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Last Updated on August 24, 2024 by Paul Clayton
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When Do You Replace UTV Tires?
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a routine, disciplined driver, a vehicle-obsessed fanatic, or even a regular passenger. Blowing your UTV tire is always going to thwart your spirits.
Key Takeaways:
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- UTV Tire Lifespan: The lifespan of UTV tires can range from 1 to 5 years, depending on factors like driving surfaces, tire material, and usage frequency. Regular inspections are crucial to ensure tire safety and performance.
- Signs for Replacement:
- Visual and Phonetic Irregularities: Unusual sounds or performance changes can indicate tire wear.
- Weathering in Treads: Cracks in the treads, especially deep ones, signal the need for replacement.
- Sidewall Cracks: Splits or bulging in the sidewalls are warning signs of potential blowouts.
- Bald Spots: Overinflated tires can develop bald spots, leading to punctures and other issues.
- Tire Pressure: Proper tire pressure (PSI) is essential to avoid sidewall cracks, irregular wear, and punctures.
- Final Signs of Tire Failure: Performance issues such as vibrations, loss of control, tire spinning, and complete deflation are clear indicators that your UTV tires need immediate replacement.
You’d be willing to go to great lengths to ensure it doesn’t happen in the middle of your off-road trail or while on the dunes.
You can prevent all of the above scenarios (at least, while you’re not asleep and dreaming). This guide is the holy grail of letting you know when your UTV tires have had enough of the roads and need replacement.
Lifespan Of UTV Tires
Before we get down to business, we must discuss how much your UTV tires will last.
Typically, the answer to this question is subjective to numerous factors, such as
- The surface you commonly drive on
- The material and make of the tire
- The style of the tire
- How often your vehicle is in use
On an average scale, this could be as low as one year or as high as five—quite a wide range.
This is why it’s important to perform routine checks on your tires and follow the steps written in this guide.
Visual And Phonetic Irregularities
If your UTV tire is wearing away, it indicates you’ve used it for a long time. If the aforementioned is true, you know your vehicle’s ins and outs due to long usage. You know about its off-hand characteristics and otherwise indistinguishable sounds.
So, as soon as you hear something unusual or feel a difference in how it works, your sixth sense should be tingling and on high alert.
And if it isn’t, you need more training than Brandon Stark did for his throne. Run an immediate inspection. Want to know what you need to look out for? Read on.
Weathering In The Treads
This would conventionally go unsaid, but its importance makes it worth mentioning. Are you about to head out for a ride? Make sure you check your tires.
If you notice a significant number of cracks, it’s a cause for concern for the lifespan of your UTV tire.
If your treads are weathered and worn down, your car will cause trouble. It won’t respond well when taken out in slightly unfavorable weather conditions and decreases your grip massively.
However, not all hope is lost. Look out for the depth of the cracks present. Are they surface-level, or are they penetrating right into the tire’s rubber? How do you measure this?
Got a spare penny? Don’t throw it into the fountain just yet. It may bring you luck sooner than you think. Lincoln is saving everyone a lot more time and money than he knows.
A popular and fun way to check the depth of your worn-out treads is to insert a penny between them. Be careful; you might need serious concentration for this one, folks.
Here’s the methodology to perform The Lincoln Penny Test.
This video has been included to clarify the topic. Credit goes to Les Schwab
If you’ve failed this test, it’s completely alright. This one time, life is allowing you a retake. Pretty cool, right?
It’s about time to start considering a replacement. Your tire is getting worse in wear, and let me assure you, no aging cream will work here.
Unusual Cracks In The Sidewalls
While inspecting, you might spot some alarming splits between the treads or unusual bulging.
Don’t overlook it because it may eventually lead to a full-fledged blowout. Your tire may eventually puncture and go flat because the tread has been stretched far enough from its carcass.
And once those treads have appeared, there’s no reversal or repair. You can’t sew them back together now, can you?
Bald Spots
No, it’s not what you think. The tire never had hair, and it’s certainly not losing it. In its simplest terms, a bald spot depicts the fading away of a pattern initially present on the tire. It is a sign that your tire is overinflated and stretched beyond its average limit.
What is overinflation, and how is it caused? Overinflation occurs when the middle portion of your tire is used more frequently than the treads on either side.
Simply put, this causes the damage to be concentrated in a certain area, making it much more vulnerable to damage from various scenarios.
The interesting part? It may not even be due to long usage. But it could lead you to a flat in the blink of an eye, leaving you confused about why your recently purchased tire is now punctured beyond repair.
The question arises: how do you prevent these bald spots from appearing?
Tire Pressure
Tire pressure maintenance is traditionally called PSI in the big-bag world of motor vehicles.
If your pressure is below average, this could lead to several consequences. Some could be increased sidewall cracks, more tire wear and tear irregularities, and distinguishable bald spots.
Punctures
It may be hard to spot these, but a puncture in the rubber of your UTV tire is your final step in certifying that it is now damaged.
After this, your vehicle will begin to face performance issues and risk the safety of anyone using it by:
- Deflation of the whole tire
- Causing tires to spin
- Uncontrolled steering
Performance Issues
You know as well as I that the probability of you negating the aforementioned steps is very probable.
You may be unable to afford new ones at the said time, or you may just be too lazy to do anything. We’ve all been there
What you saw above were signs and symptoms of a tired obtaining “The UTV Tire Replacement Syndrome.” The disease has now spread, and it comes bearing drastic consequences
The final straw entails obvious characteristics, with the aftermath presenting itself in the form of:
- Vibrations
- Loss of automation and control
- Unrecognisable sounds
- Spinning of tires
- Uncontrolled steering
- Wearing away other parts of the vehicle
- Complete deflation
This may seem like the end, but certain additional points are key. Without them, your knowledge remains incomplete. Ignorance is not bliss in this scenario, so read on to find the essentials.
Create a Timeline
If you’re a long-term user of vehicles with UTV tires, creating a timeline would make the entire process much less daunting and more efficient.
There’s no reason to take a laborious route when you can employ an effortless one. Get with the times; we’re all using the easy way out here.
Keep a record of the tires’ use over the years, depicting the appearance of uneven cracks, bald spots, and weatherings. Correlate this with the time performance issues began to arise.
This will allow you always to estimate your tires’ average lifespan, which is subjective to your make and use. This will allow you to remain cautious and prepared in the long run, bringing us to this guide’s last defining point.
Always Be Prepared
A little goes a long way, and while you may now know when to replace your UTV tires, you can never be too prepared. Circumstances do not have mercy on anyone.
So ensure you’re well equipped with a spare and all the tools you need with it. I’m sure your newly replaced tires will be capable of lugging around some extra mass.
Conclusion
Knowing when to replace your tires is no big feat. You don’t require fancy equipment or lots of spare time. A penny and a few spare minutes will do the trick!
Make it a routine habit to inspect for
- Cracks on the sidewall
- Splits in between your treads using a penny
- Bald Spots
- Punctures
If your tire checks at least two of the above, the time for replacement has arrived. If it doesn’t, then you’re good to go.
Whatever the case, practicing precaution and keeping required items with you at all times is the best way to go when you’re on the road (or, in the case of UTV tires, off the road.)
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