I would just poly model it, it isn't too hard to do. There's a really good tut out there for it, I'll have a look for it
EDIT: The site for the one I was on about seems to be gone now, but maybe this can help.
Modeling tutorial in Maya - a tire tread - Part 1: create the basic tread - YouTube
Last edited by Acid44; 20-01-2012 at 01:42 AM.