Have you been wondering about when to replace tires on your vehicle? Find out the rules of thumb, why tires are important to keep up with, and when replacing your tires is a must!
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A common question many customers ask is when to replace tires on your car. Like shoes, tires come in many shapes and sizes. But they all have an important thing in common. Traction. Traction is ”the grip of a tire on a road or a wheel on a rail” and in this case on the road.
Have you ever heard the saying “Don’t skimp on things that separate you from the ground”? Do you know why they say that about tires? It’s because bad tires could kill you. A little morbid but the importance of good tires is not something to sleep on. So when do you replace your tires?
The simple answer is sooner than later, but let’s get into the details:
- About Tires
- Why do you need a Tread Depth?
- When to Replace Tires
When To Replace Tires
About Vehicle Tires
You mean to say these rubber round things need to be checked even if they generally look fine and still hold air? Yes! Good tires grip you and your vehicle to the road, saving you from many terrible accidents.
Tires carry your car’s weight, absorb shock while driving, deliver power from the engine, and turn the vehicle, so you can understand the importance of proper tire maintenance. Maintenance involves not only tire replacement but also tire pressure monitoring!
Check your tire pressure every month, especially when around the fall/winter time. “Goodyear experts explain that air pressure in a tire typically goes down 1-2 pounds for every 10 degrees of temperature change.” It’s also important to check your tires when the tires are cold, as in haven’t been driven on recently or about 3 hours after driving.
New Jersey’s weather fluctuates greatly from hot to cold with rain, sleet, and snow. This weather is very dangerous to drive in without a tire tread design and tread depth. Tire tread is the part of the tire that makes contact with the road.
Why do you need a Tread Depth?
Tread depth is the length from the outermost part of the tire to the bottom of the tire’s grooves.
When to replace your car tires is mainly based on the tread depth. It holds your car to the road in wet, slush, or icy conditions because it provides a place for the liquid to move and allows the tires to reach the ground. In the snow, it also provides a grip and bites into the snow.
Without tread, your car will hydroplane in the rain and neglect to brake properly. It’s the same concept with a bicycle.
Or if you’ve watched NASCAR, you have noticed the cars don’t have at tread. But one drop of rain and the hold race is postponed. This is because without tread the cars would virtually have little to no traction in the rain. They would hydroplane and spiral out of control. Fun fact, the cars don’t have tread because it allows more of the tire to grip the road for maximum traction. Cool, but extremely dangerous for day-to-day driving.
When To Replace Tires
New Jersey state considers two-thirty-seconds of an inch to be the minimum legal tread depth. Generally, the method people use to check this is with a penny. The top of Abraham Lincoln’s head from the edge of the penny is about two-thirty-seconds of an inch. By placing the penny between the tread, if you can see the top of his head, you must replace your tires.
We do not recommend this! The two-thirty-seconds of an inch is the minimum and is the least safe legal depth. The risk for hydroplaning is monumentally increased and the distance needed to stop is significantly higher.
Deciding when to replace your tires need consideration of the risks associated with waiting. We know tires can get a little pricy but compared to the price of fixing or having replacing your car after a crash, it’s worth the investment.
We asked our service manager of Matt Blatt Kia of Toms River, Paul Holden, what he recommends.
“At four-thirty-seconds of an inch, we have the conversation with the customers about replacing their tires. Four-thirty-seconds is the lowest yellow measurement on the tread depth chart, meaning it’s about to be in the unsafe zone. At this point, you lose most snow traction and have very poor wet traction. The next time you come in for service, your tires will be bald.”
Four-thirty-seconds of an inch is the depth when to replace tires. Most tires are designed to do about 50,000 miles before needing replacement. Though this can be a signal to thoroughly inspect your tires, it is not a definite marker. Different driving styles and situations will affect the time when replacing your tires is necessary.
When your car is being serviced, good reputable car service shops will inspect the tires and inform you if there is a safety issue. Remember to inspect all four tires’ air pressure and rotate them to extend their life!
Think you may need new tires? Shop new Kia tires, or contact our service department. We are happy to help keep you and your family driving safely.
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