These are ‘cupped’ tires and this is how you prevent them | Car

With this so-called ‘sawtooth wear’ of tires you feel especially at the wheels that are not driven on the outer edge that the blocks of the rubber wear at an uneven height. With a front-wheel drive car, you will therefore see cupped tires more quickly on the rear axle. You will then feel a kind of sawtooth pattern if you run your hand over the tire on the outside.

It is easy to find out if it is ‘cupping’. If you rub in one direction, it goes easily, in the other direction you will feel more resistance. This is due to the forces that are mainly exerted on the outside of the tire profile during a bend. You also notice this wear when you drive: the sound resembles a defective wheel bearing. You can also feel vibrations.

Although the phenomenon is mostly uncomfortable, cupped tires can indicate a number of problems your car has:

– Alignment of the wheels. If the wheel is not straight in the direction of travel, you will get forces at the edges of the tires more quickly. This can always cause faster wear of the outer sides of the tyre, also in the form of a sawtooth pattern.

– Defective shock absorbers. A shock absorber that does not work properly will cause poor contact of the wheel with the road. Depending on the problem, this can lead to different tire wear.

– Too low tire pressure. If the tire pressure is too low, the outside of the tires will suffer more and wear out faster. This can happen in a regular pattern, but can also cause cupped tires.

– Wider wheels. If you equip your car with wider wheels, you can suffer from sawtooth wear on the tires more quickly. This also has to do with the alignment. If you mount wider tires than standard, you will see that more forces can arise on the edges of the tires.

Of course you want to drive comfortably and safely and of course you don’t want to have to change your tires more often than necessary. Fortunately, you can prevent sawtooth wear on your tires.

– Regularly check your tire pressure. You can safely keep it 10 to 15 percent higher than that of the car manufacturer. Usually, the tire pressure specification is aimed at comfort and is therefore on the low side of ‘good’.

– Check the alignment of the wheels regularly, for example at every service or tire change.

– Regularly check the condition of the shock absorbers, especially if your car already has the necessary kilometers on the counter.

– If you need new tires, choose tires with a tread on the shoulder that has larger blocks (and fewer grooves). They suffer less from cupping.

– Change the wheels crosswise on the car (before the tires wear out). However, that is not possible if you have directional tires.

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