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Driving style > < Factors influencing the service life of a tyre

A3 Mk2

Tyre pressure (maintenance)
Tyre pressure (maintenance)
The weight of the vehicle causes the tyre contact area to flatten. This in turn causes the running surface and the entire ply of the tyre to be continually deformed when a tyre is rolling. If the tyre is underinflated, the amount of flex is higher, resulting in a greater increase in heat and increased rolling resistance. This then leads to increased wear and poses a greater safety risk.
Example: Specified standard tyre pressure with cold tyres, according to vehicle load
   
Tyre pressure (bar)Tyre pressure (%)Tyre life (%)
2.3100100
1.98085
1.46060
1.04025

If tyre pressure is too high, this will result in poor rolling comfort and increased wear across the centre of the tread. We recommend to always observe the tyre pressures specified by the manufacturer.
   
Diagram 1:
Tread depth versus tyre life for vehicles with front-wheel drive and V-rated tyres
P - Tread depth
S - Mileage covered
1 - Front axle
2 - Rear axle
  N44-0242
Diagram 2:
Tread depth versus tyre life for vehicles with four-wheel drive and V-rated tyres
P - Tread depth
S - Mileage covered
1 - Front axle
2 - Rear axle
  Note
t  The diagrams shown are not applicable in all cases.
t  They are merely intended to give an idea of the wear rates of tyres on the front and rear axles and with front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive.
t  The tyre service life may differ significantly, depending on operating conditions and running gear.
Diagrams -1- and -2- show that the tread on a new tyre wears faster than the tread on a heavily used tyre. As the wear curve is not linear, it is not possible to estimate the tyre service life on the basis of wear after the first 5,000 km.
On front-wheel drive vehicles, the front tyres not only have to transmit the steering and driving forces, but also the greater part of the lateral and braking forces. This causes the front tyres on front-wheel drive vehicles to wear much faster than the rear tyres. Even tyre wear can be achieved by rotating (interchanging) the front and rear tyres on a regular basis. Rotating wheels → Anchor.
  N44-0241

Driving style > < Factors influencing the service life of a tyre