Checking Your Tire Symptoms

Cracking and bulging, cupping, heel-toe, feathering - tires problems go way beyond just flat. Understanding your tires is a great way to understand the overall maintenance of your vehicle, like symptoms of a greater problem.

Feathering on your tires show when one side of your tires are worn down or smoother than the other side. You can do a quick check by running your hands across your tires on both sides to feel the wear. When one side of your tire is more worn down than the other, this is usually a telltale sign that your car’s alignment is off.

Heel-Toe looks similar to feathering, when you run your hand across the tread blocks they will feel like saw teeth in this instance. This type of wear might be a sign that your tires aren’t being rotated enough.

Cupping is caused when your tires are bouncing as you travel. This causes some spots to have more wear on the tire from contacting the ground, the tire wear will look ‘spotty’. Be sure to check your shock absorbers and suspension if you notice cupping.

Cracking and Bulging are very easy to spot. Looking for noticeable cracks and bulges in your tires, which are caused by impact with potholes, curbs, and more. When you’re tires are under or over-inflated they are at a greater risk for cracking and bulging. Cracking will come naturally as the tires are used more, but bulging indicates that you need an immediate replacement. Bulging represents internal tire damage that will eventually cause your tire to fail.