All about tire tread depth

You may be wondering how to check the tire tread on your vehicle. Luckily, measuring tire tread depth is relatively easy and there are a couple of ways to do so. One easy way involves using a coin, such as a Canadian dime or quarter. Another is with a tire tread depth gauge. Below, we explain these two methods in better detail.

For real accuracy in checking tread wear, you may want to check the depth with a tire tread gauge. The latter are easily found at all your local hardware stores and online, and the ones that are sold for home use are relatively inexpensive.

When checking with a tread depth gauge, simply ensure your vehicle is parked securely, and then take the gauge and insert it into the grooves (cutouts) on the tread of your tire. When the head of the gauge touches the inside of the tread, you can then read the tire gauge (just like a tire pressure gauge) and see what your tread depth is in mm (millimetres). Any tread depth over 6 mm means your tires are safe and you can continue using them.

If you tire tread depth is 4/32”, then it is time to start looking for a new set of tires. And, if your tire tread depth is 2/32” or less, then you are actually driving in a highly dangerous condition and should seek to purchase a new set of tires immediately. A tread depth of 2/32” or lower can significantly impact your ability to stop safely in wet or snowy conditions, and is considered to be very unsafe.

One of the simplest ways to quickly check tire tread in Canada is by using a coin, such as a dime (10 cent coin). So, go head and dig into that coin jar, or under the couch cushions and look for a dime or a quarter.

Again, ensure that your vehicle is parked safely and securely first. Then, take a dime and turn it so that the Queen’s head is facing towards the ground – no disrespect to the Queen – and insert the coin into your tire tread groove. If the Queen’s head – including her crown – are fully visible to your eye, then it is time to replace your tires – ASAP.

It is best to check each of your four tires, just to be completely safe, especially if you have replaced single tires over the years and are driving with a mismatched set, or tires from different brands. Tires all wear quite differently, and the average tire tread life can vary between different brands and types, so it is possible that one or two tires have less tread depth than others. Or, you may have purchased a used car that has different tire brands installed on it, and so it’s good to develop a baseline for each tire in terms of tread depth.

Based on recommendations you should measure your tire tread every month. Of course, once you have determined that you have 4/32” or less tread depth on your tire, then you should check more frequently, but based on ensuring the safety of yourself, your family and of course other drivers on the road, you should be looking to replace your tires.

It is also a good practice to check tire tread depth before the winter season, because you want to make sure that you have at least 6/32” of tread depth to tackle winter road conditions. If your tires don’t meet this minimum requirement, then you may want to think about purchasing a set of winter tires for your vehicle.

At the end of the day, the main reason to be concerned about the available tread depth on your tires is safety. Tires with low tread do not grip the road as well as newer tires, and with a low tire tread you could experience:

• Difficulty in stopping or braking quickly,
• Lack of traction in snow, leading to getting stuck or disabled,
• Increase in incidents of aquaplaning – a scary driving situation where your vehicle loses grip on wet pavement (common during thunderstorms with downpours).

For the sake of safety for both yourself and your family, it is important to regularly check your tire tread depth. Then, if you have determined that you need to replace your tires, you can start shopping.