How to check tyre tread depth of your vehicle

Safety features are of great importance. However, when it comes to safety concerns while driving, there’s another vital aspect that gets ignored by many of us and i.e. the tyres of the car. Very few people are aware of the fact that the condition of the tyres are responsible for proper braking, cornering and fuel economy, as they are the first source to make contact with the road. Hence, it’s essential that tyres carry better road grip irrespective of the weather condition. To ensure this, they have to have reasonable tread depth. And to know the tyre tread depth, follow these easy steps.

As this tyre condition check activity requires unhurried attention, it’s recommended to perform this check at a calm place away from city road traffic and highways.

Getting close to the tread-

Park your car on an even, flat, and wide surface, with an ignition-off state.
Apply parking brake and place in first gear or ‘park’ (in the case of automatic gear-box).
After you have acquired fair access to the tyres, you can begin your assessment of car tyre depth

Inspecting the tread in tyres-

Now there are two ways to check tyre tread depth; one is with the proper tread depth gauge equipment, while the other simple way is to check it with the help of a coin. If not wrong, most of us would like to go with the coin approach. Right? see, we can read your minds.

#1 Checking tread depth with the help of a coin:

A quick way to know the tread depth of a tyre is by putting in a two rupee coin into the tread. Looking at the deepness of the coin you can get the idea on how deep the tread is.

Now repeat this procedure on every tyre, with this, you can assess the tread depth by estimating how deep the coin moves into the tread.

Ideally, every tyre should have the same tread depth and it is also necessary that the measured tread depth is above the tyre tread level indicator.

But, what if, you come across a sizable difference in one of the tyre tread? Relax, this underlines the fact that the indicated tyre is getting weary the most. In such a situation, wheel alignment and balancing test are the best cure. Moreover, if you’re thinking to escape this kind of scenario in future, it’s suggested to get your car’s wheel balancing and alignment examined at every 3000 km. Additionally, ‘car’s stopping distance’ or ‘lame braking’ can also trigger the fact that there is unusual wear of the tyres.

#2 Checking tread depth with the help of a tyre depth gauge:

Similarly, if you want to act as a perfectionist with no guesswork then allow the tread depth gauge to check your car’s tread depth. In India, when tread has deterred to the minimum tread depth of 1.6mm the tread wear mark appears, it is suggested to refrain using the tyre after even one tread wear indicator emerges. Because in wet weather/water logging conditions, due to least grip, there is a risk of hydroplaning involved. Use the simple depth gauge as instructed by its manufacturer and, within no time you will be able to measure the tread depth.