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The Causes of Tire Wear

Tires are the only thing between you and the road, and if you’ve ever had a blow out on a highway, you know exactly how important good tires are. Your tires should be inspected at least once a week. Check for three things: visually evident tire wear, feel the tread by hand for feathering, and tire pressure.

Sparky Convoy Tires

Over Inflation

Do you use a tire pressure gauge when checking your tire pressure? You should. Many people just sort of eyeball it. They stop in at the local gas station with the free air hose and fill the tires until the bulge at the bottom disappears. More than likely what they have just done is overinflate their tires. A good visual indicator of overinflated tires is excessive wear at the center of the treads.

Under Inflation

While it’s important to ensure your tires don’t have too much pressure, it’s equally important to ensure they have enough pressure. Be the baby bear for your tires – not too much, not too little, but just right! A good visual indicator of underinflated tires is excessive wear on the outer and inner edges of the treads. If your tires wear in this manner and you know the tire pressure is correct, it may be an indication of a bent or worn steering component – or even the need for a wheel alignment.

Feathering

Feathering is when each tread wears more on one side than the other. It is not as easy to see this type of wear, but you can usually feel it. Run your hand across the tread of your tires to inspect for it. If you feel a rounded edge on one side of each tread and a sharp edge on the other side of each tread, you have what is known as feathering. This is most likely due to an incorrect toe-in setting, but is occasionally due to deteriorated bushings in the front suspension.

One Side Wear

When the inner or outer edge of your tires show more wear than the rest of the tire, the most common problem is incorrect wheel alignment. However, there may be reasons for the misalignment such as sagging springs, worn ball joints, or even worn control arm bushings.

Cupping

Cupping or scalloped dips in the wear around the inner or outer edge of your tires looks similar to the one-side wear mentioned above except that there are dips in the wear instead of a smooth, even wear. This type of tire wear is probably caused by worn or bent suspension parts, and adjusting the wheel alignment will not correct the problem.

Second-rib Wear

This type of wear is usually only found in radial tires. It appears where the steel belts end in relation to the tread – usually one tread in from the inner and/or outer treads. Proper tire pressure and frequent tire rotation can minimize this type of wear. Another cause may be that the tires are too wide for the wheels.

At Treadworks, we can inspect and repair any problem with your tires to ensure the safety of you and your family. Take a look at the Tire Repair section of our website and give us a call at (505) 327-0286.

Written on Tuesday, October 23, 2012 by Treadworks
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