Tread depth

550Doug · Jan 25, 2017

Some questions to the tire experts:
What is the tread depth of a new tire for a car? for a pickup truck?
What tread depth is considered for a tire that 'needs replacing'?
Is the tread depth on new snow tires different from summer tires?
Some insurance companies apparently now offer 5% discount for having snow tires installed from Nov to April. Could one leave snow tires on all year around?
Thanks

ditchwitch · Jan 25, 2017

8/32 new tires when wear bars are even with tread around 3/32

JMS/.MN · Jan 25, 2017

IIRC the worn tread limit is 1/16 inch...when the tread depth is down to the wear bars that go across the tread. Years ago the snow tires had deep, aggressive treads. I think the snow tires had a different rubber formulation, and would wear excessively in summer heat. Dad would take the snow tires to town to get changed...one was sometimes mounted as a spare, and eventually he bought an extra rim so we could just switch wheels at home.

Brendon-KS · Jan 25, 2017

Real winter tires have a different rubber compound than regular all-season tires do. The rubber is
softer and more "open" to get a better grip on ice. However, this also means the tires will wear
much faster and will not grip as well on dry pavement. I'd think that running them year-round
would cost more in the long run (due to the rapid wear) than getting a second set of wheels so you
can keep the winter tires mounted and make it easier and quicker to swap them out for the winter
months.

Brendon-KS · Jan 25, 2017

I should have mentioned that there is a difference between "winter tires" and what many people think of as "snow tires". What is often thought of as a "snow tire" has big, open tread blocks but unless the snow is deep and loose tires like this will perform worse than a more mild tread with lots of siping (the tiny grooves cut in the face of the tread blocks). Once a road is bladed and has a hard, icy surface the big tread blocks are essentially worthless. I see this with my 1961 Scout which has heavily-lugged mud tires with no siping at all - they get zero traction on packed snow or ice.

Ken Macfarlane · Jan 25, 2017

Snow tires are super soft and wear quickly in warm weather
and bare roads. We run winters only in the winter until about
1/4" tread then leave them on that following summer. 15,000
miles will take them from there to slicks that summer and the
new winters get installed right before snow.

Because we have snowfalls mid Oct to later in March, we tend
to use two sets of winters to every set of summers. People
who drive less will run winters all year but it's not so common.

Snow tires have much greater tread depth, closer to an at
truck tire. The squirm around and make a car handle terrible
until they are almost worn out but they are great in snow.

We currently have two similar all wheel drive cars, same
brand and engine size, one has all seasons on it the other has
studded winters. On a dry road the winters are all over the
place, side winds knock you a lane over in a heartbeat. But I'll
tell ya in the 1/2" of ice pellets on the road last night the all
seasons can't keep the car in the lane at 30 mph while the
winters were fine at 60 mph.

MPK · Jan 25, 2017

I believe tread depth also varies with brands.

Bob in SD · Jan 25, 2017

Legally worn in states that have a limit is typically 2/32 ( or 1/16, as stated above). I like 4/32 to shed rain and 6/32 for snow.

jeffcat · Jan 25, 2017

Just a little remember story. Many many years years ago you would buy
retread snow tires. I can remember my dad would order a set a "KNObbys
They looked like the tile pattern on an old bathroom floor. All
hexagonal shape almost like a honeycomb pattern. They sure grabbed
pretty good. Years ago when I had a Dodge caravan, in a junkyard I
found an almost new set of studed snows. Several weeks later it snowed
like the end of times. Shut the state down! I JUST HAD to try them!
They worked sooooo nice. Couple of times the rear had vertually no
traction and was doing a wiggle. Just point the front wheel drive
where you wanted to go. No sweat. A friend of my dads thought he was
doing him a big favor and gave him a set of 8? forklift tires for his
pickup. Do you guys have any idea what grip bar "agricultural" tread
eight ply tires drive like? With a full load of sand on the truck the
tires would finnaly start to flex.

Leroy · Jan 25, 2017

I have run lots of snow tires and they DO NOT squirm around. If you had that you got a bad tire.

ss55 · Jan 25, 2017

Most every tire dealer or manufacturer publish the tread depths of their products, check online. 10/32 to 12/32 inch tread depth is common for new tires. Wear bars show at 2/32 inch. Snow tires have softer tread that wears faster and they loose effectiveness below 4/32 inch tread depth, so new snow tires often have deeper tread depth. If you watch, most 4WD vehicles run snow tires all year.

Texasmark1 · Jan 26, 2017

My 275/55-20 Goodyear Eagle LS2 I just installed on my Silverado have 11/32". Wear bar is at 2/32. Say all season service.

Leroy · Jan 26, 2017

Remember there is a difference between a summer tire, an all season tire or a snow tire. A lot of people refer to an all season tire as a snow tire but it is not, it will carry caristics of both the dry road summer tire plus the snow ability of a snow tire but not the best for either situation. The all season will have ice capabilities that a snow tire will not have unless you have studded snow tires. So what the maker refers to as all season some will call a snow tire while others will insist it is a summer only tire.

Texasmark1 · Jan 26, 2017

Well when the bias ply "F1" mud grip disappeared I just laughed at all the hype about what tire mfgrs. call traction (radial) tires for trucks.

Tread depth

550Doug

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ditchwitch

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JMS/.MN

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Brendon-KS

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Brendon-KS

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Ken Macfarlane

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MPK

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Bob in SD

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jeffcat

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Leroy

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ss55

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Texasmark1

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Leroy

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Texasmark1

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