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With this easy test, a penny can buy you peace of mind when it comes to your tires and safety.
Place a penny head first into several tread grooves across the tire. If you always see the top of Lincoln’s head, your treads are shallow and worn. If this is the case, your tires need to be replaced.
If part of Lincoln’s head is always covered by the tread, you have more than 2/32 of an inch of tread depth remaining. This means you probably don’t need new tires.
When your tire treads are worn, your car may respond poorly in adverse weather conditions like rain and snow. With good treads, your car will grip the road better. Also, having insufficient tread is considered illegal in many states.
And finally, worn treads can make other parts of your car wear prematurely.
Potential Problem Areas:
When it’s time to change your tires, your Firestone Complete Auto Care dealer wants to make purchasing a new set as simple as possible. We have the best selection of quality tires to fit your vehicle, your budget and your driving style. From economy to ultra high performance tires - in the size you need from brands you trust, including our well-known Bridgestone and Firestone brands - you can find what you need right here.
Make a selection from the following options:
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When it comes to checking tire tread, there are a number of methods that can help you know if it’s time to replace a tire. Heavily worn tread will prevent a tire from performing as designed and can lead to unsafe driving conditions. One of the simplest, most common ways to check tread depth requires nothing more than a penny and a few moments of your time.
In the United States, tire tread depth is measured in 32nds of an inch. New tires typically come with 10/32” or 11/32” tread depths, and some truck, SUV and winter tires may have deeper tread depths than other models. The U.S. Department of Transportation recommends replacing tires when they reach 2/32”, and many states legally require tires to be replaced at this depth.
The idea of the penny test is to check whether you’ve hit the 2/32” threshold. Here’s how it works:
Place a penny between the tread ribs on your tire. A “rib” refers to the raised portion of tread that spans the circumference of your tire. Tire tread is composed of several ribs.
Turn the penny so that Lincoln’s head points down into the tread.
See if the top of his head disappears between the ribs. If it does, your tread is still above 2/32” , If you can see his entire head, it may be time to replace the tire because your tread is no longer deep enough.
When performing the penny tire test, remember not only to check each tire, but to check various places around each tire. Pay special attention to areas that look the most worn. Even if parts of your tread are deeper than 2/32”, you should still replace the tire when any areas fail the penny test.
Consistent wear around the whole tire is normal, but uneven tread wear could be a sign of improper inflation, wheel misalignment, or a variety of other things.
If you see uneven tread wear, you should have a technician inspect your vehicle.
A simple way to check your tire tread depth is by using a tread depth gauge. You can find tire tread depth gauges at your local auto parts store. There are many models available, but an inexpensive simple graduated probe gauge will work just fine. All you have to do is stick the probe into a groove in the tread and press the shoulders of the probe flat against the tread block and read the result. All gauges should measure in both 32nds of an inch and millimeters.
Another indicator of worn out tread already lives in your tires themselves. Every performance, light truck, or medium commercial tire comes equipped with indicator bars (or wear bars) embedded between the tread ribs at 2/32”. They’re there to help you monitor tread depth and make decisions about tire replacement. Just look to see if the tread is flush with the indicator bars.
If they are, it’s time to replace the tire.
While the penny tire test does deliver on what it promises – indicating whether tread has reached the legal limit – it may not be the best indicator of whether your tires are safe for the road. Tire performance can diminish significantly before your tread hits 2/32”. Even though the law deems fit for safe driving may not prevent you from hydroplaning or losing control in rainy, slushy conditions. If you think your tires may be close to needing replacement, have them checked out by a licensed mechanic.
We have already written how to check the geometry of the body, generator, ignition system, battery, engine, running gear when inspecting a used car. In this article we will tell you how to check the tires when buying a used car.
Some experts say that using used tires is like playing Russian roulette - you only have to rely on luck.
And to make the case really happy, you should check the wheels as carefully as possible.
Tires are a guarantee of safety on the road. When inspecting a car and used tires, check the following:
Each of the parameters is important in its own way, and therefore ignoring at least one of them can significantly reduce the level of safety on the road.
