Why the tyre under the left front fender works harder.
You may not realise it but your front left tyre will pretty much always be first to wear. We asked Toyo Tires resident tyre tech expert Steve Burke why, and what we can do to prevent it.
REASON 1 – RIGHT TURNS
Front tyres tend to wear faster, up to 2.5 times faster on some cars. The left front tyre has it the hardest. It is the most heavily loaded and responsible for transmitting most of the steering during right hand turns.
According to Steve, this means there is major pressure on the tyre.
“When you turn right, the front left is the tyre working the hardest. The bulk of the car’s weight transfers to that tyre and it is responsible doing most of work required to turn,” he said.
“Vehicles in urban environments, especially where there are a lot of roundabouts, cop it the worst. That’s why we call front left the ‘working tyre’.”
In places like the US where they drive on the right, the problem is reversed. The front right takes the brunt of daily driving and wears faster.
This will wear your tyres out quickly too.
REASON 2 – ROAD CAMBER
When it rains, roads need to direct water to drains. This prevents dangerous standing water and flooding.
To do this roads are built with a peak or ‘crown’ in the middle, tapering downwards towards the gutter.
The drop from the crown to the kerb creates a slope, or ‘road camber’.
“This means when you drive on the road, your car is naturally leaning to the left, putting load on your left tyres,” explains Steve.
The left side tyres carry a greater share of the weight most of the time. The result?
“They’re working harder, which means they wear faster.”
THE SOLUTION
So, how do you keep from perpetually needing to buy new front tyres?
The answer is simple.
“Regular rotation,” says Steve. “Rotation shares the work among all four tyres and maximises tyre life.”
How regular?
“Every time you service the car, so 10 to 15,000 kilometres in most cars is sufficient. For performance tyres with a lot of grip it might be best to do it every 5000.”
If you’re confident you can even DIY – you can check out our guide here. The best way to rotate is diagonally*, but if you are unsure it’s always best to enlist the help of your local tyre dealer.
“Front left to right rear, front right to left rear. Swap the hardest working tyre to the tyre position that has it the easiest,” Steve says.
Save time, money and make sure your tyres are performing at their peak.
*Directional tyres can only be rotated front to rear. Staggered fitment vehicles with non-directional or asymmetric tyres can only be rotated side to side.
