According to the Federal Highway Administration, the typical American drives an average of 13,000 - 14,000 miles every year, equivalent to more than four roundtrip drives from New York to Dallas! It goes without saying that your tires take a beating. The good news is, with proper maintenance, you can get many miles out of your used tires. 

So just how DO you get the most mileage out of your used tires? Tire life is influenced by many factors. In general however, by following these guidelines, this will greatly influence the answer:

  • Often, a wheel alignment is recommended when new tires are installed or every 2-3 years. If the alignment on your car isn’t to the factory standards, the tire tread can wear unevenly.  

  • Maintain proper tire pressure.  If the tires are underinflated (as low as 6 psi lower than it should be), it exaggerates the sway of your vehicle, increases damage when hitting a pothole, and wears excessively on both inner and outer shoulders.

  • Drive smart! If you drive aggressively, i.e. repeated rapid acceleration and high-speed cornering, this puts more stress on the tire surface causing them to wear out more quickly. 

  • As a result of front tires handling most of the braking and steering, they wear out quicker. It is recommended you rotate front tires to the back regularly.

Tiremakers and safety advocates say a tire is worn out when its tread depth reaches 2/32 of an inch. That’s great to know, but what most car owners want to know is how long to expect a set of tires to last before they need to be replaced. There’s no clear cut answer according to the United States Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA).  “Some tire manufacturers offer a warranty as high as 80,000 miles or more, reflecting confidence in that particular product’s longevity based on its engineering, technology, and design. Other tires may be built to provide 30,000 miles of service.” It just depends. 

So given the care guidelines above, if you want to figure out how soon you’ll wear out the used tires on your car, start by determining how many miles you drive each year. Divide the number of miles on the odometer by how many years you’ve owned the tires (starting obviously from when you first got the tires and taking into account any mileage it had on it at that time). Then compare that with any advertised warranty on the make and model of the tires and figure out how many years of service to expect.