Tread Depth
- Thread starter nlel1975
- Start date
By all means laugh, but cry if you want too
It's very much a YMMV (no pun intended). Local driving where you're regularly braking for traffic lights, crossings, roundabouts and junctions will take it's toll on the tread. If you're pretty much jumping straight on the motorway (and assuming you're not constantly slowing down for traffic) then you should easily get 40k from a tyre. I can't recall final mileage but remember getting well over 50k on a brand called something like prestivos when I did a lot of motorway miles.
Soldato
- Joined
- 23 May 2006
- Posts
- 7,649
cool i didnt know that... i will have a look next time i am out. maybe the car is still on 1st tyres. seems unlikely for a performance car with 47k on the clock but it was liklely mostly motorway.
edit... i just checked...
my car was registered end of december 2020. The tyres on the car are all 4420 so that would be end of october start of november of 2020.
I dont know how long it takes from a tyre to go from manufacture through to fitting, however it is possible it would seem that my car has done 47000 miles on its factory tyres, which still have 2.5 - 3mm on the front and 4 on the rear according to my MOT last month.
Which for a large performance car is pretty incredible imo and kind of ****** on the notion that EVs eat through tyres like the gutter press likes to bang on about when arguing against EVs being "cleaner" than ICE cars.
Last edited:
Soldato
- Joined
- 23 May 2006
- Posts
- 7,649
cool so in all likelyhood my car is on factory tyres... that bodes well actually and takes a little of the sting out of the (eyewatering) price of 4 new tyres as even if only 35k miles will last me 5 years.
Well I've had a good play, it seems I get fairly consistent readings of Front Left 7.03mm Front Right 6.89mm Rear Left 6.30mm Rear Right 6.68mm. Its not as bad as I originally thought. The trick is to fully retract the gauge before zeroing it.
You're dealing with such miniscule amounts its not surprising it changes by a couple of 0.1mm every time.
Don
But does it matter?
As long as they are above 3mm (some would say 1.6mm) then why worry?
As long as they are above 3mm (some would say 1.6mm) then why worry?
Doesn’t matter no, but would be nice to have some consistent readings.
Found this site...
https://www.tyrerunner.com/blog/how-to-use-a-tyre-tread-wear-chart
Nonetheless, this is still suitable to drive on. This indicates around 45% tyre tread wear.
However, that doesn't mean you need to replace the tyre yet. It's more or less safe and will still serve you well on the road; but you should start to keep a closer eye on your tyres perhaps increasing your monthly inspection to weekly.
You can continue to drive on the tread of this depth. Beware, however, that you'll need to take it a little slower around corners and in bad weather.
All major tyre manufacturers recommend the replacement of tyres at this tread level...and honestly, it's not only for their benefit they are saying this. Tyres at this level will take somewhere between 1 to 1.5 double-decker bus lengths additional distance to stop, and that's only at 30mph! One to keep in mind on the school run on a wet winter day!
That said, there is no legal requirement to replace tyres at this depth. The legal bar for replacement in the UK is actually very low compared to other EU countries, hence if you choose to drive on, you may want to consider doing so at a tortoise pace! Between this level and the UK legal limit, you could have as little as 100 miles remaining.
We can't advise enough that replacing your tyres before they reach this point is highly recommended. If you skirt the lines of legal acceptability, you could accidentally go under this limit a lot easier than you might think - it could be as little as a jont down the shops away. An untimely traffic stop could, therefore, result in you receiving points, and likely a sizable fine.
Plus, it's plainly unsafe to drive on tyres of this tread depth. You'll become a danger not only to yourself but to other drivers as well. 27,000 lives in the UK are changed each year on our roads through death or severe life-changing injuries...the only thing in contact with the road is those scraggly tyres! A few extra mm could be the difference between stopping in time or not.
https://www.tyrerunner.com/blog/how-to-use-a-tyre-tread-wear-chart
8mm
For a standard vehicle tyre, 8mm is optimal. For most tyres on the market, this indicates a brand-new tyre with zero wear and tear. Tyre tread of this depth allows for maximum safety and performance.7mm
7mm of tyre tread is still great. At this point, the tread is only 15% worn. As such, the tyre will perform more or less, like new.6mm
6mm of tyre tread depth is still relatively good. This indicates around 31% of the tyre tread has worn. By and large, a tyre with this tread depth will still perform like new.5mm
At 5mm, you should start to notice a slight loss in performance. Not only will it take you longer to stop, but you'll also have a little more trouble keeping the vehicle in control throughout turns and in dangerous weather.Nonetheless, this is still suitable to drive on. This indicates around 45% tyre tread wear.
