How to Make Your Tyres Last Longer

As the only point of contact with the road, your car’s tyres are arguably the hardest-working part of the vehicle. Yet, despite doing all the heavy lifting, they’re often overlooked when it comes to routine vehicle maintenance.

For example, you might not give your car’s rubber a second thought unless you fail a roadworthy check or suddenly get a flat and need to change a tyre.

Yet poor tyre maintenance can affect your car’s road handling and safety.^1,2 It could also impact the lifespan of your tyres,² adding an extra and potentially hefty hit to your hip pocket, with a recent Canstar survey showing 25% of drivers are delaying necessary car maintenance, including buying new tyres, due to cost-of-living pressures.³

So, what should you consider doing regularly to maintain your tyres? Could tweaking your driving habits help make your tyres last longer? Are there any legal or car insurance requirements around maintaining tyre health? And how can you tell when it’s time to replace your tyres with new ones?

We’ve put together this guide to answer all of those questions, beginning with digging a bit deeper into why tyre maintenance really matters.

4 reasons why tyre maintenance matters

While it might be tempting to put tyre care on the back burner, there are a few reasons why taking steps to look after your tyres, or replacing them when necessary, is important.

1. For your safety

The condition of your tyres is one of the most important factors in ​ ​keeping you and your passengers safe while driving.⁴

“It doesn’t matter how modern the car is or how powerful the engine, brakes and suspension are, none of that counts for anything if the tyres are flat or worn out,” says Rod Lofts, Senior Technical Writer at the Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce.

The state of your tyres can become particularly important in wet weather conditions.¹ That’s because tyres with worn down tread – which are commonly referred to as being bald – have significantly reduced traction.¹

Lofts explains that on a wet road, the weight of the car forces water up into the grooves of a tyre; and as the tyre rotates, it pushes that water out to the sides and rear of the contact patch.

“Once tread depth drops below the legal minimum, water can’t be cleared quickly enough and the tyre starts to ride up on a film of water, losing all grip,” he says.

This is a potentially dangerous phenomenon known as “aquaplaning”, which affects your ability to control the vehicle by steering or braking due to the tyres losing contact with the road.⁵

2. For your legal obligations

Bald tyres aren’t just a safety risk; having them on your car could also land you on the wrong side of the law.

While some safety experts recommend replacing tyres once their tread depth hits around 3mm, in Australia, car tyres are required to have a minimum tread depth of 1.5mm across the principal grooves.⁶ Those are the wide grooves that usually run down the central zone of the tyre.⁴

If the tread depth of the principle grooves on any of your tyres are below this, your vehicle may be considered unroadworthy.​⁴​

This could potentially result in your car being issued with a defect ​ ​notice,7 and may affect your ability to get a roadworthy certificate, which you might need when you’re ​ ​re-registering or ​ ​selling a car.⁸

3. For your bank balance

Driving on underinflated tyres could make your car work harder to travel the same distance, reducing its fuel efficiency and increasing what you spend at the petrol station.⁹

A test run by Drive in April 2026 showed that driving a car with low tyre pressure could increase yearly petrol costs by as much as $205.⁹

Good tyre maintenance habits could also increase the lifespan of your tyres, delaying how soon you’ll need to spend money on a replacement set down the road.²

4. For your car insurance

If you’re driving on tyres that are under the legal minimum tread depth, it might affect your car insurance cover if you need to make a claim for an insured event.¹⁰

This is because the terms you agree to when you take out a policy often state that you have an obligation to keep your car in good condition. If you don’t keep up your side of that agreement by driving on worn tyres – or with anything else that makes your car unroadworthy – any claim you make runs the risk of being denied.¹⁰

How to make your tyres last longer

You may not be able to make them last forever, but there are a few things you can do to help maintain the health of your tyres and increase their lifespan.

