Uneven tread wear is a big problem for your car’s tires. It might even mean that they don’t last nearly as long as you expected them to last when you bought them. Here’s what Miller Auto Care wants you to know about the different causes of uneven tread wear and what you can do about them.
Balance Is Off
Wheel balance does so much more for your tires than you might expect. When your car’s wheels aren’t properly balanced, they spin inconsistently. Think about it like a washing machine that has too many clothes on one side of the drum and gets unbalanced. The same thing happens with the wheel, and that causes damage to your car’s tire treads.
Overdue for a Tire Rotation
Tire rotations also help to reduce uneven tread wear. They’re effective in protecting your car’s tires because each wheel has a slightly different job for the car based on where it’s located. Each wheel, and therefore each tire, also supports a slightly different weight and rolls on the road slightly differently. By getting rotations as often as recommended, you’re putting each wheel in a different spot periodically and that helps with tread wear.
Overdue for a Wheel Alignment
There’s another wheel service that you really need to make sure to get done as often as recommended and that’s wheel alignments. These help to keep the wheel and the tire pointed in the right direction. When the tire is out of alignment, one portion of the wheel presses against the road at a different angle, and that causes uneven wear.
Incorrect Air Pressure
These other factors rely on you getting your car in for service when it’s recommended. The last variable, tire pressure, is something that you can do a lot to manage on your own. It doesn’t take long, but you should check the tire pressure manually in each of your tires every couple of weeks. When tire pressure is off, even by a little, that affects how much and which parts of the tread make contact with the road. Air pressure can change quite a bit and your TPMS monitor might not even alert you until you’ve lost significant air pressure.
We can help your car’s tires to last a lot longer. Give us a call today at Miller Auto Care in Medford, OR and we can set up an appointment to inspect your tires and let you know what we recommend.