Old time car owners already have knowledge on when to replace their tires. They can feel if they are losing control over it even without looking at those grooves down there. However, if you are newbie in car driving, you must have knowledge about your tires. Other parts of the car that would significantly affect its performance were definitely part of the orientation given to you by the car dealer. But for other things that may not be found on the manual, you have to learn it on your own. One example is the car tires.
1. Aside from your knowledge that tires need to be inflated from time to time, you also need to check on its tread. What is the tread? These are the part of the wheel that makes contact with the road. If you look at the tires now, you can see pattern of ridges or grooves made or cut in the face of a tire. What is the purpose of it?
2. Safety growing is essential especially if the roads have water in the surface due to raining. This is what you call hydroplaning. Imagine the next scenario.
3. You are driving in a road that is wet because of the rain. The surface of the road that touches the tires will no longer be directly in contact with the tires because of the water in between. If your tires can’t squirt this water, the tire will lift off the ground. If that happens, traction will be less and controlling the movements of the car would be hard. That could be one of the reasons why a lot of accidents happen when there is rain.
4. Are your tires have MS, M+S, M/S, or M&S? If yes, then it follows the guidelines set by the Rubber Manufacturers Association for all season tires that are designed for mud and snow circumstances. Check your tire’s tread. Does it extend towards the tread center of at least ½ inches? Does it have a cross-sectional width of an at least 1/16th inch? Ensure that the edges of the slots or pockets have angles between 35-90 degrees. If you want to really know if your tires passed the RMA guidelines, have it tested by American Society for Testing Materials. Tires that are designed for severe snow conditions have a traction index of equal to or greater than 110.
5. Who would have thought that the science behind tire’s grooves, the traction that it can provide and the control of the car that you can take could be as complicated as this. Unfortunately, this information is not often shared by car dealers or salesperson. You need to understand it by yourself by reading magazines and guidelines about it. Start with learning the basics about the tire tread in this infographic.
6. Also, you have to be particular with every parts of your car especially the tires. If you keep on using tires that have thin grooves or those that does not pass the RMA standards, the chances of meeting a vehicular accident is high. So, you must have extra precautions.
source: https://burtbrothers.com/blog/why-tire-tread-matters/
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