6 Types of Tyre Wear and What They All Mean

Tyre wear comes in all kinds of types, shapes and sizes. Make sure you know the different types that can happen. Tyres are one of the biggest culprits of wear and tear, and there are multiple different types of how it can happen to them. They are susceptible to it more so than any other part of your car just because of what they go through. As your only point of contact for a tonne of metal and a coarse road surface, it’s only natural.

What isn’t as natural, however, is abnormal tyre wear like the types were listing today. Incorrect set up for your vehicle can cause a huge array of issues for your wheels, and understanding the ways that this happens is the best way to ensure you’re doing all that you can to stop it further, and to make sure that you know for future use. When buying a used car get vehicle inspection to inspect tyres we advise 5mm to be left as its 50% of tyre life left or in simple words 2 years of driving with average mileage 10000 miles a year.

Toe Wear

The toe of your tyre is essential the outer (or inner, depending on how you look at it) edge of each rib. Since it should, however, be contacting the road just as much as the other side of the tyre rib, wear on only the toe is usually a large signal that you’re alignment is off. How to check steering and understand wear and tear.

The edge will be the thinnest part as a result, so fix the alignment to make the tyre touching the road evenly.

Camber Wear

Camber wear is a type of tyre wear that typically has one half of the tyre more worn than the other. It can be a really serious issue when cornering more than anything else depending on the severity of the turn. It’s a risk in any case and needs to be monitored closely.

To fix camber wear, again it’s likely down to an alignment solution as this can be the biggest issue. Always balance.

Center Wear

A much more common type of tyre wear comes from the centre of the tyre becoming severely worn down rather than the whole tyre equally. This is less common to spot since the outer edges look fine, so beware of this happening without realising.

To fix this, make sure you’re tyres are not over-inflated. Too much air means the tyres bulge in the centre more than the outside, meaning the outside doesn’t have as heavy contact.

Edge Wear

Edgewear on your tyre is essential the opposite of the above. It’s a result of underinflation meaning the outer edges of the tyres have more contact than the centre, and this is where all the wear will be.

This again is just as dangerous as not all of your tyre has contact with the road, and you’re much more likely to lose grip. Always check your tyres regularly to ensure they are the right pressure for your usage.

Patch Wear

Patch wear is essentially what ti sound slike, and it’s the much rarer case than the rest. It’s a product of a lack of balance meaning that your tyres are erratically coming into contact with the road and not at all in other areas, leaving patches of wear against patches of none.

This type of tyre wear only worsens over time as more wear takes place, so it is always something to check in on especially recently after changing tyres or wheels. Get the tyres balanced to repair the issue.

Cup Wear

The last type of tyre wear we’ll look at is cup wear, and this one is one of the easiest to diagnose but also one of the most serious in relation to the rest of your car. It looks like erratic patches in the same line of your tyre as demonstrated.

This is caused by serious issues like bent or worn out suspension wearing against your wheels and making the ‘scalloped’ pattern. To fix it, fix the issue with your suspension damage and the issue will desist.

Run-flat tyre codes	Make
AOE	Audi Original Extended
CS	Continental ContiSeal
CSR	Continental Conti Safety Rim
DSST	Dunlop Self Supporting Technology
EMT	Goodyear Extended Mobility
EUFORI@	Pirelli
HRS	Hankook Runflat System
MOE	Mercedes-Benz Original Extended
PAX	Michelin
RFT	Run Flat Tyre
ROF	Run On Flat
RSC	Runflat System Component
SSR	Self Supporting Runflat
TRF	Toyo Run Flat
XRP	Kumho Extended Runflat Performance
ZP	Michelin Zero Pressure

Ultimately, tyres are fickle and there is lots of room for issues when it comes to anything facing wear and tear. We have a whole guide on more general wear and tear for other areas here, but don’t forget that all of this is tested using an inspection service like ours.

We go into more depth than anyone else on the market to ensure your money is safe without risk of repairs when buying, and we’ll give you all the information you need on any vehicle you like. Buying a used VW. Buying used vauxhall, BMW, Jaguar, Ford, Volvo, Range rover, Bentley, Ferrari.

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