I don't think you can use general tire wear and tear that as an indication of inflation. You have to use the same car and same tire for replacement costs. None of the cars I've had in the last 30 years got anywhere near 70K miles. I've been close to 50K a couple of times by keeping the tires overinflated most of the time. Wearing the tire down to the legal minimum of 2/32 tread is actually pretty stupid unless you live in an arid climate.
Can you use it as a measure of inflation? No more than you can claim that the new 8.5 oz cans of soda are a measure of inflation. But they are.
When the same dollar buys a lower quantity or quality of merchandise than it did last year, that effectively is inflation. Difficult to measure, but easily visible to the consumer all the same.