We all know what a tyre is, the magical black rubber circle that surrounds our wheels and is the only point of contact between the car and the road surface. For most people the Tyre’s on their car are a considerable investment and quite rightly so you are going to want to ensure you get the best from them. One of the best ways to achieve a longer tyre life is to ensure they wear evenly, what’s more, the way the tyre wears can also reveal other issues with the cars mechanics so it is worth paying attention to. Remember maintenance over repair.
It’s important to check your Tyre’s on a regular basis for tread depth, tread wear, inflation and visible damage. The best way to check your front Tyre’s wear is to swing the steering full lock one direction and then inspect the Tyre’s, ideally you should be seeing even wear across all of the tread, but if for some reason you don’t then there are multiple causes which need to be looked into (we are always happy to help and advise on all tyre questions).
Let’s take a look at the most common reasons for uneven or inconsistent wear across the tread of a tyre.
If your Tyre’s aren’t inflated to the correct PSI according to the manufacture’s recommendation then you will see uneven wear across the tyre. Commonly an underinflated tyre will see wear along both outer edges, whereas an over inflated tyre will see wear across the middle band of the tyre.
When a tyre is fitted to a wheel it is out of balance and won’t spin smoothly, any reputable tyre fitter will balance the wheel by using stick-on or clip-on weights on the wheel using a specialist machine to ensure the wheel/tyre spins perfectly smooth and balanced. If these weights come off (e.g. hit a pothole/bump) then the wheel will no longer be smooth and thus can cause sections of the tyre not to wear correctly. When this happens, generally speaking you will experience vibrations when the car is moving (might only be at speed).
The cars suspension is a complex system and requires pinpoint accuracy on alignment, with the poor state of roads, potholes and the odd meeting with a curb its not surprising that the alignment takes a hit. This can be checked with lasers at our garage and put back into align, the service is often referred to as Tracking or Wheel Alignment. Common signs of this may be that the inner or outer edge is worn on BOTH Tyre’s on the same axle.
As your car ages and the miles pile on the rubber bushes and suspension components will show excess play due to their working conditions and wear & tear. Sometimes if a rubber bush has too much play, or a suspension arm moves too much it can cause uneven wear across the Tyre’s.
Modified your car? this can cause the tread to wear differently, the most common culprit is a lowered car or a DIY suspension change whereby the wheel alignment hasn’t been checked afterwards.
Cornering too fast, harsh acceleration/braking, burn outs, skids etc all all cause uneven or inconsistent wear.
There are other conditions which can cause uneven wear too such as faulty tyre, damage to the tyre (bulges, seperation of the layers, impact marks, tyre run flat) etc
Now you know the common causes of uneven tyre wear, if you are unsure on how to proceed or solve your problems then please pop by and have a chat with one of our technicians.
