Understanding Tire Wear
Everybody wants their tires to last as long as possible, but what are the causes of tire wear? What causes different wear patterns? To understand these questions, we need to understand how tires wear. Tires have two main areas of concern to us as commuters, the sidewall, and the tread. The tread is the rubber that wears down as the tires are driven on. When properly inflated, the sidewall is there to absorb impacts and flex around objects in the road. So what does that have to do with tread wear?
How does Inflation Affect Tread Wear?
When a tire is underinflated it puts unnecessary pressure on the sidewall of the tire. When a tire with low pressure is driven on, a groove will wear into the sidewall of the deflated tire. As this groove becomes worse, any kind of impact could lead to the tire completely separating leaving you stranded. This could also damage your exterior body panels, wheels and hurt suspension parts. Overinflated tires are also a major source of problems. Remember we want the tire to wear evenly all the way across, overinflating the tire will cause the middle to raise and wear unevenly throughout the middle until the secondary rubber begins showing. Always remember to set your tires to the recommended PSI shown on your driver door jamb sticker, or owner’s manual
Other Areas to Consider
What about mechanical errors that could cause problems? Typical problems that lead to uneven tire wear are your alignment, wheel balancing, bent suspension items, or failing bushings. These could lead to excessive camber. Meaning your wheel is tilted either too much or too little, or excessive toe, meaning the wheel is not pointing completely straight. The best first step to take is to get your wheels rebalanced. If that doesn’t fix it, it’s time to visit your local mechanic to have the car aligned and checked for worn suspension parts.
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