We recommend checking first. If the tires have served their allotted time, further operation does not seem rational. This is easy to do - the date consists of two digits: the week number and year of issue, applied to the outside of the rubber. If, upon inspection of the machine, it is found that the numbers on each wheel are different, then this indicates a non-simultaneous replacement of the wheels. The reason for the replacement, if the service life has not yet come up, you should ask the seller.
Visual inspection is sufficient to check tire wear. It is important that tire wear (if any) is uniform over the entire circumference of the wheel. Uneven tire wear can be a sign of wheel imbalance, and it also indicates a possible sloppy driving style of the previous owner, which can cause several more problems when operating a car. Increased wear on the outside indicates insufficient tire pressure, which should also be checked before a test drive.
The operation of such wheels is fraught with the fact that in corners the rubber will not “hold” the road well. If the center part was more subject to wear, get ready for a decrease in acceleration, handling and braking.
When buying a car, be sure to pay attention to this parameter. Tests show that the permissible tread depth should be at least half of the original - for summer tires it is at least 3 mm (1.6 mm by law, but it would be better to leave a margin), for winter tires - at least 4 mm. It is not difficult to check the depth - in car dealerships you can buy a special probe with marks or use a simple ruler.
When inspecting the tread, it is not superfluous to check for signs of repair from the inside (on a smooth surface). By themselves, the patches on the tread are not critical, but only if their number does not exceed a couple of pieces per wheel, and their size is a third of the width of the pattern.
Otherwise, the operation of the "horse" on such wheels should be abandoned. Pay attention to the nature of the patch - the restored tread pattern (the so-called "grooving") can result in a tire rupture.
The tire grips the road surface across the entire tread width. The edges of the tire also have an impact on braking performance. The smaller they become, the less grip the rubber has on the road surface, and therefore the risk of driving on wet or slippery surfaces increases. A worn leading edge indicates problems with the car's suspension, which is also worth paying attention to. You can check this part of the tread "by touch" - the problem is present if the teeth on the tread edges differ in sharpness.
Tire micro cracks can occur even under conditions of minimal rubber wear and careful storage. The average service life of rubber is 5 years, but, as a rule, by the end of the term, the tire naturally becomes unusable.
In the presence of small cracks, it is not recommended to exceed the speed of more than 80 kilometers per hour, otherwise the chances of complete tire wear increase rapidly. Deep cracks appear with a large degree of delamination of the tire. The use of such tires is highly discouraged.
Defects in the form of cuts and repair marks are a clear signal to stay away from the selected used rubber. As a rule, tire side cuts are dangerous due to the fact that the repair of such defects is extremely difficult and not gives a further guarantee of the quality of rubber operation. But, in addition, it is necessary to check and make sure that there are no hidden damages. Deformation of the tire carcass in the form of dents and creases can be the result of driving or parking on a flat tire, as well as a strong impact. The end of the service life in this case may come earlier than expected.
The internal delamination of the tire is extremely difficult to detect.
A warning can be various types of swelling on the inside of the tire. Visible breaks in the layer are also possible. Check the degree of puncture of the tire - when pressed with two thumbs, the tire should not deform much, but will quickly return to its original shape.
These tire and wheel test parameters apply to both summer and winter tires. But, in the cold season, when the car is “reshod” in winter tires, some other factors should be taken into account.
In winter, buying a car with winter tires is considered correct, but another situation is possible, so do not neglect the inspection of the wheels. First of all, you should check what the car is “shod” in - it can be idle for a long time, especially if the transaction takes place in the car market. Winter wheels are divided into two types: studded and friction.
Equally important is the tread depth. For 100%, it is customary to take the tread depth of new tires, 0% - unusable, respectively. The minimum permitted tread depth for winter tires is 4 mm, otherwise 0%. From the factory, tires are produced with different depths. Keep in mind that if the initial depth reached 8 mm, then 4 mm is not 50% wear, as some sellers say.
A buyer's vigilance will be a guarantee of a good deal. Bad tires in the general good condition of the car is not always a reason to refuse a purchase. If the wear is natural and even, and also corresponds to the average life of tires, the option of purchasing a car is worth considering. You can always eventually replace the rubber with one that will inspire confidence.
