What Are the Causes of Abnormal Tire Wear?
Although tire wear is a normal result of long-term driving and tire use, abnormal tire wear is atypical and can significantly reduce the functionality and longevity of a car tire. There are a variety of causes of abnormal tire wear.
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Low Tire Pressure
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Low tire pressure causes a tire to bulge and negatively impacts how the tire meshes with the ground. An improperly inflated tire develops increased rolling resistance and friction as a vehicle is driven, which causes extra stress to develop on the tire treads, which, over time, can cause accelerated tire wear in addition to abnormal tire wear patterns. Low tire pressure is one of the most common causes of abnormal and early tire wear.
Worn Shocks
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Besides stabilizing a vehicle's ride, shock absorbers help to keep a vehicle's tires stabilized and planted firmly on the ground, which helps to normalize tire wear and improve tire contact with the ground. Worn shock absorbers can create abnormal tire wear by destabilizing a tire and allowing excessive up-and-down tire movements to occur, especially over rough or bumpy terrain. Also, as shock absorbers wear, they lose their ability to adequately equalize vehicle weight, which can allow excessive vehicle loads to develop on vehicle tires, which can accelerate tire wear.
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Worn Ball Joints
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The health of a vehicle's front suspension is very important for ensuring long-lasting tires. Ball joints, which are critical vehicle front suspension parts responsible for maintaining adequate tire alignment and angle, can cause abnormal tire wear when they wear excessively. Excessively worn ball joints can allow a tire to tilt or sway excessively, which negatively affects how the tire strikes the ground during vehicle operation. This altered tire alignment results in increased tire wear, especially on the outer tire edges.
Front End Alignment
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A vehicle's front end suspension alignment (or lack thereof) has a major influence on tire wear. A properly aligned vehicle front suspension helps to keep a vehicle's front tires pointed and angled in the correct positions, which allows a vehicle to be driven in a straight line and helps to equalize and minimize tire wear. A front end suspension that is misaligned or damaged is a common cause of abnormal tire wear. In addition to accelerating tire wear, a misaligned front end can reduce vehicle gas mileage by increasing rolling resistance.
Warped Tire Rim
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A bent or warped tire rim can cause a tire to wobble or strike the ground in an abnormal manner, which can accelerate (and cause abnormal) tire wear. Car tires are made to fit snugly and securely around car rims; any abnormality or defect in a rim is likely to have an adverse affect on its associated tire, causing anything from early tire wear and pitting to flats and blow outs. Checking the condition of a car rim is often helpful in determining the causes of abnormal wear of a tire.
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