Tire Wear - What Are Your Tires Telling You?

My career as an automotive improvement expert began when I modified my first car. Since then, as a car enthusiast and published author, my obsession with the automobile has led me to enhance tons of vehicles both inside and out. That’s why I’m thrilled to be a part of a brand new series designed to help keep your car looking great and your engine running like new! I’m Chris Duke, and welcome to eHow’s Auto Center brought to you by Mobil1! Hey Chris, I try to keep the correct pressure in my tires every time I fill up, but what else should I be looking for? Thanks John. Thanks, John! That's the funny thing about tire pressure. Most car owners wash their car once a month, but few rarely check their tire pressure as often. With the tires as the only thing in contact with the road you should take just as much care in checking your tires as you do keeping your car looking like new. Tires generally need to be rotated every 5-10K miles, and replaced every 30-50K miles or when they begin to show signs of wear. Rotating your tires is a great way to enhance the gripping power, extend your tires life, and keep you safe on the road. Let’s take a close look at what your tires are telling you. The way your tires wear can tell you a lot. Wear patterns are often caused by poor tire maintenance or a bad front-end alignment. Tires should be inspected at every opportunity, like when you're fueling up. Check all around each tire for nails too! Nails are evil! They can really throw off your tire pressure and balance. If you find one, be sure to have it repaired immediately by a professional. You may need to replace the tire, too. First, check the air pressure in all four tires. You should use the PSI number on the sticker in the door jam on the driver’s side of your vehicle. Be sure to use a quality tire pressure gauge so you get the most accurate result possible. The pen-style can give you varying results, so get one with a gauge (digital or otherwise), and avoid those cheap pop-up turkey thermometers! Be sure to check all four tires when they’re cool (a half hour in the shade should do). Then visually examine them for unusual tire wear. Finally, feel the tread by hand to determine any problems. Put on some leather gloves, though, so you don’t get cut by any glass or steel that might be sticking out! Over-inflation is easy to spot: just look at the tread in the center of the tire and if it is worn more than the rest, then you're over-inflating your tires! If you catch it soon enough, just lower the pressure in your tires. If there's a huge difference, you may have to replace them. Under-inflation is just the opposite. You'll find more wear on the outer treads than the inside. If you find your tire pressure is correct and this happens, it could be a sign of a different problem, such as a steering component, wheel alignment, or something more serious like your idler or steering arms. Feathering can be determined by inspecting the tread's ribs. They can develop a rounded edge on one side and a sharp edge on the other. This is easy to determine by touch, and while it usually indicates a wheel alignment issue, it could also be caused by bad bushings in the front suspension. One sided wear is another common problem where the inner or outer rib wears faster than the rest of the tire. This is usually resolved by getting a wheel alignment at your local tire shop. If that doesn't fix the problem, then it could be something else such as your ball joints, springs, or control arm bushings. Cupping looks like small dips around the edge of the tread on either side of the tire. This usually indicates a problem with your suspension components. These components should be inspected and if worn, they should be replaced. Then, the tires should be balanced and rotated to a different location. Now if you've got radial tires, you may experience second-rib wear. You can spot this where the steel belts end in relation to the tread. A common solution is to check your tire pressure and rotate your tires, regularly. And finally, there's dry rot. This is caused by multiple factors, such the age of the tire, in combination with sun and weather damage. You'll quickly spot this as cracking in the rubber on the sides of the tire or between the treads. There's no fix for this, other than to replace your tires. Tires may lose air over time so always remember to check your air pressure regularly. This not only keeps your tire wear normal, but minimizes your risk of premature tire failure. Under-inflated tires cause excessive flexing on the sidewalls. Making sure your tires are properly inflated can keep you safe, and keep you saving at the pump! Thanks again for the question John and remember you can check back here for more episodes. For eHow’s Auto Center, I’m Chris Duke. Here’s to helping keep your car running like new!