How much damage do cats' eyes do to tyres?
Discussion
I drive a lot in rural areas and cats' eyes are everywhere. And as anyone who lives in the country will know, there is always something to overtake!
I try to avoid them when I can but sometimes when you get that thud-thud-thud under your wheels, how much damage are you doing? How much do they shorten the life of your tyres?
I try to avoid them when I can but sometimes when you get that thud-thud-thud under your wheels, how much damage are you doing? How much do they shorten the life of your tyres?
KTF said:
None. They compress into the road if you go over them. That is how the lens on them gets cleaned.
Whilst it's true they compress into the road, the answer definitely isn't 'none'! You can hear and feel a cats eye when you drive over one - that noise is generated by the tyre clouting the cats eye and pushing it down into the road, so the tyre imparting that force to make the noise and push the cats eye into the road must take some sort of toll on the tyre. If you walk into the road and step on one you'll notice they need quite a considerable force to push them into the road. So the real answer is that yes, they'll cause more wear than never driving over them, but in reality I expect the impact on a tyre would be minimal compared with other aspects of daily driving such as pot holes, speed bumps etc.Gallen said:
That's horrific and so tragic
456GT said:
I drive a lot in rural areas and cats' eyes are everywhere. And as anyone who lives in the country will know, there is always something to overtake!
I try to avoid them when I can but sometimes when you get that thud-thud-thud under your wheels, how much damage are you doing? How much do they shorten the life of your tyres?
How long do your tyres last? What car, which tyres?I try to avoid them when I can but sometimes when you get that thud-thud-thud under your wheels, how much damage are you doing? How much do they shorten the life of your tyres?
We need data to answer this, and no one has it. So if you write down your details, then when those tyres are worn out by another set the same and avoid cat's eyes for the life of those tyres.
If we can get a statistically significant group of people to do the same we'll have an answer.
Although anecdotal evidence seems to suggest the effect is insignificant, as I used to drive along with my RHS tyres on the cat's eyes in the centre of the road whenever safe to do so to annoy the girl I went out with for the 3 years I had my AX GT, and tyre wear seemed even.
Gallen said:
Article said:
The driver of the Nissan van, Naeem Akhter from London, has been charged with careless driving, driving without any insurance and driving without a licence.
Why don't they start punishing them?Monty Zoomer said:
Gallen said:
Article said:
The driver of the Nissan van, Naeem Akhter from London, has been charged with careless driving, driving without any insurance and driving without a licence.
Why don't they start punishing them?Captain Muppet said:
How long do your tyres last? What car, which tyres?
We need data to answer this, and no one has it. So if you write down your details, then when those tyres are worn out by another set the same and avoid cat's eyes for the life of those tyres.
If we can get a statistically significant group of people to do the same we'll have an answer.
Although anecdotal evidence seems to suggest the effect is insignificant, as I used to drive along with my RHS tyres on the cat's eyes in the centre of the road whenever safe to do so to annoy the girl I went out with for the 3 years I had my AX GT, and tyre wear seemed even.
I like your little story there!We need data to answer this, and no one has it. So if you write down your details, then when those tyres are worn out by another set the same and avoid cat's eyes for the life of those tyres.
If we can get a statistically significant group of people to do the same we'll have an answer.
Although anecdotal evidence seems to suggest the effect is insignificant, as I used to drive along with my RHS tyres on the cat's eyes in the centre of the road whenever safe to do so to annoy the girl I went out with for the 3 years I had my AX GT, and tyre wear seemed even.
I don't have any data on tyre wear as I've only had the car for a couple of years (Mondeo Mk 4: summer: 235/45 R18; winter: 215/55 R16). I only asked the question as I always wince when I have to go over cats' eyes and I wanted to see what the views were of fellow PHers.
Edited by 456GT on Tuesday 11th June 09:49
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