Check the tyre pressure regularly

Tyres that are incorrectly inflated, either over or under the recommended pressure level, could wear out faster and have an increased risk of failure.¹¹

It’s a good idea to check your tyre pressure once a month with a reliable pressure gauge, adjusting it to the recommended level for your car.¹¹

You can typically find the recommended tyre pressure for your car in either the owner’s manual or on a placard sticker on the driver’s door.¹¹

There are three different measures of tyre pressure:¹²

• Kilopascal (kPa) – This is Australia’s official tyre pressure standard.
• Pounds per Square Inch (PSI) – Many motorists, as well as some air gauges and older service station air pumps, may use this measure.
• Bar – European imports such as Volkswagen and BMW often list tyre pressure in this type of measurement.¹²

These days, most service station air pumps allow you to switch between these three units. Always verify the pressure unit before inflating your car’s tyres.¹²

Some vehicles also come with something called a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) which automatically keeps tabs on your tyre pressure while you drive and alerts you about any pressure loss.¹³ While this can be useful, it’s not typically regarded as a substitute for regularly performing manual pressure checks.¹³

Rotate your tyres at recommended intervals

Front and back tyres tend to wear differently, particularly on front-wheel drive cars.²

Because of this, having your tyres rotated regularly is highly recommended. This allows you to spread the wear more evenly across all four tyres, potentially increasing their lifespan.²

Most manufacturers recommend getting your tyres rotated every 10,000 kilometres.² This tends to match up with how often you should consider having your car serviced, so it could be a good idea to get your mechanic to check if your tyres need to be rotated each time you take it in for a service.¹⁴

Avoid hard braking and aggressive cornering

The harder you brake when you’re on the road, the more pressure and friction you put on your tyres, which can contribute to their wear over time.¹⁵

Fast cornering speeds can also put a lot of strain on your tyres, particularly at the edges so if you want to help prolong the life of your tyres, try to take corners slowly and avoid unnecessarily tight turning angles.¹⁵

Be mindful of not overloading your vehicle

The more weight your car is carrying, the more pressure it puts on the tyres, which may increase the rate at which they wear and could even bump up the risk of experiencing a tyre blowout.¹⁵

And, if you’re loading up the caravan for a ​ ​holiday road trip, don’t forget that towing adds significant weight to your vehicle.¹⁶

Check your car’s owner manual to find out its load capacity and take care to adhere to it.¹⁵

Don’t ignore wheel alignment or balancing issues

When your wheels are out of alignment or unbalanced, it can cause your tyres to wear faster or more unevenly than they would otherwise.²

If you notice that your steering wheel is slightly off-centre while you’re driving in a straight line, or you start to feel vibrations in the steering wheel or seat of the car, it may be a sign that your wheels need to be balanced or aligned.²

Wondering what the difference is between wheel alignment vs balancing?

• Wheel alignment aims to adjust the angle of your wheels so they’re all pointing in the same direction.¹⁷
• Wheel balancing is about evenly distributing the weight applied to all four wheels.¹⁷

It’s recommended that you get your wheel alignment and wheel balance checked every 15,000 kilometres.¹⁵

What else can accelerate tyre wear?

While the tread on your tyres will naturally wear down over time as you drive, certain behaviours and conditions may speed up the process.

We’ve already mentioned how avoiding hard braking and fast cornering speeds may help your tyres last longer, but there are a few other driving habits and environments that may affect your tyres, such as:

• Fast acceleration – Like hard braking, trying to get up to speed too quickly can also put a lot of pressure and excess friction on your tyres. Try to reach a safe speed gently and slowly where possible.¹⁵
• Hitting potholes – Hitting a pothole or the kerb can not only do structural damage to your tyres, it could also throw them out of alignment, which can contribute to uneven tyre wear.¹⁵
• Highway driving vs city driving – Due to the stop-start nature of city and suburban driving, your tyres will likely wear down faster than they would at consistent speeds on a highway.¹⁸

Do electric vehicle tyres wear out faster than regular tyres?

They might. The increased weight and torque of an electric vehicle (EV) mean they typically require different tyres than a regular car.¹⁹

And while the lifespan of EV tyres can depend on many of the factors we’ve already mentioned, generally speaking, you can expect them to wear out faster than a regular tyre.¹⁹ That’s because EVs tend to feature higher take-off speeds, regenerative braking and instant torque,¹⁹ which delivers full power the moment you press the ​ ​accelerator.²⁰

What is tyre ageing?

