Weird Tyre Wear and Evening Driving

It only feels like a few days ago since Christmas was around the corner and summer was an eternity away. By the end of this month, we will be driving home on damp roads with twilight hanging just above the trees. In these conditions, driving can be challenging as you need to avoid potholes hidden from view by deep puddles, light reflecting off the ground and cyclists enjoying the evening air.

To help keep you safe on the road, one of the biggest factors that can affect braking is the contact area on your tyres. If you have poor tread (below 1.6mm) then braking distances can be increased by double!

But what can cause this low tread? General driving is always the biggest factor, but another would be the pressure inside the tyre. Especially with lockdown 3.0, vehicles are being used less and less resulting in fewer tyre checks. From this, some cars are losing small amounts of pressure over time. This could be from a hidden nail in the tyre or even a slightly corroded bead (where the tyre meets the alloy). If the bead is corroding, this causes are to slowly seep out. If the outer edges of your tyres are wearing down at the same rate (whilst the middle tread remains quite healthy) this will be down to the tyre being under-inflated.

On the flip side, driving with an over inflated tyre causes the middle of the tyre to protrude from the edges resulting in the middle section being the only place that is worn! Most vehicles have the tyre pressures displayed on either the door sill or the fuel filler cap. If your car has been sitting for a couple days or even a few weeks, always double check the tyre pressures!