In order to avoid doubts about the history of the purchased car during the inspection, check the history of the car using the Autocode online service. To obtain a complete report, only the VIN, chassis number or state number of the vehicle of interest is required.
By driving in unique car numbers, you will receive the following data:
If you are a professional car dealer, you can also use the Autocode Profi service of unlimited car checks. Autocode Profi allows you to quickly check a large number of cars, add comments to reports, create your own lists of liquid vehicles, quickly compare options and store vehicle data in an orderly manner.
Tire wear or other negative factors may be hidden by the seller.
So that they do not subsequently lead to problems in other parts of the machine, order an on-site Autocode check. The specialist will arrive at the place at any time and conduct a professional inspection of the vehicle. Checking the machine through Autocode will help to verify the correctness of your assumptions or refute them.
If there are no serious problems in the history and technical part of the car and you decide to buy, take the final step - enter the seller's passport data through the car owner verification service. This service will show whether he has problems with the law, whether his passport is valid, whether there are debts and enforcement proceedings. If the audit finds serious problems, it is better to refuse the deal. View sample report
Konstantin Ishchenko
an experienced car enthusiast
The hardest hit on the budget of a motorist is when you have to buy both summer and winter sets of tires within one year.
For example, the popular Nissan Qashqai is equipped with 225/45 R19 tires in the maximum configuration, a set of the middle price category will cost about 50,000 rubles.
But there is an option to save money and buy used tires. This article will tell you how to safely buy used tires and when you shouldn't.
Assume that the tires have worn out, become unusable Or the season has changed. We wrote in detail about how to assess the condition of tires and understand when they need to be changed in a separate instruction. Before you start looking for tires, it is important to be able to read their parameters.
The most important in this situation are the size, manufacturer and model of the tire.
If the task is to buy a set of four tires, then it is important to respect the size. If you have damaged one tire, you will have to look for exactly the same one: two wheels of the same axle must have tires with the same tread pattern, and this is possible only in the case of tires of the same model.
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Tire parameters important to look for: width, profile height and rim diameter Tire manufacturer and modelAccording to Avtostat, an average car in Russia drives 17,500 km per year. Let's take the average wear resistance of tires according to the Treadwear index - 320 and calculate how long a new set of summer tires could theoretically last.
Every 100 index units is 12,500 km, which means tires are rated for 40,000 km. Assuming that the summer kit is used for 6 months out of 12, the mileage for six months is 8750 km, and the kit is enough for 4.
5 seasons.
If the annual mileage is 30,000 km, then the summer kit should wear out in 2.7 seasons. But I have not met people who change tires in the middle of the season: either they change them in the spring, or they drive them until autumn.
Judging by Yandex Market, the average popular tire 205/55 R16 costs 5500 R, which means that the set is 22 000 R. Let's round up 2.7 to three full seasons. One season costs Rs. pay more than 14,000 R. How to evaluate the tread depth on a used tire, we will tell a little later.
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These are very average values, but still usable. There is no perfect formula, operating conditions and driving style are very different.
Buying used tires will allow you not to get into a loan if a new set is too expensive. Or it will help those who know for sure that at the end of the season they will change the car: there is no point in buying new tires for the next driver.
However, the theoretical calculation does not take into account your travel time for the next purchase and the risks of buying a bad kit. If you plan to drive a car for at least two years, buy new tires.
At first glance, selling tires is illogical. Tires need to be worn out completely and then disposed of, but the market for used rubber is huge. It has several types of sellers with very different offers.
Companies that sell used tires from Europe and Japan. Despite the ban on the import of used rubber, which has been in effect in the Eurasian Customs Union since January 1, 2010, this business is booming.
The main thing is to prove that tires are not hazardous waste and they are not imported for recycling. Therefore, on Avito and various sites, many offices offer used tires of various brands, sizes and models.
| Benefits | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Huge selection of summer tires Advice available, professionals know their product Usually there is a tire service on site Safer online shopping. Many sell by bank transfer as a full-fledged online store Tire warranty until the first tire fitting, a defective tire will be changed to a good one or money will be returned | There is almost no choice of winter tires: no studded and little friction - Velcro. You can only buy "euro-winter" for mild climatic conditions. Consultation will not always be truthful and in the interests of the buyer. Everything is like on the market in the bad sense of the word Tires can be of the old year of manufacture |
Here are some of the advantages of specialized stores that sell used tires:
But there are also disadvantages:
Dealers and tire shops. They differ from the first ones in scale - they are much smaller, and also in that they trade at best on the scale of one city.
