Abstract

Tread wear rates during first wear measured by groove depth and weight changes do not always agree. Sometimes, the groove depth method shows a high rate and the weight loss method a low rate. Reported here are experiments designed to determine if grooves show depth changes without wear.

Four tires were measured before mounting on a wheel, after mounting and inflation, and after inflation and storage. The mounted and inflated tires showed shallower shoulder grooves and deeper center grooves than the unmounted tires. In a second experiment, tires were measured immediately after a tread wear test and then stored mounted for two weeks before remeasuring. Each groove became deeper, and there was no change in the crown radius of any tire.