How long your tires last depends a lot on how you select, maintain, and use them. Unfortunately, motorists often make mistakes that shorten the lifespan of their tires.

The following are six mistakes you need to avoid so that you don't prematurely age your tires.

Driving too long on tires without rotating them

Rotating tires is a simple maintenance task that makes a big difference. When you drive your vehicle, your tires are going to wear differently depending on where they're located on the vehicle.

Rotating your tires will compensate for this uneven wearing of tires. Over time, tires will wear uniformly as long as they are rotated periodically. 

Never seeing what your tire pressure is at

Under-inflated or over-inflated tires are going to age prematurely. This means that making sure that your tire pressure stays within an appropriate range is important.

It's important to know that tires will slowly lose air over time so that their pressure drops. You therefore are going to have to periodically put air in your tires to keep them at peak performance levels.  

Putting excessive weight loads in your vehicle

If you overload your vehicle, it's going to take its toll on your tires. Your vehicle should have data on the placard that indicate what the vehicle's weight capacity is. Coming too close to or exceeding this weight capacity will not only take its toll on your tires, but could also create a safety hazard on the road. 

Selecting differing tires for your vehicle that don't match up properly

A lot of motorists are tempted to save money on their tires by mixing varying tire types when they get a particular low cost on a tire.

However, it's best when all of your tires are the same. This way, there won't be unevenness issues that could prematurely wear the tires and negatively impact your vehicle's handling or suspension. 

Not washing the tires when you wash the rest of your vehicle

Vehicle owners generally focus on getting their auto body clean when they wash their vehicles. However, it's beneficial to wash the tires as well. 

Keeping tires cleaned can prevent tire materials from deteriorating before they should. There are chemicals on the roads like road salts that can eat away at the tire if they are not periodically washed away. 

Braking hard out on the roads

Your driving habits impact the lifespan of your tires. If you drive roughly and push down on the brakes forcefully because you wait too long to brake, this behavior is going to put a lot of pressure on your tires and cause premature wear. 

Visit a tire shop for more information.