check it again. If you are bouncing around on the trail, eventually you will need to get an alignment again. Independent front suspensions are more susceptible to getting knocked out of alignment, but even with a solid axle it can happen. An out-of-alignment front suspension can greatly reduce tire life.
Rotating your tires is extremely important. It will help to ensure even wear. When rotating your tires, don’t just switch them from side to side, but also from front to back (ideally to a different side of the vehicle as well). This will help keep weird wear patterns from forming if your front end is out of alignment. How often should you rotate your tires? We do it every oil change. Some might call that overkill, but tires are not cheap, and rotating them is a simple way to help them last.
If getting the most mileage out of your tires is a priority, go with a tire that has a treadwear warranty. These tires tend to use a harder compound rubber, so they do give up some performance on the trail. The flipside is they last longer on pavement and are guaranteed to do so. The Pro Comp AT Sport comes with a 60,000 mile treadler warranty.
If you are looking for new tires and want to get the most mileage out them, go with a tire with an all-terrain tread pattern. Tires with higher void areas in between their tread blocks wear faster. While milder tires might not look as aggressive or shed mud easily, they will last the longest. And if you choose wisely, you can get one offering solid off-road performance.
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