What causes excessive or uneven wear in tyres?

16 April 2019

We all know that tyres naturally wear over time and need to be replaced. But driving on uneven or excessively worn tyres can hinder your driving experience, and impact your on-road safety. So, what can cause excessive or uneven wear in tyres? From whether your tyres are inflated correctly to the wheel alignment of your tyres, find out what causes tyre wear today.

Reasons for excessive or uneven tyre wear

What can cause a tyre to wear excessively? There are a number of factors to consider which may cause excessive or uneven tyre wear:

• Driving Style

  Individual driving style is a factor that needs to be taken into consideration when discussing the causes of tyre wear. This can include:

  • Hitting kerbs – although at the time it may not seem like much, an accidental knock to the kerb causes problems with your wheels and tyres. This can include knocking it out of alignment or damaging the tyre itself.
  • Sharp turns and reckless driving – a safer, smoother drive is less likely to affect your tyre wear. However, steering your car around corners without really slowing down can put added pressure onto your tyres.
  • Driving over potholes – although it’s sometimes unavoidable, driving over potholes in the road can also set your wheels out of alignment. This then will affect your tyre wear.
• Wheel alignment

  Another cause of uneven tyre wear is the wheel alignment of your tyres. Wheel alignment refers to the angle that your tyres are set to – if this is knocked out of alignment, or not aligned correctly, it can cause problems for your tyres. So, what are the signs to look out for?

  • Dragging/pulling to one side
  • Visible tyre wear
  • Steering wheel vibration

  If you’re experiencing any of the above, it could be that your wheels are out of alignment. Find out more information on wheel alignment today.

• Improper inflation pressure

  This is where the tyre is not pumped up to the recommended pressure limit, causing excessive or uneven tyre wear.

Why are my tyres wearing on the inside?

This could be due to over inflation. Over inflating the tyre can cause wear to the middle section of the tyre – this is because the contact between the road and the tyre is directed solely to the middle of the tyre, causing it to wear down.

Why are my tyres wearing on the outside?

This could be due to under inflation. This is because the tyre is not inflated to its recommended pressure, meaning that the outsides of the tyres dip to meet the road, and in turn cause excessive or uneven tyre wear.

If your tyres have worn excessively, it may be time to replace them. Browse our wide selection of tyres to buy online today with help from Setyres.