Tread Depth Difference

…to 2/32" differences in front-to-rear tread depth between tires that might be encountered immediately after periodic tire rotations at 3,000-5,000 mile intervals won't upset the vehicle's hydroplaning balance and should not preclude rotating tires. For that matter, any differences in wear rates…

Tire Tech: Shaving Tire Treads to Maintain Equivalent Tread Depths for Four-Wheel Drive & All-Wheel Drive Vehicles Four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles are equipped with differentials and/or viscous couplings that are designed to allow momentary differences in wheel speeds when the vehicle…

…under a tire's tread pattern, it can lift the tread until it loses contact with the road. Tires with less tread depth will hydroplane in shallower water and at lower speeds than tires with deeper treads. Whether the front or rear tires hydroplane first can make all the difference. Hydroplaning front…

…accidentally using different sized tires, tires with different tread designs, tires made by different manufacturers, different inflation pressures or even tires worn to different tread depths. As an example of different tire diameters resulting from tires worn to different tread depths, we compared…

…Tread Depth Do You Need? (03:42) Category: Tires Tires are usually considered legally worn out when they reach 2/32" of remaining tread depth. Concerned that nearly worn out tires sacrifice too much wet traction, we compared the stopping distances of new tires to those with 4/32" and 2/32" tread…

…rates. The minor differences in tread depth between tires that might be encountered immediately after periodic tire rotations at 5,000-7,500 mile intervals won't upset the vehicle's hydroplaning balance and should not preclude rotating tires. For that matter, any differences in wear rates actually…

…tires are molded with beginning tread depths of 10/32" to 12/32", the tires will be approximately 1/2" to 6/10" shorter in diameter when they've worn to the minimum tread depth of 2/32". In order to determine how much odometer error this dimensional difference might cause, the Tire Rack team drove…

…in pairs (rather than sets of four) due to a lack of maintenance or when equivalent tread wear can't be achieved through periodic tire rotation. While it can't make up for performance differences due to tread depth, it is most important to match new tires to those originally used on the vehicle when…

…using different sized tires, tires with different tread designs, tires made by different manufacturers, different inflation pressures or even tires worn to different tread depths. As an example of different tire diameters resulting from tires worn to different tread depths, we'll compare…

…tires' tread depths. When a winter / snow tire has worn to about 6/32", it's ability to provide beneficial snow traction will start to diminish. While still legal at 2/32", a winter / snow tire has worn well past the depth where it provides beneficial snow traction. Also read: Tread Depth Why Too…

…Measuring the tread width of rounded-shouldered tires is more challenging because identifying the tread edges is difficult. Unfortunately there isn't an industry standard that establishes a single procedure for how to measure tire tread widths. And since tire manufacturers can use different methods,…