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With the number of AWD cars on the road, you'd think that tire shaving and truing would be more popular. But I had to call the manufacturer of the truing machine and obtain a buyer's list to find anyone in my area that does it. Even still, there's only 5 people on that list in all of NYS. The guy closest to me, only one on the island, said he'll do it, but he mainly deals commercial and he sees no need for me to do it.

I recently had a blowout on one of New York's infamous potholes and I JUST REPLACED all my tires (due to another pothole earlier in the year) a year ago. Needless to say I don't want to do that again... money aside, it kills me to be throwing away perfectly good tires given the environmental impact of tires.

I saw Tire Rack offers tire shaving so that you can match the wear with the other tires, but you need to also buy your tires from them.

So why is this not more common? Are there laws in place against it (like tire retreading )? I mean the only thing I can think of is it's probably not very profitable, given that tire shops are in the business of selling tires, they'd rather you buy 4 new ones. But that's all I've got.

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  • Perhaps it depends on the characteristics of the particular AWD system... Some are, or have been, known to have an issue with differing diameters, others are more tolerant.
    – Solar Mike
    Jan 15, 2019 at 14:38
  • This might not be that helpful, but I find that punctures and blowout events just aren't that common, personally speaking. I imagine it would depend on the roads in your area. That begs the question, why aren't there more shops that offer this service in New York in particular, but I suppose in general, there aren't that many, because in general, it doesn't happen very often.
    – Kitsunemimi
    Jan 15, 2019 at 14:43
  • I have a feeling you are looking in the wrong places for this type of service. Shaving tires happens all the time in road racing and track days type of performance applications. More rubber between the core of the tire (where the belts reside) and the road has more flex, which does not help with adhesion. Shaving the tires helps with side loading g-forces, which means a car can go around a corner better. If there are any road racing tracks around, they will have or know where you can find a business which can provide this service for you.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Jan 15, 2019 at 16:31

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Perhaps it depends on the characteristics of the particular AWD system... Some are, or have been, known to have an issue with differing diameters, others are more tolerant.

If the numbers are too small, then shops will not invest in very expensive equipment that only gets used a few times per year, as it will not pay for itself. Obviously they cannot charge too much for that shaving service..

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