Often the base for such activities is a tire shop. They buy cheaply at Avito or from tire fitting clients, sell more expensively at Avito or other tire fitting clients.
There are also not very pleasant scenarios: an unscrupulous tire fitting worker offers to dispose of a completely normal set of tires “out of friendship” and gets it for free. For another client, the same kit “very much nothing, two seasons will definitely pass” costs 15,000 rubles.
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A typical tire shop that sells rubber for emergency replacement of a damaged tire. The choice is small, storage is not according to the rules: direct sunlight damages tires. But there are situations when there is no choice
Individuals who sell unwanted tires for a variety of reasons. Here are the main ones:
This makes sense: a car will definitely not become more expensive due to a set of wheels; | Advantages of | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| You can search for tires by car make and model, not just size With a little luck, you can make a super bargain | You will have to choose among ads for a long time and carefully Many do not know what they are selling (errors in tire names, sizes and models are normal) A rare seller agrees to tire fitting in his presence, everything will have to be checked by himself and by hand Many scammers: they can offer to leave an advance payment and disappear or send an erased kit instead of what is in the ad No warranty on tires |
Here are the benefits of buying used tires from individuals:
But there are also disadvantages:
Universal ad platforms: Avito, Yula and others.
Here is the largest selection of used tires. Both private traders and professionals sell. Despite the convenient application and filters, it takes a lot of time to search. Don't expect every seller to list the model correctly. Bridgestone Potenza can become just "Bridge Stone" - and this is not the worst option.
You will have to scroll through a huge number of ads with completely worn-out tires that are only suitable for recycling. Unfortunately, no filters will save you from this. Looking for tires on Avito is like looking for a treasure: you have to dig a lot, and no one guarantees a reward, but some are lucky.
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Adjust the filter by size - so you will have more chances to find the tires you need You can no longer drive on such tires: they are worn out to the limit marks, this can be seen even in the photo. Plus, the sidewalls are very worn out. But the seller still thinks that he can get 3000 R for them Sites for car sales announcements: "Avto-ru" and "Drom".
There are few private ads here, mainly specialized stores operate on such sites.
Droma has the largest selection of used wheels and tires from Japan in the country. Drome offers a good customer protection service and acts as a guarantor of purchase: if they send you worn or damaged tires, the site will return the money. If everything is fine, they will be transferred to the seller.
At the time of writing the article on Avto-ru, there were only five private ads for the sale of tires of the common size 205/50 R17 throughout Russia. It makes no sense to look for tires from private traders on this site. Source: Avto-ruCar club sites: forums, chats, Drive-2 — places where representatives of car clubs communicate. Sometimes it can be difficult to find the site itself. This can be a group on Vkontakte, a chat on Telegram or WhatsApp.
There are fewer offers here, but they are more interesting, more likely to find a good set. It is not customary to post completely junk for sale in communities or to greatly inflate the price: the ad will be discussed, criticized, or even deleted altogether.
But don't forget about safety. You should not buy something without verification or send the entire amount to a stranger in another city. It is usually customary to ask a friend of a teammate to go look at the kit and make sure that the tires are sent. Here, as a rule, you can place your ad on the purchase of the necessary tires and wait for responses.
There is a flea market on Drive-2. It is not very popular, but it is worth looking into it: there are filters separately for disks, wheels and tires, you can specify the dimensions.
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Special online stores and car disassembly. In most cases, such sellers open an official representative office on Avito, but some sites are also still working. They may have rare tires or a more interesting price. Large auto-dismantlers rarely sell tires - they mainly sell sets of wheels. The condition of the tires on the rims is most often mediocre: a car is not sent to scrap on good tires.
Tire shops and car services. It's hard to find interesting deals on tires here, it's not their business. Tires in a tire shop are usually bought in emergency cases: when one or more tires are damaged, but you need to somehow drive a couple of weeks to pay.
