How Should You Measure Tire Wear?

Tire wear is a big deal, because your entire vehicle rests on the ability of your tires to keep the vehicle moving. Reiff Diesel Services has these tips for you about how you can measure tire wear.

First See if the Wear Is Even

It’s always a good idea to make it a habit to look at your tires to see how the tread is wearing. Uneven tread wear is a pretty big problem, and it even takes precedence over how much the tread is wearing overall, because if you don’t correct whatever is causing uneven tread wear, that’s going to kill off the tires even faster.

Pennies, Quarters, and Tire Gauges

There are a range of different ways to get an exact measurement of your tread depth, the most accurate probably being a tread depth gauge designed specifically to measure tread depth. But lots of folks tend to not have one on hand when they need it, which is where pennies and quarters come in. Holding a penny upside down between the tire treads shows you if you have enough tread left if Lincoln’s head is covered, roughly 1.5mm of tread. Using a quarter the same way, Washington’s head shows you that you’ve got around 3mm of tread left.

Check the Age of the Tires

Something else that tells you a lot about the health of your tires is how old the tires are. If you can’t remember when you last replaced the tires, they’re probably getting up there in age. Try to find some sort of information that helps you to determine the tire age, and if they’re older than five years or so, it might be time to replace them.

Look at the Overall Appearance of the Tires

How do the tires look overall? If the sidewalls are scuffed and cracked, that can be a sign that they’re wearing out. Look at how the color has faded, too, because that can be an indication of how much UV damage the tires have likely experienced. All of these details can help you to determine when you need to seriously think about new tires.

Guessing isn’t necessary, though. Let Reiff Diesel Services in Newburg, PA help you with your tire issues. We can inspect your tires for you and let you know how much life they’ve got left in them. If it’s less time than you were hoping for, we can help you to find the right replacement tires for your needs.