Suzanne Keane explains why tyres do not wear evenly on your car
In an ideal world our tyres would wear evenly all round so that we could get the best value from them. Unfortunately, due to road conditions and suspension design in certain cars this isn’t always possible. There are however some tell-tale signs that there could be another issue with your car if your tyres aren’t wearing evenly!
- Over inflation – If your tyres are wearing in the middle before the edges it’s a sign you’ve got too much air in them! As the centre bulges out it wears quicker than the outer edges
- Under Inflated – If your tyres are wearing on the outside edges and you’ve got plenty of thread in the centre that’s a sign of under inflation
- Feathering – if your tyre wear is increasing from one edge to the other with “feathering” or fine rubber tears/strands that’s a sign your front or rear wheels are incorrectly aligned and you need to get your tracking looked at!
- If your tyres are worn on one side in particular it’s a sign that you need to get your camber checked out – this can either be adjusted when your car is tracked or may require adjustable suspension parts to correct the camber.
- Torn tread – this is a sign of heat building up and damage being done to the rubber and needs to be replaced immediately!
- Deformation – if your tyre is out of shape it’s a sign of internal damage and should be replaced straight away!
Remember:
- Tyres need to be compatible with the other tyres on your car (size, same tread per axle etc.)
- Tyres need to be correctly inflated to ensure effectiveness
- Tread depth needs to be above 1.6mm – we recommend 3mm for winter months
Suzanne Keane
23rd November, 2015