Even if they never touch the road, the materials that make up your tyres can naturally deteriorate over time in a process called tyre ageing.²¹ As the rubber on your tyre gets older, it becomes prone to cracking under pressure, either on the surface or hidden out of sight.²¹

“Tyres generally have a maximum life of around 10 years, even if there’s plenty of tread left,” says Lofts. “Over time, the chemicals in the rubber dry out and UV exposure takes its toll, causing a loss of flexibility, and fine cracking.”

This can pose a serious safety risk, which is why it’s important to replace older tyres, regardless of mileage or visible wear.²¹ This may even include your spare tyre, so if you’ve had the same one in the boot for many years, it might need to be replaced.

How can I tell if my tyres need replacing?

There are a few signs that your tyres might need replacing with a fresh set. Some of these include:²²

• Tyre age – The recommended time until replacement can vary between manufacturers, but you’ll typically need to consider a replacement every six to 10 years. You can find the date when your tyres were made in the serial ID number on the side of the tyres.
• Tread depth – Many tyres come with tread wear indicators in their grooves to show when you’re getting close to the legal requirement of 1.5mm. If your tyres don’t have wear indicators, you can measure the depth with something called the penny test, where you put a 20-cent coin in the tread to see if it comes up to the bill of the platypus.
• Signs of uneven tyre wear – If your tyres are more worn around the edges compared to the central section, or have an unusual wear pattern, it might be a sign that they need to be replaced.
• Signs of damage – Any cuts, cracks or bulges in the side wall of a tyre could be a sign of structural damage, making it unsafe to drive on.²²

Now that you know more about routine tyre maintenance and the driving habits that can impact tyre health, you might feel a bit more in control of how to make tyres last longer.

And, with your tyres sorted, maybe you’d like to check whether your car insurance is up to speed too? To explore and find cover that’s a bit more you-shaped, consider starting a quote online or giving us a call on 13 9684.

¹Source: NSW Government Point to Point Transport Commissioner – Safety alert: Bald tyres, n.d.
²Source: Qld Government Department of Transport and Main Roads – TyreSmart Brochure, n.d.
³Source: Canstar – Drivers put the brakes on car expenses as cost of living takes its toll, January 2026
⁴Source: Transport Victoria – VSI 16 – Tyre maintenance and repair, October 2021
⁵Source: TyrePlus – What is Aquaplaning/Hydroplaning?, n.d.
⁶Source: TyrePlus – Guide To Legal Requirements For Tyres In Australia, November 2025
⁷Source: ACT Government – Defect notices, n.d.
⁸Source: Transport Victoria – Roadworthy certificate, n.d.
⁹Source: Drive – How a simple car tweak dramatically changed my fuel use, April 2026
¹⁰Source: Canstar – What voids car insurance? 11 things to consider, April 2025
¹¹Source: Ultra Tune – How Long Do Tyres Last? A Guide To Checking Your Tyres, n.d.
¹²Source: Cars24 – Tyre pressure conversion: Know what to set your air pump at, June 2026
¹³Source: Safety Sam – TPMS vs Manual Tyre Pressure Checks: Which Is Better for Caravans, 4WDs and Touring?, March 2026
¹⁴Source: Canstar – How often should you service your car?, February 2025
¹⁵Source: Kar Pro Tyre & Auto – How to extend the life of your car tyres: tips and tricks, August 2024
¹⁶Source: NSW Government – Caravan safety, n.d.
¹⁷Source: Kar Pro Tyre & Auto – Wheel alignment vs wheel balancing: How to tell what your car needs, June 2026
¹⁸Source: Tyrepower – Why does city driving wear uut tyres more quickly?, n.d.
¹⁹Source: mycar – Electric car tyres vs normal tyres, November 2024
²⁰Source: Australian Government – Benefits of electric vehicles, n.d.
²¹Source Bridgestone – Tyre age explained, n.d.
²²Source: Bob Jane T-Marts – How to Tell If Your Tyres Need Replacing: 5 Warning Signs, June 2025