Learning how to get the most out of your tires can be a great driving behavior to pick up if you want to save money. Whether they're over or under-inflated, improperly aligned, or you have a worn out suspension, lots of factors can cause your tires to wear out unevenly. Sometimes it comes down to the way you drive, as driving behavior can also play a part in causing tires to wear out unevenly. It can also be a matter what part of the world you're driving — right or left side of the road — you may find one side wearing out faster than the other.
There are a lot of ways that you can wear out your tires, and just as many can cause tires to wear out unevenly. Uneven tires can also lead to them wearing out in several different ways. Luckily, all it takes is a little maintenance to fix this problem.
Poor maintenance: It can be a chore to take your car in for a routine checkup, we get it. Between the daily commute and errands, where do you find the time to take your car in for maintenance? Well, it's important to do so anyway. Misaligned tires, poorly inflated tires, worn suspension, messed up vehicle alignment, and road conditions can all cause tires to wear out early and unevenly.
It's a general guideline is to get your tires rotated every 5,000 to 8,000, but it's always best to check with the tire manufacturer's recommendations. As one could guess, tire rotation isn't just about rotating the tires — they do that on their own. Tire rotation in terms of maintenance rotates the location of each tire to help them wear out evenly. Depending on the drivetrain, where wheels are moved can change, i.e., for rear-wheel drive, the rear tires are moved to the front, and the front right tire goes to the left rear and vice versa. Not only does this help with vehicle handling, extending tire lifespan, and better fuel efficiency, you can also avoid various kinds of tire wear with regular tire rotation.
An uneven tire doesn't just mean that one tire is doing all the work. Various sources claim that multiple reasons, such as center wear is due to an overly inflated tire, under inflation leads to premature edge wear, and excessive wear is due to poor wheel alignment. This is why it's important to check your wheel alignment and get your tires rotated regularly.