How to Fix Choppy Tires? Everything You Need to Know

Tires are an often-overlooked part of your car. Even though they are ignored so often, good tires are crucial to having a smooth ride. Damaged or worn tires not only provide a bumpy ride with poor handling, but they even increase the risk of accidents and are generally unsafe. Tires can be worn in many different ways, and a common problem is choppy tires. How do you fix choppy tires?

Since tires cannot be repaired, choppy tires will need to be replaced. The underlying issues causing the choppiness will need to be repaired to prevent the problem from reappearing. The issue is a result of uneven tire wear caused by a problem with the car's suspension, alignment, or wheels.

In this article, we'll tell you everything you need to know about choppy tires and how to deal with them. We'll look at why tires become choppy, and how to fix them. We'll also discuss a few tips on how to prevent your tires from becoming choppy in the first place.

What Are Choppy Tires?

Knowing how to deal with choppy tires starts with understanding what the term "choppy tires" means. This term refers to tires that don't feel like they're staying in contact with the ground for long. Choppy tires will rumble and vibrate as the car moves along. In severe cases, the tire will feel like it is skipping or bouncing.

Choppy tires are caused by uneven wear on the tire tread. Usually, this is the result of cupping or scalloping of the tire tread. Scalloping, or cupping, is noticeable as smooth worn spots on your tire tread, that are usually significantly more worn than the surrounding tread.

This uneven wear prevents the tires from keeping even contact on the ground, causing the tire to skip on the road, creating vibrations and a rough ride for the passengers.

Since the wear is only partial, many drivers believe that it is safe to drive with choppy tires. But is it actually safe?

Is It Safe to Drive on Choppy Tires?

It is not safe to drive on choppy tires. There are a number of reasons, but generally, tire damage should not be taken lightly. Your tires are the only point of control between the driver and the ground, and if something goes wrong with them, it could have disastrous consequences.

Here are some of the reasons why choppy tires should not be ignored.

1) Loss of Control

With choppy tires, the driver's control over the vehicle is compromised. Apart from the wear on the tires reducing traction and impeding handling, choppy tires often move like they have a mind of their own.

This makes it very hard to maintain control of a car with choppy tires. This is dangerous to the driver and the passengers, as it can lead to accidents.  

2) Damage to Suspension

Choppy tires will often bounce around as the car drives. Although the suspension is designed to handle and absorb impacts, this bouncing will eventually cause damage to the suspension components.

What Makes Tires Become Choppy?

There are a number of conditions that can result in your tires becoming choppy. As tires wear, they will usually wear evenly, which prevents choppiness or scalloping under normal circumstances. When tires wear unevenly, it indicates that there is another problem that affects how the tires make contact with the ground.

Here are some of the main causes of choppy tires.

1) Alignment

When tires begin cupping, the first culprit to look at is the alignment. Wheel alignment determines the angle at which the tires make contact with the road. With good wheel alignment, the surface of the tread will make even contact with the surface of the road, allowing the tread to wear evenly as the tire is used.

When the alignment is poor, the tires will make contact with the road on only one side. This causes uneven wear that can result in scalloping of the treads. This will cause choppy tires.

2) Suspension

The suspension components ensure that all of the tires make constant contact with the ground by adjusting the height of the tires based on the terrain the vehicle is passing over. When the suspension components are worn or damaged, the tires might fail to stay in contact with the road. This could cause the tires to bounce, which will result in premature wear to certain parts of the tire. Eventually, this causes uneven wear which results in choppy tires.

3) Unbalanced Inflation

The tires in a car need to have the right amount of air for it to ride smoothly. Too much or too little air can have serious effects on how smoothly a car rides. Under and overinflation can also affect how your tires wear down.

If one tire is over or underinflated compared to the others, it will affect how the car distributes its weight across the tires. This can cause uneven weight distribution on some of the tires, resulting in uneven wear that can lead to scalloping.

4) Damaged Rims

If the rims of your car are damaged, it can cause the tire to bend or sit at an awkward angle. This results in the tire meeting the road at an uneven angle. This results in certain parts of the tread wearing down, causing cupping.

How Do You Fix Choppy Tires?

Driving with choppy tires is unsafe, so the issue needs to be rectified as soon as possible. Here are some of the procedures you need to follow to get back control of your car and restore a smooth ride. s

• Fix the Alignment

You can check the alignment of your tires to find out if the problem was caused by misalignment. If the tires are misaligned, you will need to go for a wheel alignment. This can be done at a mechanic or auto store.

• Fix the Suspension

Driving with a bad suspension is unsafe, as the car can no longer react properly to bumps and changes in terrain. Fixing this will also fix the cause of your choppy tires.

The suspension is a complicated system, and dealing with it requires a lot of mechanical expertise and equipment. If you don't have this experience, you can have your suspension examined and repaired by an experienced mechanic. They will be able to locate the source of your suspension issue and deal with it.

• Replace the Tires

After dealing with the root cause of your choppy tires, you will need to replace any tires that have started cupping or scalloping. To identify the tire that is the cause of your problems, simply examine your tire tread and look for signs of cupping.

Cupping on a tire looks like shallow or worn spots on the tread, surrounded by unworn areas of the tread. These areas will look like cup-shaped dips or craters on the surface of the tire.

Once you have identified a tire that has started cupping or scalloping, you will need to replace it. Choppy tires cannot be repaired.

How Do You Prevent Choppy Tires?

Dealing with choppy tires is a lot of hassle and hard work. Getting a replacement tire, and having your suspension replaced, or tires aligned, might require a lot of time or money that you're not willing to spend. Fortunately, preventing choppy tires is a simple matter once you know the proper steps to take.

Here are some simple steps to follow to keep your tires in good condition.

• Check Your Alignment

Making sure your tires are aligned is the best step to preventing cupping on your tires. If you suspect that your alignment might be off, you will have your tires examined by a mechanic or auto store.

If your tires are not properly aligned, you should have them aligned as soon as possible to prevent uneven wear and stop cupping from forming early.

• Check Your Air Pressure

If the air pressure in your tires is unbalanced, it can cause uneven wear to develop quickly. To deal with this, you should check the air pressure in your tires regularly to make sure that they are all in the same range of air pressure. This ensures that the treads of your tires remain evenly in contact with the ground, preventing uneven wear and cupping.

Conclusion

Choppy tires are caused by a problem called cupping or scalloping. This happens when the tread of the tire meets the ground at an uneven angle, causing certain parts of the tread to wear down faster than others. This results in craters or "cups" developing in the surface of the tread, which leads to choppy tires.

Driving on choppy tires is unsafe, and the problem should be dealt with as soon as possible. Choppy tires can be caused by poor tire alignment, unbalanced tire pressure, or worn suspension parts. Dealing with choppy tires will require you to find the source of the problem and fix it. You will also need to replace the worn tires, as choppy tires cannot be repaired.