Decode the Signs: Types of Tire Wear and What They Mean for Your Car

Discover the secrets your tires reveal about your car’s health. Learn about types of tire wear, their causes, and how to prevent uneven patterns.

Tires are more than just hunks of rubber — they’re significant factors in your vehicle’s handling and performance. Over time, tires naturally wear down, but the pattern of that wear can reveal a lot about your car’s health. By understanding the types of tire wear, you can catch potential problems with your vehicle before they become costly repairs. 

Read on to learn about the different types of tire wear — from the story they tell and the issues they cause to how to prevent them in the first place.  

Center Tire Wear: Overinflation

If the center tread of your tires wears out faster than the edges, you’re dealing with center wear. Overinflated tires are typically the reason for this type of wear, as overinflation causes the middle of the tire to bulge out, reducing the contact patch between the tire’s edges and the road. 

What It Means: 

• Overinflated tires don’t just cause uneven wear — they can also compromise handling by reducing your vehicle’s traction on the road and increasing the risk of a tire blowout. 
• When your tires only ride on the midpoint of their tread, their lifespan can be drastically reduced, resulting in more frequent replacements. 

How to Prevent It: 

• Only inflate your tires to your vehicle’s manufacturer’s recommendations. 
• Even if you have a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS), you should regularly ensure its accuracy by manually checking and adjusting your tire pressure to meet the manufacturer’s recommendations. 

Edgewear on Tires: Under-inflation

As you might imagine, edge wear, also called shoulder wear, is the inverse of center wear in nearly every way. When the outer edges of your tires wear faster than their centers, it’s typically from under-inflation, though alignment issues can also cause this phenomenon. 

What It Means: 

• Underinflated tires increase rolling resistance, which can drastically reduce your fuel economy. 
• Misaligned or underinflated tires may require sooner replacement and can significantly impact your car’s handling, reducing ride quality and safety.

How to Prevent It:  

• Keep an eye on your vehicle’s TPMS indicator. Most modern cars will illuminate a dashboard light or display a warning message if their tires run low. 
• Schedule a wheel alignment once a year or when you notice uneven handling. 

Wear on Only One Edge of Tires — Excessive Camber

If your tires show wear on only one side, either inner or outer edge, you’re likely dealing with incorrect camber — that is, the vertical angle of your wheels relative to the road. When the top of your tires are further inward than their bottom, your vehicle has a negative camber; when the opposite is true, it has a positive camber. A negative camber typically results in more wear on the inside edge of your tire, while a positive camber can show more wear on the outside edge. 

What It Means: 

• A small amount of negative camber can help your vehicle maintain grip when cornering hard, and a small amount of positive camber can result in faster acceleration at the expense of maneuverability — but an excessive amount of either can result in uneven tire wear, poor handling, and safety concerns.

How to Prevent It: 

• Regularly have your wheel alignment checked and adjusted by a professional. 
• Rotate your tires according to your manufacturer’s maintenance schedule. Doing so promotes even wear across all four tires. 

Diagonal Wear on Tires: Excessive Toe

Diagonal wear, characterized by uneven patches or stripes running diagonally across the tire, can often be traced to incorrect toe alignment. “Toe” refers to the horizontal angle of your tires in comparison to the centerline of your vehicle. If your tires are angled inward (toe-in) or outward (toe-out) too much, they can scrub against the road instead of rolling smoothly.

What It Means:

• Slight amounts of toe-in or toe-out can improve maneuverability in certain situations, but misaligned toe angles can create uneven contact with the road, resulting in poor handling and stability, as well as the tell-tale diagonal wear we mentioned earlier. 
• Incorrect toe alignment can also increase rolling resistance, reducing your vehicle’s fuel efficiency. 

Spotty Wear on Tires: Suspension Issues

Cupping wear, which often appears as inconsistent wear spots or random dips on your tires, typically indicates an issue with your car’s suspension system. Worn-out suspension components, bent rims, or unbalanced wheels can cause the tire to bounce excessively, leading to uneven contact with the road’s surface and localized areas of excessive wear.  

What It Means:

• A compromised suspension can negatively affect ride quality and handling, which can put you in dangerous situations. 
• Like the other types of uneven tire wear, cupping can shorten tire longevity and increase vehicle maintenance costs. 

How to Prevent It: 

• Include suspension checkups in your routine maintenance schedule and replace any bent or damaged components as soon as possible. 
• Have your wheels checked for balance occasionally (tire rotations are a good time to do this). 

Uneven Tire Wear? Ed Hicks INFINITI Can Help

Help keep your INFINITI performing at its best with well-maintained tires! If you’re noticing unusual wear patterns, it’s time to bring your vehicle to Ed Hicks INFINITI for expert tire care. Our team can help identify wear issues and ensure your tires are balanced, aligned, and properly inflated for a smoother drive. Visit us today to take advantage of current tire offers and get the tire maintenance or replacement you need to help keep your INFINITI in peak condition.