Meanderer
Senior Member
As tires wear out, rubber is presumably deposited on the road surface. Where is all that rubber? Do you check your tire pressure?
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2661/when-the-rubber-meets-the-road-where-does-it-go
"How much rubber gets worn off of tires? Estimates vary widely--much depends on driving habits, vehicle weight, the type of road surface, and the type of tire. In the U.S., the amount is estimated to be on the order of 650,000 tons per year. A British study finds that about 10 to 20 percent of a tire's total weight is worn off during its lifetime, which works out to about 58,000 tons a year in the UK alone. Of that, the fraction consisting of those potentially toxic metals I mentioned is surprisingly high--36 tons of cadmium, more than 1,000 tons of copper, and nearly 3,300 tons of zinc. Pollution studies in the Los Angeles basin in the 1980s concluded that more than five tons of breathable tire dust were released into the atmosphere there each day, and there's no reason to think that figure's gone down since.
What to do? One critical factor that determines how much rubber is lost from tires is inflation. Properly inflated tires create less rolling resistance than underinflated ones, build up less heat, flex less as they roll down the road, and release less latex into the environment. "
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2661/when-the-rubber-meets-the-road-where-does-it-go
"How much rubber gets worn off of tires? Estimates vary widely--much depends on driving habits, vehicle weight, the type of road surface, and the type of tire. In the U.S., the amount is estimated to be on the order of 650,000 tons per year. A British study finds that about 10 to 20 percent of a tire's total weight is worn off during its lifetime, which works out to about 58,000 tons a year in the UK alone. Of that, the fraction consisting of those potentially toxic metals I mentioned is surprisingly high--36 tons of cadmium, more than 1,000 tons of copper, and nearly 3,300 tons of zinc. Pollution studies in the Los Angeles basin in the 1980s concluded that more than five tons of breathable tire dust were released into the atmosphere there each day, and there's no reason to think that figure's gone down since.
What to do? One critical factor that determines how much rubber is lost from tires is inflation. Properly inflated tires create less rolling resistance than underinflated ones, build up less heat, flex less as they roll down the road, and release less latex into the environment. "