TREAD LIGHTLY: HOW TO KNOW IF YOU NEED NEW TIRES

With continued winter weather, it’s important to check your tires specifically the tread depth. There are also other factors that maximize your vehicles tire efficiency in winter like tire pressure. We asked some of our service advisors and technicians a few questions about tire tread.

What is tire tread?
Tire tread is all the shapes, patterns, and grooves on your tires. These give the tire its ability to grip the road, brake and accelerate. Over time this tread wears away as does the effectiveness of the tire. There are different tread patterns for different diving styles and road conditions. A street or highway touring tire tread pattern will look very different from an aggressive off-road tire pattern. That’s because they were design for two very different driving conditions.

What is tread depth?

Tread depth is a vertical measurement from the top of the tires rubber to the bottom of the tire’s deepest grooves. It’s important to measure the tread depth as your tread wears down because your tires will be less effective at gripping the road. In Illinois you can get a ticket if your tread depth is below the state minimum requirement.

What does tread depth have to do with snow and wet conditions?

As mentioned before, as you drive on your tires the tread wears down which causes your tires to not grip onto the road as well as they used to. Especially during snowy and wet conditions, this can be extremely dangerous to not have enough tread on tires. Your tires already have low grip and adding snow to the equation means barely any grip or traction to the road.

When should I replace my tires due to my low tread depth?

Measure your tread depth either yourself or ask your service technician at your next appointment. If you measure it yourself and the gauge measurement reads 4/32″ or lower, it is time to start shopping for new tires.

Any other questions or if you’re looking to replace your tires make sure to schedule an appointment or contact the Ray Dennison Buick GMC service team.