| After you've selected an appropriate set of tires for your purposes and had them fitted (see our Pre-Purchase Checklist for Tires) you can take a bit of a breather… but in due time your tire cognizance must resume. Once some miles accrue it's time to begin monitoring tire wear and tread depth. If you're lucky and did your due diligence prior to purchasing tires, that process might not begin until many years down the line. However, it's critical not to become complacent, as the TyreSafe exercise below demonstrates. We spend a lot of time here at MinimumTread.com focusing on the relationship between tire purpose/design, and driving safety. Heeding the manufacturer's seasonal designation, for example, is of absolute necessity. When the manufacturer indicates "summer tire," they mean it; it's not marketing speak. |  |
Try running a summer set of tires in the dead of winter and you're likely to be exploring the local ditch network, regardless of how "capable" or "advanced" your vehicle's traction control system is.
Similarly, manufacturers design tires to provide sufficient grip in the intended climate and conditions with adequate tread depth. Run below the minimum tread, and that engineering and functionality goes out the window. All of the tire tread channels and (in some cases) sipes significantly influence how the tire interacts with roads, especially wet roads. A tire without those tread characteristics is reduced to a featureless hunk o' rubber, and the performance suffers accordingly.
In the video below TyreSafe compares the wet road braking distances of two identical vehicles -- one fitted with tires just below the minimum tread depth, the other with tires possessing near full tread.
Because it's a bit hard to tell in the 360 video below, here's the end result and braking distance difference between the two vehicles. (Not unlike our brake distance results when we tested an all season tire vs a snow tire in our Michelin X-Ice Xi3 review.)
Similarly, manufacturers design tires to provide sufficient grip in the intended climate and conditions with adequate tread depth. Run below the minimum tread, and that engineering and functionality goes out the window. All of the tire tread channels and (in some cases) sipes significantly influence how the tire interacts with roads, especially wet roads. A tire without those tread characteristics is reduced to a featureless hunk o' rubber, and the performance suffers accordingly.
In the video below TyreSafe compares the wet road braking distances of two identical vehicles -- one fitted with tires just below the minimum tread depth, the other with tires possessing near full tread.
Because it's a bit hard to tell in the 360 video below, here's the end result and braking distance difference between the two vehicles. (Not unlike our brake distance results when we tested an all season tire vs a snow tire in our Michelin X-Ice Xi3 review.)
If you are the type to run your tires down close to the limit, we don't blame you. Just make sure to carefully monitor the tread depth as the tires near expiration. Also, consider purchasing tires that are designed to maintain optimum performance as the tire wears. Modern tire options like the Michelin Premier LTX are redefining worn tire performance.
For basic instructions on how to check and monitor your tire tread depth, see Here's How To Measure Tire Tread Depth With a Penny.
For basic instructions on how to check and monitor your tire tread depth, see Here's How To Measure Tire Tread Depth With a Penny.
