How to Check Tire Tread

Your vehicle’s tires are vitally important to the success of your drives, whether you’re on daily drives through Humboldt or weekend getaways to your favorite lake or mountain destination. Well-working tires help your car handle better on roads, allow you to accelerate and stop properly, and can help your engine run better.

You’ll need to know how to check tire tread depth so you know when you need a set of new tires. The service technicians at Allen Samuels Hyundai explain everything you need to know about how to check tire tread depth with our guide.

Why Are Tire Treads Important?

Your tire treads grip the road as you drive throughout Milan. They help you remain in control of your vehicle even in less-than-ideal conditions. Tire treads shunt water and moisture away from the main tire, allowing it to grip the road more effectively.

Over time, your tire tread depth will gradually decrease as you drive more miles, lessening the amount of traction between your tires and the road. If your tire tread depth isn’t deep enough, this could put you in a precarious situation. You’ll want better handling during inclement weather conditions when roads are slippery. Plus, having good traction is vital with rain, snow, and ice.

Want to know how to check tire tread depth? Our service team recommends a few methods. For the first one, all you need is a ruler or penny to check your tire tread depth at any time.

What Is the Recommended Tire Tread Depth?

When you purchase a new set of tires, they usually have a tread depth of about 10/32 or 11/32 of an inch (about a third of an inch). Winter tires and tires designed for off-roading purposes, as well as some truck and SUV tires, usually have deeper tread grooves because they have different requirements for traction when they’re trying to get better grip in challenging conditions.

How do you know when it’s time to replace your tires? According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, you should replace your tires when their tread depth reaches 2/32 of an inch. Maintaining the proper tread depth is important to drive safely in Brownsville.

How Do I Check Tire Tread Wear With a Penny?

A ruler is the most accurate way to measure tire tread depth. However, a penny will suffice when you’re out and about! The design of the U.S. Lincoln head cent makes it a perfect, and convenient, tool for measuring tire wear.

Follow these steps to check the tread depth on your tires with a penny:

1. Insert the penny with Lincoln head-first into a tire tread groove that shows the most wear.
2. Check if Lincoln’s head is covered and no longer visible between the grooves.
3. If you can see the entirety of Lincoln’s head, your tire treads are 2/32 inches deep or less because the tread isn’t deep enough. That means you should replace the tire as soon as possible.
4. Repeat this process on all four tires and in multiple locations on each tire, especially where the tread is the most worn.

How Do I Check Tire Tread Wear in Other Ways?

If you don’t have a penny with you, there are a couple of other ways to check your vehicle’s tire tread depth that are actually more accurate.

• Tread Depth Gauge: You can purchase a tread depth gauge from any Jackson-area auto part store. Insert the probe into the shallowest tread groove, then press the top bar of the gauge flat against the tire to see the tread wear rating. You can use the tread depth gauge to determine if the tire needs to be replaced.
• Tread Wear Bars: Most tires have tread wear indicator bars built into them. You can find them at the bottom of the tread grooves in multiple locations across the tires. If the bars are flush with the surrounding tire ribs, this means that the tread depth has reached 2/32 of an inch.

You need to know one main thing when you replace a tire with too much wear. Tire technicians will suggest replacing all four tires at once, or at least two of them (one entire axle) so that tires wear evenly over time. If that’s not financially possible, replacing one tire that’s too worn is acceptable for safety reasons.

Service Your Tires in Jackson

Do you need a new tire on your used vehicle? Visit our tire center or contact us to schedule a service appointment. We’ll inspect the tires, help you order new tires, and install them as well. Be sure to browse our service specials to get a great deal on your next car repair!