Uneven tire tread wear might not seem like a big deal but it can be dangerous. Not only can the uneven wear open you up to an increased chance of tire damage and blowouts, but it will also decrease the life you get out of your tires. Regular tire rotations (every 6,000 miles) and wheel balancing and alignment help prevent uneven tire tread wear. Brookwood Automotive lists the causes of uneven tire wear below.
Overinflated Tires
One of the best things you can do for your vehicle’s tires is to ensure that they always have the proper air pressure in them. Check your tire pressure once a week, and if they need air, add only enough to get it to the proper psi. If you add too much air, you will overinflate the tires. Overinflation causes tire tread to wear down the middle of each tire.
Underinflated Tires
Underinflated tires are equally dangerous. This is why it is so important to check your tire pressure once a week. If the tires do not have enough air in them, you will notice the tread wear along each shoulder. The shoulders on your tires are the inner and outer edges of the tread. So, again, overinflated tires wear down the center of the tread, and uninflated tires, the edges of the tread.
Misaligned Wheels
Your wheel alignment can also affect your tire tread wear, as can the wheel balance. For example, if your wheels are out of balance, your vehicle will vibrate as you pick up speed and you will have patches of tread wear loss along your tires. There are three ways that misaligned wheels can wear down the tire tread unevenly, they are heel and toe, feathered edges, and one-sided shoulder wear. Specifically
- Heel/toe tire tread wear is premature wear on a side of the tire tread blocks. Tires that are not aligned properly heel-to-toe can be facing inward (pigeon-toed) or outward (duck-footed).
- Feather-edge tread wear looks like its name suggests: feathers on the tread. The tread will have feather-like patches. This is caused by an excessive toe or caster alignment setting.
- One-sided shoulder tread wear is caused by leaning tires. You will see either the inner or outer shoulder of the tire wearing down. The tires are leaning inward or outward from top to bottom.
Look no further than Brookwood Automotive in OKC, OK, for your tire care and replacement. We’ll find out why your tire tread is wearing down unevenly and correct the problem so you get the most life out of your tires that you can.
