Checking your tread takes about two minutes and needs nothing more than the change in your pocket. It is worth doing once a month, and always before a long drive or the start of winter.
What the law says
For cars and light vans, the legal minimum tread depth in the UK is 1.6mm. That has to be present across the central three-quarters of the tread, all the way around the tyre.
Drop below it and you are looking at a fine of up to £2,500 and three penalty points per tyre. Four worn tyres can cost you your licence.
The legal limit is a minimum, not a target. Stopping distances on a wet road get noticeably longer well before a tyre reaches 1.6mm, which is why many drivers choose to replace at around 3mm.
The 20p test
- Take a 20p coin and push it into one of the main grooves in the middle of the tread.
- Look at the outer band around the edge of the coin.
- If the band is hidden, you have more than the legal minimum in that spot.
- If you can see any of the band, the tyre may be close to or below the limit and should be looked at.
Repeat it in at least three places around the tyre, and across the width of the tread. Tyres rarely wear perfectly evenly.
Use the tread wear indicators
Every car tyre has small raised bars moulded into the bottom of the main grooves, set at 1.6mm. Once the surface of the tread is level with those bars, the tyre is at the legal limit and needs replacing.
Signs of uneven wear
While you are down there, look at how the tyre has worn, not just how much.
- Worn on one edge only. Usually a sign the wheel alignment is out. Replacing the tyre without fixing the alignment means the new one will go the same way.
- Worn in the centre. Often a sign of running the tyre over-inflated.
- Worn on both edges. Often a sign of running the tyre under-inflated.
- Cuts, bulges or exposed cords. The tyre is unsafe whatever the tread depth, and should not be driven on.
If you are seeing edge wear, our wheel alignment service will set it right and protect the tyres you have.
Running low?
If the 20p test is not looking good, take a photo of the size printed on the sidewall and give us a ring on 01823 662777. We will tell you what we have on the racks in new and part-worn, and what it costs fitted.
