Where does the tread go as a tyre wears out?

Answer 1

Tread heaven.

Answer 2

The following is an excerpt reprinted from an answer to the same question posted to the organization of tire retreaders:

It is estimated that more than 600,000 metric tons of tire tread are worn off American vehicles every year. Instead of leaving black smudges on the highways, tiny particles of tread are worn off tires and are released into the air. The concern was that all of this material might remain in the air, in suspended particles that could be dangerous to humans.

In tests made near highways it was found that virtually no rubber stayed on the road due to wind, rain, and movement of the surrounding traffic. Instead the microscopic tread particles that become airborne are heavy enough to fall to the ground. In fact, most of the particle debris found along roadsides accounted for at least 50 percent of the total missing tire tread and possibly much more. The most plentiful tire debris is in the form of styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), the most common rubber hydrocarbon in tire treads.

It is estimated that the rest of the worn tread rubber is dissolved through oxidation and devulcanization. One estimate speculated that devulcanization accounted for 30 percent of the disappearing SBR. Wind, water runoff, oxygen and microbial attack all act to help degrade tread particulates which degenerate faster than the tread rubber on tires.

Answer 3

it doesn't wear out at all, it absorbs dirt from the road which fills the tread pattern and makes it smooth. When you look at it you think it has worn away. Push a sharp knife into the tread pattern of an old tyre (with no air in it!) and you will see what I mean.

Answer 4

left on the road, even ordinary driving leaves very small traces of tyre rubber on the road. more when breaking and accleerating. This is what makes driving in the rain after a long dry spell so dangerous, the rubber on the road together with the water can make the road very slippery, so watch your speed and keep your distance in those circumstances.

Answer 5

friction caused against the road slowly removes the rubber of the tyre bit by bit, at an even slower rate the tyres wear down the road surface

Answer 6

The tread goes nowhere - the rest of the tyre disappears.

Or... Devon.

Answer 7

Tire tread is slowly worn away. Some particles are so small it turns into black dust..If the tire is very old it may crumble in tiny bits and left on the ground.

Answer 8

nowhere because the tread is the space in between the gipping surface fo the tyre so it essentially stays in the same place

Answer 9

It gets worn away. Think of the road as sandpaper and the tire as a piece of wood. When you sand the wood long enough, it looses all the rough places (tread).

Answer 10

it wears off on the highway,,that's why ,,if it hasn't rained in a while,,and it comes a small shower the road gets really slick,,from all the dust off the tires,,sometimes you,ll see spots on the road that look darker,,like in curves,,this is some of the rubber that has worn off it is harmless at to the environment,,since it does not pose a threat to anything,,but this is what happens to it,,i hope this help,s.