Winter Driving Safety Tip To Maintain Your Winter Tires Life

Tips For Maintaining Winter Tires

So, you went and spent the money to get winter tires. Now, what?  Well, in order to get the maximum life and use from them, then you need to properly maintain them.  Here are some tips to maintaining your winter tires that will help them to last for years to come.

There are 2 main issues you have to deal with in regards to taking care of your winter tires:

1. Inflation/deflation
    
2. Wear and tear

Keep Your Winter Tires Properly Inflated

It is essential that you keep your winter tires inflated to your car maker's recommended psi.  Remember it's not the tire that holds your car up but the air inside them. If you want to get the most out of your tires, then they must be inflated properly to ensure you get the best handling and traction.

Its natural for a tire to lose 1 psi a month.  But tires also lose 1 psi for every 10-degree rise or drop in temperature.  Winter can cause a bigger drop in psi than you're used to. So, during winter it is essential that you check your tires often. 

And if your car happen to be one of the fortunate ones who gets parked in a garage...great for your car; bad for your tires. The difference in temperature can cause deflation. 

Another thing you should do is not overload your vehicle. This goes for all times of the year, but especially in winter when your tires deflate faster. 

So, in winter, keep an air gauge handy so you will be able to check and maintain proper pressure in your tires.

Prevent Wear And Tear

Normal all-season tires have good treading, but a winter tire's treading is more "aggressive."  This is great for the extra handling and traction that you'll need to navigate on snow and ice.  But this also makes them more susceptible to wear.

This extra wear can cause misalignment.  So, it's best if you get your car's alignment looked at during winter. And make sure that you check your tires regularly for uneven wear and tear.

Just doing these 2 things...checking alignment and keeping your tires inflated properly...you stand a better chance of keeping your winter tires for years to come and getting the most out of your investment in them.