When Should I Change My Car Tyres?

Wednesday 1 June 2022

The tyres are an essential part of your vehicle. The condition of your tyres will determine whether your car is safe to drive. This guide explores when you should change them.

If you drive a car, it’s important to take the right steps to ensure that it is safe on the road. For instance, you should check different elements of the vehicle and ensure that they are in the right condition. One of the most important parts of a car is the tyres. If the tyres are worn down or have low levels of air pressure, then it can impact the level of grip that you have when driving. This can make the car more difficult to handle and impact variables such as stopping distance. That’s why it’s important to know when you should change your tyres and what factors impact this decision.

How Often Should You Change Your Tyres On Average?

On average, you should change your tyres after 40,000 km. Most tyres that are available to purchase will be safe to drive for this distance. However, depending on how you drive your car you might notice that your tyres wear down more rapidly. It’s recommended that you start checking your tyres once you hit the 30,000 km mark. One of the key factors that you should consider is how often you drive your car and where you are using your car.

How Often Should You Change Your Tyres If You Spend Most Of The Time Commuting Around A City?

If you are driving around a city when commuting to an office, then it’s likely that your tyres will wear down quite quickly. This is true, even though you won’t be driving at high speeds. A problem with mainly driving around city streets is that you will need to brake more regularly. This is always going to put your tyres under more pressure. Driving around a metro city will also mean lots of turns compared to driving down a motorway where you can keep the car straight for the majority of the time.

The good news is that if you are driving your car around the city, then you probably won’t be covering a massive distance. As such, you should be able to keep your tyres a total of 40,000 km without needing to worry about a change. Don’t forget, you can increase the distance you can travel on the same set of tyres if you choose to rotate them regularly. If you do choose to rotate them you probably won’t need to change them for five years.

How Often Should You Change The Tyres If You’re Mainly Driving On Motorways?

If you are mainly using your vehicle on motorways, then your tyres won’t be under as much pressure or strain due to turns and braking. However, since you will be travelling at faster speeds, your tyres will experience higher levels of friction.

One of the benefits of motorways is that these roads are often well maintained. As such, you don’t have to worry about the surface of the road impacting the tyres. This can be an issue if you are driving around the city.

Due to these factors, you should be able to keep your tyres for as much as 50,000 km. Although this number could decline if you are regularly hitting the 100km/h mark in your car.

It’s also worth noting that certain tyres are specifically designed for motorways. These can last for up to ten years when used on these types of roads regularly.

How Often Should I Change My Tyre Based On Brand?

The tyre brand you choose will impact how often you need to change them. Generally speaking, cheaper tyre brands will need to be changed more regularly. They are not produced to the same standard of quality as more expensive tyres and will wear down faster. Cheap tyres should be replaced every three or four years, depending on use. In contrast, some more expensive tyre brands come with a free 5-year replacement guarantee.

What If I Rarely Use My Car?

If you only use your car occasionally, you might assume that you won’t need to replace your tyres as regularly. However, tyres wear down even when they are not in use. Rubber compounds in tyres will break down after approximately five years. So, you should consider changing them around the three-year mark and getting them checked regularly from this point onwards.

We hope this helps you understand when you need to change your tyres depending on how and where you use your car.

— The team at All Coast Tyres.