When it comes to your vehicle, tyre wear is one of the most important factors that can affect its performance and safety. Uneven tyre wear can cause a substantial decrease in fuel efficiency and even lead to dangerous driving conditions if not addressed quickly. To ensure maximum safety, it’s essential to understand what causes uneven tyre wear and how you can take steps to avoid it.
Uneven tyre wear occurs when tyres are wearing down at different rates on either side of the car or across all four wheels. This type of wear typically results from an imbalance in the alignment, suspension system, or wheel balance of your vehicle. It’s also possible for uneven tyre wear to be caused by improper inflation levels or worn out shock absorbers.
Tyre wear cause 1: Tyre Misalignment
The most common cause of uneven tyre wear is misalignment. Misaligned tyres can cause the vehicle to pull to one side when driving, which causes the outside of the tyre to wear down faster than the inside. This type of uneven tyre wear is often caused by hitting a large pothole or curb, getting into an accident, or even just normal road conditions over time.
Tyre wear cause 2: Incorrect inflation levels
Another common cause of uneven tyre wear is improper inflation levels. If your tyres are either under-inflated or over-inflated, it can lead to premature and uneven tread wear on all four wheels. As a result, you’ll need to check your air pressure regularly with a reliable gauge and adjust accordingly if necessary. Not only does correct tyre pressure reduce the risk of uneven wear, but also having the correct tyre pressures is essential for ensuring the car handles safely and correctly when driving at speed or cornering. Similarly, having tyres inflated to the correct pressure will improve fuel economy as it reduces rolling resistance too.
Find your correct tyre pressures for all makes and models here.
Tyre wear cause 3: Uneven suspension
The suspension system in your car also plays an important role in preventing uneven tyre wear. Worn out shock absorbers will make it difficult for your car to maintain proper contact with the ground as you drive, leading to excessive bouncing that wears down both sides of each wheel differently over time. It’s essential that you have your shocks inspected every once in awhile so they don’t become worn out prematurely and compromise safety on the road.
Tyre wear cause 4: Wheel balance
Finally, wheel balance is another key factor when it comes avoiding premature and uneven tyre wear caused by imbalances between left and right wheels during rotation at high speeds. Having unbalanced wheels means that more weight will be placed on certain areas of each wheel as they rotate at high speeds; this excessive force can lead to rapid wearing down from one side compared to other parts around them. To prevent this issue from occurring its best practice for drivers go get their wheels balanced every 10 000 miles (or 16 000 km) using professional equipment such as dynamic balancing machines which measure any discrepancies between left/right forces across all four wheels while spinning them up together simultaneously
In conclusion, understanding what causes uneven tyre wear – whether it’s misalignment, improper inflation levels, worn shock absorbers or an imbalance within wheel weights – is essential for ensuring maximum performance from our vehicles. With regular maintenance checks, these issues can be prevented easily before they become dangerous problems; however, should any signs arise then immediate attention should be sought quickly so not only do our vehicles stay safe but we do too!
