How to Check Tire Tread. While maintaining your car, try to at least check your tire tread if they are worn out already.
You do not even have to visit a mechanic workshop to do that. You can easily do that from the comfort of your home all by yourself without wasting much of your time.
Keep reading to see how you can easily check your tire tread.
How to know if you need new tires
To know if your tire tread should be replaced, follow the steps below:
- First, you put a penny head into several tread grooves across the tire.
- If you always see Lincoln’s head (the top), your treads are shallow and worn out. And that simply means that it is time to replace your tires.
- Also, if a part of Lincoln’s head is always covered by the tread, that means you have more than 2/32 of an inch of tread depth left.
Safety Tips
Follow the steps below for a safety check:
- Look for a very secure place to check your tires. Do not check your tires by the side of the road or a busy parking lot as it is not a safe place!
- Ensure that your car is in the park. Also, ensure that the parking brake has been set so that the car roll away.
- If you are not so sure of what you are looking at, or if there seems to be any damage to the tire, I advise you to take it to a mechanic workshop for inspection or repair.
Tools Needed
You don’t have to carry a full box of tools to check your tire treads. A quarter and a flashlight are okay.
How to Check Tire Tread
The following step will help in checking the tire tread:
Parking the Vehicle
Set the parking brake for extra security, that is, if your vehicle has a manual transmission, you can also park the vehicle safely so as to make sure it doesn’t roll away in the process of inspecting the tires.
Using Coin to Check
You can do this if you don’t have a tire gauge, by simply inserting a coin (a quarter) to the tire tread with the president’s head going first. Also, Washington’s head will be your measuring tool.
When doing this and you noticed that the tire tread has reached the top of his scalp (coin’s) that means that you’ve got at least 4/32 inch of tread left. But if you notice that the top of his head is visible, then the tire needs to be replaced.
Using Tire Tread Wear Indicator Bar
If the tire needs replacement, you will notice that the wear indicator bar needs to be flushed with the rest of the tread.
