Car Parts Faqs

When getting a new tire for my car, how many tires should i replace and what maintenance should i have done?

My passenger side rear tire blew out yesterday and im going to have to replace it. Ive been driving the car for 36000 miles with no maintenance to the tires or suspension. Ive heard when you replace a tire you should buy two too even the wear on the tires. Is this true? Also im sure i will need an alignment, but is there any other maintenance i should have them look at?

Public Comments

1. only buy what is needed so you need one tire and to ask whoever is doing the work to check the others to see what shape they in no need in replacing what is not bad. rotate tires at every oil change and balance them every other oil change if they need it
2. The best thing to do is buy a pair of tires when ever you have 1 go out on you. The key to maximizing the life of your tires is having them rotated at every oil change and every other oil change, have the wheels balanced as well. Also, make sure your tires always have the proper amount of air. You only need to get an alignment if one of your suspension components wears out or breaks. Hitting potholes everyday won't throw off your car's alignment unless you hit something hard enough to bend metal.
3. Tires worn more than 4/32" are due for replacement. The mechanic also should check the tread wear to see if the tire is worn because of balancing or alignment issues. If the vehicle is AWD it's best to replace all 4 tires, rotate them every 7,500 miles, and balance them every 15,000 miles for max. tire life. FWD and RWD it's OK to just replace the fronts or rears as pairs.
4. you don,t need to buy 2 of them if you only need 1. the best maintenance you need to do is make sure the right amount of air is in the tires at all times. they will lose air quicker in the winter then the summer because of the cold outside.