Car Tire Wear Patterns

Car Tire Wear on Inside Edge of Tire

This kind of tire wear indicates a problem with alignment. Wheel alignment defines how straight the wheel relative to the car frame when defining how to tilt the wheel is called Camber. There are types of camber namely positive, negative and no camber. When we say positive camber it means that the wheel is tilted away from the car frame, when we say negative camber it means that the wheel is tilted towards the car frame and no camber means the wheel is not tilted.

When the car tire wears mainly on the inside edge then it means that the wheel is too much tilted towards the car or has a negative camber. A wheel alignment will correct the problem do this at once to avoid excessive tire wear.

Car Tire Wear on Outside Edge of Tire

When a car tire wear patterns are mainly on the outside then it means that the wheel is tilted too much away from the car frame therefore to correct the problem a wheel alignment is necessary. Some mechanic may tell you that the front end parts are necessary to be replaced before doing the wheel alignment if this is the case then consult another mechanic before agreeing for the replacement.

Car Tire Wear on Both Edge of Tire

This kind of problem indicates an underinflated tire, when a tire is underinflated the tread that has contact to the ground will be curved downward, tires are built this way. Since both edges of the tire are with contact to the ground more weight is carried by both edges than in the middle causing the tire to wear mainly on both edges. Correcting this problem is much easier, just add enough amount of air to the tire refer to the car owner’s manual for proper inflation pressure.

Car Tire Wear on the Middle of Tire

This problem indicates that the tire is overinflated. When the air inside the tire is too much the tires will bulge making the ground contact mainly on the middle, in this case, the wear will be concentrated in the middle. To correct the problem reduce the amount of air inside the tire.

Car Tire Wear on Various Spot of Tire

This type of wear indicates an out of balance wheel. Tires and Wheels are not perfectly manufactured usually both are made with uneven thickness. This uneven thickness is what made the tire to become unbalance in terms of weight distribution making both the tire and wheel to rotate unevenly. However, this kind of flaw is corrected by balancing before the tire is fitted to the car during manufacturing. Now during usage of the car tire will become unbalance again because of lots of reasons, in this case, the wheel is necessary to be balanced again.

When you notice your car tire that wears abnormally, correct the problem immediately to avoid more serious damage on the tire.

How Often to Rotate Tires

How often to rotate tires will depend on the mileage a car is driven. Tires should be rotated as soon as possible if tire wear is abnormal. Read more » How Often to Rotate Tires