A long walk can cause muscle strains and tiredness on your feet. The same goes with your car’s tyres. Years and long distances of driving make it older and worn out. The significant difference, however, is that your feet can recover after enough rest, but tyres retire and need replacements.
Old Tyres Should Retire
Tyres usually last long, unless they’re always beaten on rough roads. The problem with these is they can still do the job even when worn out. Regardless of being almost traction-less, as long as it’s not completely damaged, it can still roll. So, some people do not change their car tyres and put themselves at risk.
The tyre tread is the measure of a tyre’s age. The depth of the tyre tread decreases as it wears out. In worse scenarios, this can lead to delayed stop when braking, especially on wet roads.
Tyre failure on the road may actually result in serious damages. It can lead to loss of control as the tyres may slip. It can also inflate upon running even on just a small pointed object. A tyre problem is among the common reasons for stranded cars.
The Deeper, The Better
In principle, your tyres’ grip of the road is equivalent to your control, too. It is always best to determine if your tyres are good enough for every road challenge. In terms of tyre tread, the deeper, the better.
New Zealand’s legal minimum tread depth is 1.5mm. But, it is better not to get to that point anymore. There is a method called The Penny Test used by Americans in checking treads. In New Zealand, the use of a 20-cent coin works the same. And the steps are simple.
Spot the tyre groove nearest to the middle. Next, insert a 20c coin by its bottom going between the tyre grooves. The edge of the coin is around 2mm from the number 20. If you see the whole number 20, then it means you are nearing 1.5mm. It’s a good time to consider changing your tyres.
