Owning and operating a vehicle can be costly. Between regular maintenance, fuel, and new parts, driving your own car can cost hundreds of dollars every month. That’s why it’s important to ensure you are doing everything in your power to reduce your driving costs.
Many people don’t know that their tires could be costing them money every single month. You can keep your vehicle operating costs down if you pay close attention to your tires’ wear, pressure, and alignment. Here are a few of the specifics you can look out for in order to make operating your vehicle a bit more affordable.
irRegular Tire Rotation
Rotating your tires is an easy way to extend the life of your tires and reduce your costs, yet it is so often neglected by drivers all across the country. Depending on whether you have front or rear wheel drive, the tires are going to wear out unevenly. That’s why it’s important to rotate your tires; in other words, you’ll need to periodically swap the front tires for the back and vice versa. Most tire manufacturers recommend that you do this every 5,000-10,000 miles. If you are taking your ties into the shop to get them rotated, it’s a good idea to get them balanced and have the mechanics correct your alignment at the same time.
Balance And Alignment
Improper tire balance and wheel alignment can decrease fuel economy as well as cause unnecessary wear on tires, reducing their lifespan. Most tire shops will offer a rebalance and alignment as part of their regular rotation or swapping service.
There are a few ways that your wheels can become misaligned. Most commonly it is due to worn out parts, or because you hit a curb or a pothole while driving. If your alignment is out of whack you may experience:
- Shaking or vibrating steering wheel
- Steering wheel pulling to the left or of the right
- Excessive wear on your tires
If your tire is out of balance you might notice:
- Vibration when accelerating or driving at high speeds
- Uneven wear on your tires
Tire balance and wheel alignment can be easily fixed by your local mechanics garage or tire shop. Often you may not notice the effects of these issues until you need to replace your tires prematurely, so it’s best to have this done as part of your regular scheduled maintenance.
Improper Tire Pressure
Not only is driving with a deflated tire dangerous as it can impact vehicle handling or put you at risk for a blowout, but it can also be costing you fuel economy (not to mention illuminating that pesky warning light). One study found that a 10% decrease in tire pressure could be costing you as much as 3% in fuel economy. That may not sound like much, but the numbers can really add up.
Consider that a tire that is 25% under the factory recommended pressure can still look as if it’s properly inflated. If your vehicle normally gets 40 mpg, and you drive it from Spokane to Seattle and back (around 600 miles) on that underinflated tire, you’ll use up an additional 1.2 gallons of gas, at today’s prices costing you an extra $10 or so.
Premium Or Budget?
There’s no denying that buying tires can be expensive. This is especially true if you have an AWD vehicle and need to replace the entire set of tires all at one time. If you’re trying to reduce the operating costs of owning a vehicle, going with the budget set of tires can be an admittedly attractive option. However, you get what you pay for, and the budget set of new tires might not last nearly as long as the premium brands.
Unless you drive a rally car or are a street racer, you most likely won’t need a top of the line set of new tires. However, even regular drivers can benefit from buying a set of tires that are middle of the road, simply because they will last longer.
Don’t Wait Too Long To Replace Your Tires
Did you know that driving on bald tires is actually illegal in some states? Aside from that, it’s highly dangerous. If your tires are too worn down, you could lose control of your vehicle and crash, or blow out a tire and cause an accident.
As much as it might be tempting to get your old tires on for as long as possible, the risk of pushing your tires to their limits is just not worth it! This is one of those situations where trying to save money could actually end up costing your more money – or your life. Therefore, always be sure to get new tires on your vehicle before the tread gets too low.