HOW TO CHECK YOUR TYRE TREAD

When it comes to driving, there are some things you can choose in your car and some things you can’t, according to the law. You can pick what to hang from your review mirror, what kind of music you play and your car’s colour but you can’t choose how fast you can drive or the what the tread on your tyres can be. These aspects of our cars can dramatically affect the performance of a vehicle, which means that it impacts every other person you’ll share a road with when driving. Here’s why your tyre tread is so important and what the law has to say about it.

What Is Acceptable By Law

A tyre’s tread is the thin grooves that pattern its surface. It’s these grooves that give a tyre grip. There is a recommended tread depth for a vehicle to be considered road worthy. If your tyres are smooth and the tread is worn out, it’s dangerous because there’s no traction when braking, which could result in a collision. The general rule of thumb is that your thread shouldn’t be less than 1.6mm deep. If there are fewer grooves in your tyres in some places as compared to others, you should check your tyres for uneven wear, improper wheel alignment and wheel balancing as these factors can be the cause for uneven tread wear.

Checking Your Tyre Tread

There are many different ways to test the tread of your tyre. One way of checking the depth of your tyre tread from the comfort of your home is to place a coin in the grooves of your tyre. You can then measure the depth against a ruler to see if you’re within the limits of the law or if you should visit your nearest tyre store. If you have a lot of experience estimating the tread depth and are confident in your estimations, you can test the depth by eye.

If after testing the tread depth with a coin you’re still unsure, or you notice that you’re no longer in the provided limits, you can go to a professional like Drury Tires in Auckland, who can check your tyre tread and change your tyres if need be.