Tires are an essential part of your vehicle and profoundly affect how it drives and handles. If you have bad tires, your car won’t handle or perform as well as it would with good tires. It's also more likely to lose control while driving in bad weather. Instead of taking a chance with bad tires, a trip to the tire shop can fix any problems by allowing you to get the tires mounted and wheels balanced to give you the best and smoothest ride. Here are three signs to look for that indicate you shouldn’t be driving on your current tires.

1. Damaged Tires

Tires take a lot of abuse while driving and are prone to damage from foreign objects, like nails or sharp stones, and other road hazards, like potholes, speed bumps, and tall curbs. Tires can also suffer from dry rot over time. According to Nerd Wallet, it’s unsafe to drive on tires that are more than 10 years old. If one or more tires are making thumping noises or show signs of cracking and dry rot, you need to replace them as soon as possible to improve handling, traction, and safety.

2. Worn Out Tread

Your tire tread has an expected service life and needs to be replaced when the tread is worn too low. The more worn the tread is on your tires, the less traction they deliver. You should check the tire tread on each wheel to ensure it’s still good, but you'll need to replace your tires when they're worn out. A tire shop technician can help you know if your tires are in good shape or need to be replaced.

3. Uneven Tire Wear

Two simple and very affordable things will help you even out tire wear on all four wheels. One is to keep a close eye on the tire pressure and ensure it’s within the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended maximum pressure. The other is balancing and rotating your wheels and tires about every 5,000 miles to even out tread wear and give you the best chance at the longest service life. You should watch for uneven tread wear that might affect traction and handling and replace your tires if the tread looks uneven.

If you need new tires or wonder if they have more life left in them, visiting our tire shop can take care of your tires by maintaining or replacing them when a new set is needed. Tires & Mohr is here to handle all your tire needs, so call us today. We look forward to hearing from you.