Tire Damage
Lets begin by saying that you will need to replace tires a few times over the life of your vehicle. Despite advances in longer-lasting tires, actual tread life will vary by car type, tire type (such as all-season or high-performance), driving aggressiveness, and even road and weather conditions.
What damages tires?
There are many factors that can cause damage to your vehicle’s tires. Aside from the driver’s habits and road conditions there are a number of other factors that could determine the lifespan of your tires a few are mentioned below.
Potholes, obstacles, curbs ,sharp objects, speed bumps
Extreme temperatures
Oil, grease and other chemicals
Strong sunlight
Speeding
Quick starts and emergency braking
Driving on damaged roads
Failure to notice a change in handling, noise or vibration
Improper Air pressure
Bad Alignment
Not Rotating tires
Improperly installed tires
Improper use of sealants
Using summer tires on snow and ice
Mixing tire types (different treads and sizes)
Using tires on damaged wheels
Using rim sizes that are not compatible
Reflating a tire that has been run flat or seriously under inflated
Prolonged use of a spare tire of a different size at speeds in excess of 50 mph
Bad suspension
Types of damages:
Cupped/ Cupping
Cupped of scalloped dips around the surface of the thread
Under inflation/ Shoulder wear
The result of low tire pressure, overloading a vehicle or the use of undersized tires
Over Inflation/ Center wear
Typically due to over inflating beyond the tire manufacture specifications. Can also be caused by mounting over-sized tires on narrow rims.
Feathered Wear / Feathering
Can be caused by hard driving, could be caused by bad sway bar links or springs. Can also be avoided by using high performance tires.
Edge wear / Camber wear
May be caused by an improperly aligned tire. Surface of the tire is not touching road surface evenly. Can also be caused by bad springs.
Brake or skid marked
Causes flat spots when skidding when braking from high speeds. Can also be caused by tire sitting in oil or chemicals.
How do I inspect my tire?
1- Check your air pressure. It’s quick and can prevent many problems. Do it once a month.
2- Check the tread wear with one of the three methods
With a tread depth gauge
With the tread wear indicators
With the penny test
One easy way to check for wear is by using the penny test. All you have to do is grab your spare change and follow these easy steps.
-Take a penny and hold Abe's body between your thumb and forefinger. Select a point on your tire where tread appears the lowest and place Lincoln's head into one of the grooves. If any part of Abe Lincoln's head is covered by the tread, you're driving with the legal and safe amount of tread.
-If your tread gets below that (approximately 2/32 of an inch), your car's ability to grip the road in adverse conditions is greatly reduced.
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