Worn shocks place more stress on tires, causing them to wear out faster. Worn shocks usually cause a cupping or scalloped pattern to develop on tires, which appears as evenly spaced spots of wear. Worn shocks may also cause rough wear caused by emergency braking or wear along the sides of the tires.
Properly maintained shocks keep your tires in contact with the road during bumps or uneven areas of pavement. If shocks are worn, they allow your car to bounce up and down, which causes uneven tire wear.
If you're not sure whether an unusual tire wear pattern is caused by shocks, test your shocks by pushing a side of your car down and then letting go. If your car bounces up and down several times, your shocks are not working properly.
Worn shocks cause tires to wear out up to 50 percent faster, according to Reagan Industries. In addition, worn shocks make it difficult to stop quickly, decrease traction and cause excess wear on other components of the automobile.
