What Your Vehicle's Tyres Can Tell You About Your Car or Truck

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When your vehicle's tyres are worn down, are cracked and split, or have holes or leaks, this may simply be due to their age, and to standard wear and tear. However, if the tyres are not old enough to be that worn, or are suffering unusual damage, this could be an indication of something else that needs repairing on the vehicle itself; simply replacing the tyres may not be all that's needed. Note a few things that your vehicle's tyres might be telling you about the car or truck itself, so you know all the repairs that need to be made and are sure you're always safe when on the road.

Uneven wear

A vehicle's left and right tyres should wear out somewhat evenly; if one should get worn down more quickly than the other, this might indicate that the tyres need an alignment or balancing. However, it can also mean that the struts or tie rods on one side are damaged; tie rods run horizontally and connect the wheels to the car's axle, while struts are vertical springs that connect the tie rods to the car's frame. When either of these pieces get worn down or rusted, this puts undue pressure on that one tyre, and it will wear down more quickly than the one on the other side.

Bad wheel bearings can also cause uneven wear on one tyre; these bearings allow the gears of the wheel to move to the left and right. When the bearings on one side wear down, that tyre will suffer more wear over time.  

Cupping

If you notice that the outside areas of the tyres have cups, or what resemble dents, this is often a sign of a worn suspension. When the springs of the suspension wear down and don't cushion the car as they should, they tyre will slam down onto the pavement with every bump in the road, and this causes those dents or cups.

Single side wear

If there is a long line of wear either inside or outside one tyre, this typically means the vehicle's camber setting is incorrect. This refers to the angle of the wheels; is the wheel is bent slightly inward, this puts pressure on the inside line of tread. If the camber setting bends the wheel outward, the outside of the tyre will wear down. This is very important to fix, as an incorrect camber setting will put excess wear and tear on the steering, axle, and many other components of the car.


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