There are three key questions to ask about your tires to ensure safe travel:
Are your tires aligned?
Are your tires mounted correctly?
What is proper tire rotation method?
Tire wear is normally the best indicator of vehicle alignment condition. If tires are wearing too rapidly or irregularly, alignment corrections may be needed. The tire wear patterns described below can help isolate specific alignment problems.
The most common conditions of concern are:
- Overall Fast Wear (Miles per 32nd)
- Feather wear
- Cupping
- Diagonal Wear
- Rapid Shoulder Wear (One Shoulder Only)
- One-sided Wear
Overall Fast Wear (Miles per 32nd)-
Overall fast wear can be described as exhibiting a good, but accelerated wear patter. It is typically caused by operating conditions, such as mountainous terrain, frequency and severity of turning, abrasive road surfaces in combination with vehicle configurations and their attributes- such as power steering, heavy axle loads, high wheel cuts, setback axles, short wheel base tractors, long wheel base straight trucks. To correct the problem, consult with vehicle and tire manufactures when spec'ing equipment or replacing tires.
Feather wear
Feather wear can be described as tread ribs or blocks worn so that one side is higher than the other resulting in steps-offs across the tread face. Generally, ribs or blocks exhibits this wear. To spot this problem, do the following: With one hand flat on the tread of the tire and a firm down pressure, slide your hand across the tread of the tire. In one direction the tire will fell smooth and in the apposite direction there will be a sharp edge to the tread. Typical causes of the feather wear include : excessive side force rubbing, resulting from conditions of miss alignment such as excessive toe, drive axle misalignment, worn missing or damaged suspension components, bent tie rods or other chassis misalignment.