Where to check tire tread?

[Guest jclay]

Hi all,

 

Mu 02 OBW didn't seem as rock steady as I expected it to in the snow we've gotten as of late here in MD...as it's my 3rd 'roo I started wondering if perhaps my tires are worn.

 

I went to my mechanics and borrowed his tread depth gauge to check and found that they were between 6 and 7/32 of an inch, or about half worn.

 

here's the question though, where exactly should I have taken this measurement? I took it in the deepest main treads that go around the center of the tire, not in the lateral tread the go across the width of the tire so I'm wondering if I took a false reading? (there was much less tread on these areas)

 

Hope that makes sense, all input is greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks!

[idosubaru]

it depends how your tires are wearing. if they're wearing unevenly then that's a problem. if they're wearing evenly it shouldn't much matter.

 

there's a way to determine the date the tires were manufactured and that tells you how old the rubber compound is. i'm sure you can google that to find out. i've seen nearly new looking tires perform terribly in the snow and freak out Subaru ABS systems. i'm not tire materials expert but i guess the tires could have aged or poorly performing rubber compounds.

 

i'm in maryland now and drove here through that ridiculous snow storm Monday, the roads were uncanny for only having 3 inches or whatever it was around hagerstown. saw one multi-car accident, sat on the interstate stopped (with kid/infant) for an hour, and counted 15 cars off the road the rest of the way home, many 4WD trucks and jeeps. you weren't the only ne questioning their tires!

[presslab]

TireRack says that 6/32" is the recommended minimum for snow use:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=51

 

There are wear bars on tires that go across the tread gaps. These should show you when you reach 2/32" of tread depth. Also by looking at these wear bars, you can get an idea of where you should be measuring the tread depth.

 

The brand and type of tire can make a big difference in snow too. For snow/ice what you want is a tire with lots of edges to bite into the road, aka "siping" along with nice soft rubber.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siping_(rubber)

[Fairtax4me]

Tread depth should be the deepest point between each section of tread across the tire. To get an idea if the tread is uneven, measure each section in several places around the circumference of the tire.