how does a tire wear?

Answer 1

I tire gets its traction by forming itself to the ground it rests on. Very tiny bits of rubber get torn from the tire as it rolls causeing wear. Miss alignment, aggressive driving and improper inflation can accelerate this process.

Answer 2

many things cause tires to wear, the number one being friction. Tires "grab" the road as you drive, that's why you notice the two dark ruts in the road from the rubber.

when you make turns, the friction and force increase and causes more rubber to wear off.

and lastly, "peeling off" causes the most tire wear. When you see the black marks on the road from someone braking too hard or squalling tires, just think of all the money they left on the asphalt given the cost of tires today.

Answer 3

Treads and tire wear
The grooves or treads found in most tires are there to improve contact between the tire and the road in wet conditions. Without such grooves, the water on the surface of the road would be unable to escape out to the sides of the wheel as the tire presses down onto the road. This causes a thin layer of water to remain between the road and the tire's surface, which causes a severe loss of grip. At higher speeds, this can cause hydroplaning, substantially reducing traction during braking, cornering and hard acceleration. The grooves in the tread provide an escape path for the water - and it is even claimed by some tire manufacturers that their tread pattern is designed to actively pump water out from under the tire by the action of the tread flexing.

If the road is dry, tire treads actually reduce grip since they reduce the contact area between the rubber and the road. For this reason treadless or 'slick tires' are often used in motor racing when the track is known to be smooth and dry. If it should rain unexpectedly during the race these slick tires can cause a dangerous loss of grip - which is why they are seldom used on conventional road cars. Another technique to improve traction is to use a softer rubber in the treads so that they mould themselves to the shape of the road surface. Since the rubber is softer when warm, race pit crews may even employ tire heaters to keep new tires at the optimum temperature until they are to be driven on. Soft compound rubber would also improve traction in street vehicles, but it is seldom used because these tires wear out too quickly for normal use.

The depth of the tread grooves is an important part of car safety but that depth gradually reduces due to wear throughout the lifetime of a tire. When the tread on the outer perimeter of the tire wears away, reducing the tread depth, the tire should be replaced. Many countries have laws regulating the minimum tread depth on road vehicles and most modern road tires have built-in tread wear indicators. These take the form of small blocks of rubber moulded into the bottoms of the grooves of the tread at intervals around the tire. When the tread has worn down until the tops of those blocks are level with the top of the tread - then the tire needs to be replaced. If these blocks are not present, a tire tread depth gauge should be used to measure the depth.

In most vehicles, either the front or rear tires will wear faster than the others. Having mismatched tread depths can alter the handling of the car in unacceptable ways - so it is generally advisable to swap the front and rear tires as they wear down to even out the wear patterns. This is called rotating the tires. If the vehicle's suspension is somewhat out of adjustment, it is also possible for the tires to wear more on one side than the other - so it may also be beneficial to rotate the tires from one side of the car to the other - however, careful attention should be paid to the owner's manual since some vehicles require particular tire rotation patterns. Notably, some tires are designed to provide best traction only when spinning in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. In such cases one must not rotate the tires from one side of the car to the other because that would put a 'clockwise tire' onto a wheel that turns in a counter-clockwise direction (and vice versa). Such tires typically have an arrow moulded into the sidewall to indicate the preferred direction.

Answer 4

Friction.

Without friction, there would be no wear and the trick to keep your tyres as long as possible is to minimize friction while maximizing traction. HAH! Those are actually contradicting terms. The more traction you have, the more your tire is "sticking" to the ground ergo the more friction you have.

That's why tires will always wear! However, if you keep them well inflated and well balanced and your wheels well aligned, you will minimize friction and your tires will last longer.

Then again, if you peel out of your driveway and burn rubber all the time, don't expect much life out of your tires!!!!

Toodles

Answer 5

Kind of like how an eraser wears when you use it. The eraser is just a much softer rubber.

Answer 6

Just from driving they wear out. Going over bumps, putting on breaks fast, running over nails, etc.

Answer 7

friction