Tyres feathering or wearing on the inner or outer edges
Cause: Incorrect wheel alignment
Tyres wearing unevenly in patches
Cause: Faulty or binding brakes or inefficient shock absorbers
Tyres constantly lose pressure
Cause: Faulty valve or slow puncture
Wheel vibration - either constantly or at certain speeds
Cause: Incorrect wheel balance
Tyres wearing in the centre
Cause: Over inflation
Rapid tyre wear on driving wheels
Cause: Harsh acceleration
Rapid tyre wear on front wheels
Cause: Fast cornering
1. Check your pressures You'll find them inside your driver's manual. Check the pressure with a tyre gauge when the tyre is cold, as even a short journey can warm up tyres and raise the pressure.
2. Check for damage Give your tyres a close inspection for cuts and cracks which can lead to slow punctures or cause the steel wires in the tyre to rust.
3. Check your tread Less tread means less grip in the wet. The minimum legal depth is 1.6 mm across the central three-quarters of the tread width and around the entire circumference of the tyre.
4. Take extra caution in wet conditions You are twice as likely to have an accident in wet weather as in dry. The stopping distance of a tyre with 1.6 mm of tread is double that of a new tyre with 8 mm.
5. Don't overload your car Overloading has the same effect on tyres as under inflation, causing premature tread wear and in extreme cases, a sudden blow out.
The purpose of the tread on tyres is to allow the tyre to grip in the wet.
Huge volumes of water on the surface of the road have to be squeezed out by the tread grooves. For example, at 60 mph, with a water depth of only 3 mm, the tyre has to clear over 2 gallons of water per second!
And 3 mm of water on a rainy day is not unusual. In rain puddles, you will often find as much as 8 to 10 mm. If this water is not rapidly dispersed, the tyre will begin to "aquaplane" - a sheet of water builds up between the tyre and the road - and the tyre loses all contact with the road surface.
This capacity to disperse water is drastically reduced with low or worn tread - so carefully monitor the depth of tread on your tyres.
The law demands that tyres have a tread depth of 1.6 mm in a continuous band around the centre three quarters of the tyre. These levels represent the absolute minimum and tyres as worn as this should be replaced immediately. To help you judge how much tread you have on your tyres, manufacturers often mould tread depth indicators at roughly 1.6 mm. If you can see these indicators your tyres are about to become illegal.
New Tyre
Worn Tyre
