Tyre Tread Wear Patterns

Sometimes wear at the edges of the tyres indicates the wheels are toe-in or toe-out. Toe-in refers to when the front edge of the tyres pointing toward the front of the vehicle, while toe-out refers to the rear edge of the tyres pointing toward the rear of the vehicle. Even though both results in uneven tread wear at the edges of the tyres, there are performance advantages of both. Vehicles with toe-in are able to drive in a straight line better, making it a popular setting for high-powered rear-wheel-drive vehicles. Meanwhile vehicles with toe-out are able to corner better because the inner wheel in a turn is positioned at a more optimal angle for pulling the vehicle through the turn, making it a popular setting for front-wheel-drive vehicles.

As mentioned before, tyre rotation is important to the longevity of any set of tyres. A rotation involves moving the front tyres to the rear of the vehicle and vice-versa. Sometimes tyre shops will move the rear passenger side tyre to the front driver’s side and the front passenger side tyre to the rear driver’s side to help even out tread wear. Tyre rotations effectively increase the life of the tyres by spreading out tread wear across the entire tyre and not just in one spot. Not rotating a vehicle’s tyres can decrease handling stability due to uneven tyre tread wear patterns and can even cause the vehicle to go out of alignment, further contributing to uneven tyre wear.

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