Tire Tread Depth

Years ago we used to check our tire tread with ( I forget ) a dime, a quarter or was it a penny ? Also ( I forgot this one to ) if you could see all of the head on the coin ( I think you stuck the coin in the tire tread with the head upside down ) your tires are worn. Is this correct ?

Penny to lincoln's hair line, I believe for PA. inspection it's 3/32 of an inch. As a young kid, they were good to burn off til the white cords show, now the tires fly apart when they still have good tread. They don't make' um like they used to.

Thanks fireman,,,, I remember those days !!

(1) Inspect the tires and wheels and reject if one or more of the following apply:
(i) A tire has two adjacent treads with less than 2/32-inch tread remaining at any point

If you have to wonder which coin to use...it is time to replace the tires.

Rob R. wrote:If you have to wonder which coin to use...it is time to replace the tires.

Ahhhh, Come on Rob,,,, I'am trying to get every penny out of them !!!!

mozz wrote: (i) A tire has two adjacent treads with less than 2/32-inch tread remaining at any point

I was thinking that, 2 or 3 /32 , but 2/32 is really 1/16 . I went threw that problem before, my wife went to a pep boys many years ago, they wouldn't pass the car for chopy tires. I talked to a neighbor with an inspection liscence, their is nothing about chopy tires (saw tooth) just depth. Took his liscence to pep boys, talked to the manager, said we didn't come to buy tires, just for an inspection. He asked one of the shop guys to show me in the inspection book, they said (chopy tires) they doesn't exist. They re-inspected all the tires, had to go over every tread till they found one spot on one tire that was below. Changed that tire (somewhere else) with a used one, and they did the sticker.

There should be "wear bars" running perpendicular to the tire tread. If they are even with the treads, the tires are no good.

When I was a lot less old I had an inspection license in Pa., we had a few customers that were so spastic about their cars they would have us changing tires & doing tune-ups when nothing was wrong. I got a lot of years of never having to buy a tire or spark plug back then.

Sam, shame on you.

GL

Just saving them from the landfill or recapper, with the good tires the owner had a rack with good used tires, back then if you needed one to pass insp. he would throw one on & not charge regulars except for the mount & balance. Those were different times.

Knock on wood -- but I have not had a flat from a nail in many many years, except when my tires were almost down to the wear bars. I don't know if that is just good luck, or if the tread is lots harder to penetrate when it is thicker.

rberq wrote:Knock on wood -- but I have not had a flat from a nail in many many years, except when my tires were almost down to the wear bars. I don't know if that is just good luck, or if the tread is lots harder to penetrate when it is thicker.

I would say my luck is just the opposite, new tires seem to pick up nails, screws in the tread faster and more flats with new tires. I had a set of tires I bought new that were between 5-6 years old, good tread but starting to dry rot and crack. I had one that the tread separated from the inner cords just like a retread, but they were not retreads. This took place on the interstate at 65+ mph, and that will get your attention quick. Bent my tail pipe and ruined the 1/4 pannel on the truck, Heavy duty 8 or 10 ply tires. THEY DON'T make tires like they used too, when I was young, I bought alot of used tires ,age of tire ,but they held up !!!