Unbalanced and Unsafe Tires
I’m Ed Smith, a Personal Injury Lawyer in Elk Grove. While tires might seem like simple rubber tubes, they are actually important and complex components of your vehicle. Tires are the only direct connection drivers have with the road and deserve regular inspections and maintenance. Avoid damaging your vehicle’s suspension and compromising your ability to drive safely by monitoring your tire’s condition and making sure they are properly serviced.
What’s in a Tire?
Modern tires are highly engineered products made from a variety of materials including fibers and textiles, steel cordage, and of course rubber. Depending on the intended application for any particular design, tires are made with different rubber and filler combinations to produce anything from very soft tires for racing, to heat resistant extremely hard tires for industrial applications. Tires also receive different patterns of thread molding that can help shed water and grip different roadway materials like dirt, gravel, or asphalt. When purchasing new tires, be sure to pick the one that will perform best for your driving habits and road conditions.
Burning Rubber
Each time you drive, your tires “burn rubber” as you accelerate, brake, and turn. Under normal operation in ideal conditions, your tires will wear evenly. For two-wheel drive vehicles, the drive wheels will generally wear tires faster than others. All-wheel drive vehicles and vehicles that regularly run in four-wheel drive configurations will wear all their tires at a faster rate, although front and rear tires may wear at different rates. It is a good idea to get your tires rotated every six months to ensure that they are wearing evenly and to give you an opportunity to address any uneven wear patterns.
Uneven Thread Patterns
When tires are operating correctly, the vehicle’s weight is evenly distributed and the resulting tire wear is uniform. Any wear pattern that does not occur evenly across the breadth of the tire is indicative of inflation, alignment, or balancing issues. Excessive wear along the edges, only in the center, patches of wear, and flat spots will not only make for a bumpy ride but also compromise your vehicles ability to effectively maintain traction.
Watch Youtube Video: Tire Wear Problems: This following video discusses the causes of tire wear issues.
Unbalanced Tire Symptoms
While a visual inspection can alert you to different problems indicated by tread wear patterns, some issues are more easily detected by trained technicians with more advanced diagnostic tools. If you notice some of the following symptoms, it might be time to take your car in for an alignment inspection and tire balancing service:
- Increased road noise
- Excessive vibration in the car’s chassis
- Damage to the tire from debris or obstacles
Driving with misaligned or out of balance tires can result in long term damage to your vehicle. In addition to compromised safety, comfort, and structural integrity, unbalanced tires can also result in decreased fuel economy as your engine fights excess resistance from your tires. Balancing tires is not a complex process, and professional services can often complete the job within an hour. Technicians can inspect the components for damage and foreign materials, properly seat the wheels, and tighten lug nuts to the appropriate specification. Do not neglect your duties as the owner of an automobile- your safety and the safety of others depends on it.
Related Articles:
- Tire Problems Cause Accidents
- Regular Tire Inspections are Vital
- Cement Truck Accident Kills Driver
- Livestreamed Fatal Accident Caused by Blown Tire
- Flat Tire Leads to Fatal Crash
Personal Injury Lawyer in Elk Grove
I’m Ed Smith, an Elk Grove Personal Injury Lawyer. If you or your loved one has been hurt in a collision and you need the assistance of an experienced attorney, I can help. You can reach me at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400 for free and friendly advice. I can also be contacted through my website at AutoAccident.com.
I have been practicing law and serving my community since 1982, advocating for injured people and their families. Read up on some of my valued client’s reviews on Yelp, Google, and Avvo.
My work recovering million dollar awards and settlements has earned me the recognition of the Million Dollar Forum. For more information, including summaries of my previous Verdicts and Settlements, visit my website, AutoAccident.com.
Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash
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