You've heard it time and time again, inflate your tires once a week or every-time you get gas, but how many of us do that? Then there's the dreaded air pump you buy from Amazon or Walmart or maybe AutoZone. But this only focuses on making sure you don't wear out your tires sidewalls. This is just one area and yeah . . . you shouldn't drive flat it will eventually cause a blowout and shredding of the sidewall over time. But there are other things you should do:

 Additional Tire Extending Tips

• Bead Seal Your Tires - Eliminates Air Leaks
• Over Inflate Your Tires - During Cold Season
• Brush Off Corrosion On Your Rims - Eliminates Air Leaks
• Install New Tire Stems - Eliminates Air Leaks

Alignments Will Save You Used or New Tires

Alignments, I know they suck, they add to the repair bill . . . . the business model of most "tire shops" is an upsell, feature. However, buying your tires online, you can now take that tire savings and get an alignment. You can walk into most places and get an alignment, even if you don't get your tires put on by the same shop. Even if you do get your tires put on at a shop you should get the alignment, here's why:

 Tires Wear Out Faster On The Outside

• Adjusting your vehicle's toe is your main concern
• Depending on your car rear toe won't adjust, think seized bolts
• Not getting an alignment causes your tires to wear on outside(s)
• Tires wearing on the outside will eventually cause a blowout!

We've seen many tires and can instantly tell when a tire is not aligned, one of the major pitfalls with your car is not keeping up with your vehicles general maintenance and the alignment. Cost of maintaining a car at times is overwhelming, esp after 50,000 miles. However, depending on where you live, your climate, and roads (think hard roads, pot holes, ruff) can throw your alignment out in a 5,000 sprint. So make sure you get an alignment check, most garages will do them at no cost, others charge $25 to $45 to check and about $120 to $150 to do an alignment.

Keep your car aligned and save $500 in the span of 24 months, just do the math, $130 to save $320; keep the money for a weekend vacation!

One of the best things you can do to keep your tires, even bought at a discount, is to keep your tires inflated. It seems annoying, but trust us, you can extend the life of tires by an additional six months to a year. Not getting alignment still will ultimately spell doom, but if your car is properly aligned (some are, we've seen it before) then this piece of advice is an easy one to act on.

 Not Inflating Tires Can Cause These Problems

• Driving Under Inflated cause cracks and air leakage
• Driving Over Inflated cause tires to wear uneven

Not inflating your tires will do damage in the long-run, but it will cause annoying and progressive problems before your tire life runs out. For example, as mentioned above, air leaks.

This means you'll constantly be watching your TPMS lights (tire pressure monitor light) and you'll have to visit air pumps more than twice a month. If you live in a cold climate, you'll hate having to wake up early to inflate your tires.

Truth is, you should put air in tires every time you put gas in your car. Here is the drop, most tire pumps need to be recalibrated, and chances are you might run into an air pump that might not be calibrated, so you will need to invest into a mechanical tool that checks the tire pressure

 Things To Remember

• Check your tire pressure once a week
• Check your driver side door for correct psi setting
• Invest into a "mechanical" tire gauge, don't be lazy
• In cold climates, inflate your tires a little higher
• Have your car checked for alignment during the first half of your tire's install, most shops won't charge for a check, if they do its inexpensive.