Quality tires are expensive and maintaining the tires properly is important for your safety. Therefore, you want to take good care of your new tires and not abuse them so they have a long life and keep you safe on the road. Maintaining your tires involves frequent checks to make sure they aren't wearing out and having them serviced by a mechanic when needed. Here are some tire maintenance tasks you can do to keep your tires in good shape.

Watch Your Driving

Avoid reckless driving, especially at high speeds. When you leave rubber on the road, it means you're abusing your tires. Be careful about making turns at high speeds. Slow down before turning and also slow down well in advance of having to stop so you don't have to screech to a stop. You may have to slam the brakes in a panic to stop your car in an emergency, but you should try to avoid it during routine driving. Also, be cautious about what you drive over.

Avoid scraping curbs and hitting potholes at full force. Your tires can be damaged by burning off the tread or by knocking them out of alignment by hitting a pothole. When your tires are out of alignment, they wear unevenly and have a shorter lifespan.

Check The Air Pressure

One of the most important things you can do to protect your tires is to check the air pressure on a regular basis. Always check it before going on a long trip and check it when you stop for gas during the trip. You may want to check the pressure in your tires as often as once a month with routine driving. Buy an inexpensive air pressure gauge so you can check the pressure at home or on the road if your tires look a little flat. Add air when the pressure is low in one or all of your tires. Inflate your tires to the pressure recommended by the manufacturer of your car. You can find this number in your owner's manual or on a label in your glove box or on the car door.

Measure The Tread

You'll also want to keep an eye on the tread. When it gets low, you're at a higher risk of a flat tire and your car is less safe on the road. Your tires should have well-defined tread that you can slip a quarter into. If the tread is so thin that it doesn't touch Washington's head on an upside down quarter, it's time for new tires. A more reliable test is to measure the tread with a gauge that shows the thickness of the tread. Your mechanic should do this test when you take your car in for routine maintenance.

Service The Tires On Schedule

Follow the recommendation in your owner's manual for when to have your tires serviced. You don't want to push them until they develop problems. You can extend the life of your tires and stay safer on the road if you have your tires aligned, balanced, and rotated on schedule. This helps your tires wear out evenly so thin spots don't develop that could cause a flat. This also ensures the tires with the deepest tread are kept in the back so you have better control over your car.