Can tyres lose their tread when car parked up for a while?

Conrad3000

Hi all.

Silly question but can tyres lose tread if you've not driven for a few months?

My tyres are barely a year old and I'm sure I've noticed some difference. I haven't done more than a 1000 miles since May 2020 (when they were bought).

Thanks.

TadleyBaggie

No, they lose tread when driven. 

neilmcl

Conrad3000 said:

Hi all.

Silly question but can tyres lose tread if you've not driven for a few months?

My tyres are barely a year old and I'm sure I've noticed some difference. I haven't done more than a 1000 miles since May 2020 (when they were bought).

Thanks.

No, tread can only be lost by driving. It's a bit like asking if the soles of your shoes will wear when not in use. Tyres can crack and perish with age but that's not going to happen over a few months of little use.

AdrianC

Think about it. They are very hard rubber.
The tread is only going one place - abraded away by the road surface.

coffeehound

They can get 'flat spots' if the car hasn't been moved,  which might give you a rough ride until they hopefully get worked out

Anunnaki

Perhaps they are just Tyred Out?

Buy a tyre tread gauge. Check regularly as well as tyre pressures.

Ant555

Conrad3000 said:

Silly question but can tyres lose tread if you've not driven for a few months?

My tyres are barely a year old and I'm sure I've noticed some difference. 

What difference have you noticed? - I have a second car that in previous years has sometimes spent a good few months without being driven at all.  As previously stated by @coffeehound the tyres can get flat spots as they haven't moved but it doesn't sound like that applies in your case as you have used your car.  In my case I often see a lot more more road noise and even noticeable  vibration on the tyres through the steering wheel if I havent driven it for 3 or 4 months over winter (it lives outside so not protected from weather) but it did diminish.

Stubod

...the car is probably bored during lockdown so it is choosing to pop out overnight when no one is looking?

..in all seriousness, it is a known fact that due to there chemical composition cheaper tyres can lose tread via "evaporation" if they are left standing for a significant period of time, (although this is mainly during the hotter Summer months).

To prevent this they recommend  wrapping them in old towels if you are not using them for a month or two..

greyteam1959

Or some score has swapped your tyres.

cymruchris

Tyres can lose inflation over a long period of standing - what's the difference you can actually see? Describe it.

Richard53

 Brand new tyres are covered in little nibs and fingers of rubber due to the moulding process. These will normally wear off during the first few hundred miles, and this would certainly make the tyre look less 'new'. But you won't have lost any tread unless you have driven the car. Tread doesn't 'evaporate'. (Sunlight can degrade the rubber and make it crack and perish, but that's not the same thing.)