4mm
At 4mm, your tyre tread depth is just barely above the level for recommended replacement. The tyre will now be approximately 62% worn. You'll unquestionably notice a difference in performance at this depth, both in terms of control and stoppage time.However, that doesn't mean you need to replace the tyre yet. It's more or less safe and will still serve you well on the road; but you should start to keep a closer eye on your tyres perhaps increasing your monthly inspection to weekly.
3mm
It's at 3mm that your tyre tread depth starts to reach dangerous levels. At this point, the tread is around 78% worn.You can continue to drive on the tread of this depth. Beware, however, that you'll need to take it a little slower around corners and in bad weather.
All major tyre manufacturers recommend the replacement of tyres at this tread level...and honestly, it's not only for their benefit they are saying this. Tyres at this level will take somewhere between 1 to 1.5 double-decker bus lengths additional distance to stop, and that's only at 30mph! One to keep in mind on the school run on a wet winter day!
2mm
At 2mm in depth, your tyre tread is around 94% worn. We highly recommend a tyre replacement at this point, as having such a worn tread is undoubtedly going to impair your ability to keep the vehicle in control.That said, there is no legal requirement to replace tyres at this depth. The legal bar for replacement in the UK is actually very low compared to other EU countries, hence if you choose to drive on, you may want to consider doing so at a tortoise pace! Between this level and the UK legal limit, you could have as little as 100 miles remaining.
1.6mm
As noted above, 1.6mm is the legal minimum for tread depth on a tyre. Once your tyre tread depth falls below this figure, your tyres are no longer road-legal and need to be replaced.We can't advise enough that replacing your tyres before they reach this point is highly recommended. If you skirt the lines of legal acceptability, you could accidentally go under this limit a lot easier than you might think - it could be as little as a jont down the shops away. An untimely traffic stop could, therefore, result in you receiving points, and likely a sizable fine.
Plus, it's plainly unsafe to drive on tyres of this tread depth. You'll become a danger not only to yourself but to other drivers as well. 27,000 lives in the UK are changed each year on our roads through death or severe life-changing injuries...the only thing in contact with the road is those scraggly tyres! A few extra mm could be the difference between stopping in time or not.
Don
and?
Just FYI
Don
Sounds more like it's for your paranoia - I already know that and had told you as long as they are 3mm or more then not to worry
Yeah but I didn't really get how the performance of the tyre drops off as they get lower. I am probably a dunce but I found the information useful so thought someone else might. It wasn't directed at you.Sounds more like it's for your paranoia - I already know that and had told you as long as they are 3mm or more then not to worry
Fair enough and they do point that out in the information I posted above.
I have noticed my rear tyres are worn a touch more on the outer tread than the centre or inner treads. The front tyres are pretty much the same across outer, centre and inner treads. I guess this is due to my car being a rear engined RWD car.
Anyway I’m using those readings as the ones I’m going by i.e. Rear Left 6.30mm Rear Right 6.68mm. Going forward when I next check them in a year or so I’ll know to check the outer treads first.
On another note I took the opportunity to measure my neighbors BMWs tread depth as he was parked next to me. I got a reading of 4.70mm from the front left tyre. Checked the production date on the tyre and it was 2618. Twenty sixth week of 2018.
Anyway I’m using those readings as the ones I’m going by i.e. Rear Left 6.30mm Rear Right 6.68mm. Going forward when I next check them in a year or so I’ll know to check the outer treads first.
On another note I took the opportunity to measure my neighbors BMWs tread depth as he was parked next to me. I got a reading of 4.70mm from the front left tyre. Checked the production date on the tyre and it was 2618. Twenty sixth week of 2018.
Or maybe due to a minor misalignment of your suspension.
The difference is not an excessive amount.
Hence my use of the word "minor" rather than "excessive" when describing the potential misalignment
