Tyre life: how often do they need to be replaced?

Being the element of contact between the road and the car, tyres are at the topic of a recurring question: how long do tyres last and when do they need to be replaced? 

In general, it is advisable to change the tyres at least once every 4-5 years, remembering however to check the wearing state every year which is not a problem is the car has regular yearly logbook services carried out. 

Let’s also debunk the false myth about the life of car tyres directly depending on the production date. In fact, since DOT marking was launched on the market, it led many to believe that there was a close connection between these two factors. Instead, while it is true that tyres, being made of rubber, tend to harden as the years pass by and, as a result, they might lose grip more easily, this marking was solely introduced to make traceable the lot of origin.

How often should you replace your tyres?

The wear of a vehicle’s tyres depends on many factors and for this reason it can be complicated to establish when it’s time to replace them. There are a few factors that influence the life of car tyres:

the conditions in which they’re used (that includes how the car is loaded) the maintaining of the correct tyre pressures, the average speed, the type of roads travelled, the frequency of impacts suffered (potholes for example) and the exposure of the tyres to extreme weather conditions.

A first indication of tyres wearing is their progressive hardening. As mentioned above, over the years, tyres tend to start suffer of “dry rotting”, becoming less elastic and uniform. In addition to this, the hardening of the tyres is also evident at first sight: when it occurs, cracks can be observed that run along their entire surface. Normally, also due to the progressive hardening, it is necessary to replace the tyres after about 7-8 years from the purchase.

But there are also indications relating to the distance travelled: depending on the quality and conditions of use of the tyres, these must be replaced after traveling between 30,000 and 60,000 km. This is a such a large range that makes it advisable to check the state of wear of the tires with a certain frequency, making sure that the thickness of the tread pattern does not fall below 1.6 mm (legal limit in Australia).

Click here to find the best mechanics for tyre replacement near you.

How to check tyres wear

To check tyres wear, the first thing to do is to observe the tread, which is the area of the tyres in direct contact with the road. Their state, the imperfections and unevenness of the rubber affect the overall safety of the car.

As mentioned above, an Australian regulation establishes what the minimum thickness of the tyres tread pattern must be: the car tyres replacement must take place when the tread pattern has reached a depth of 1.6 mm.

A wear indicator is used to check if your vehicle’s tyres fall within this limit. This is 1.6 mm thick and it’s placed on the bottom of one of the tread grooves: when the thickness of the groove reaches the level of the indicator, it means that the tyres needs to be replaced.

The wear indicator is easily identifiable by looking at the sidewall of the tread: it can be found in line with the TWI sign, a triangle or the brand logo. Some manufacturers have also provided intermediate indicators on tyres, after which the tires no longer guarantee optimal performance.

To check the tyres wear you can also use the tread depth gauge (here‘s an example), an effective and cheap tool that can be found in all auto parts stores, which accurately measures the depth of the tyre tread.

ABS, ESP and worn tyres

Worn tyres are a safety concern but what happens to ABS and ESP when tyres are worn? 

Do the ABS, the anti-lock braking system that improves braking in conditions of poor grip on the road surface, and ESP, the electronic stability control that acts on each wheel separately to keep the car straight in case of a loss of grip, work with worn tyres?

The answer is yes. The ABS in fact acts on all four wheels and prevent them from locking even in the case of old tyres. The ESP uses speed sensors to be effective so they don’t get affected by the tyres status. Clearly, however, heavily worn tyres can in any case compromise the car’s ability to hold the road and brake efficiently.