Price. Before buying used tires, it is better to check the price of new tires of the right size. Tires from young Chinese brands are very cheap, and the market for used tires is overheated and overpriced. It is impossible to unequivocally answer which is better: a new tire from an unknown manufacturer or a used tire from a well-known brand. But it is necessary to compare, study reviews and weigh everything.
At first glance, an excellent offer. A set of fresh tires 215/55 R17 with 20% wear for 18,000 R. But the indicated balance of 6 mm is about 30% wear. The remaining tread of the new tire is 8 mm, the tread limiter bar has a height of 1.
6 mm. The tire is worn 2 mm. Usable tread depth: 8 mm − 1.6 mm = 6.4 mm. 2mm from 6.4mm is 31% wear. Source: Avito But then it turns out that the new ones are very inexpensive. The remaining 6 mm is two-thirds of the tire resource, which means that buying such a kit costs no more than 16,000 R. Source: Yandex Market Manufacturer, model, size, indices and other features. Be sure to check all tire specifications - everything that is indicated on the sidewall. The seller may not understand tires well or deliberately lie. Carefully inspect each tire. For example, you can accidentally buy a set of four tires, where three will be with runflat technology and one without it. If buying tires remotely, always ask for individual photos of each tire in full detail, or even better, a video.
Tire year. Among the ads of specialized stores, there are often tires that are more than 5 years old. Tires may have excellent tread residue, but it is better to refrain from such a purchase.
The older the tire, the worse its properties and the greater the chance of hidden damage: cracks, delaminations and ruptures.
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The tire release marking always looks like this: the first two digits are the week of production, the second two are the yearTread depth. It is not necessary to measure the residual depth "by eye", it is better to buy a special device or use a caliper. The standard tread depth of new summer car tires is 7-8 mm, winter tires are 8-10 mm.
About tires that are long overdue for disposal, they wrote above: summer tires less than 4 mm or winter tires less than 5 mm should not be bought "for the season", it is not safe.
Digital Tread Depth Gauge is a simple and cheap instrument. It will help to accurately measure the residual tread depth and adjust the price of a set of tires. Source: Yandex Market Tread condition, damage and repairs.
Do not buy tires with uneven tread wear. They will not be able to provide a complete drainage of water from the contact patch with the road, it is unsafe to ride on them. Severe cuts or even the absence of individual tread fragments will also be a reason to refuse a purchase. Without a specialist, you run the risk of buying a tire that you cannot use.
But do not be afraid of well-repaired punctures. Tires with patches on the inside of the tread part can be bought, this will not affect further operation. You should not buy tires on which punctures were repaired with a tourniquet.
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Obviously, this tire is no good: there is almost no tread, the studs are completely worn out. The central part is almost completely missing, and the sidewalls are less worn. Maybe the tire was pumped. Surprisingly, they also sell such Cracks and delaminations. Long longitudinal cracks, along the circumference of the tire on the sidewall or small cracks in the tread area - in any case, bad.
Either such a tire was poorly stored, or it is very old. This is a particularly dangerous case, because such a tire can collapse while driving and cause a terrible accident. Cracks are not repaired, so you will have to refrain from buying.
Sidewall condition, damage and repairs. Hernias of any size, side cuts and patches on the side of the tire are good reasons to keep looking. You can't buy these tires.
Carefully inspect and feel the sidewalls of the tires. Unfortunately, not all defects can be found on a tire without a disk and without air inside. It will be ideal if you can mount tires on rims in a tire shop. Ask to balance the wheels and only then pay.
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If in doubt that the tires are intact, look for another option. Remember that it is the tires that connect your car and the road.
The surface adjacent to the rim may also be damaged on the tire.
The photo shows the consequences of careless tire fitting of an old tire. I don't recommend buying this tire. If in doubt, and the offer is very interesting, ask the opinion of a tire fitting specialist Presence of spikes and their condition. It is not necessary to count every stud on a tire, it is difficult and time consuming. Just look at the tire: if it seems that there are about half of the studs on it or less, you do not need to buy a tire. Studded tires without studs won't get Velcro, so don't just look at the tread.
Studs on a tire that has already been driven for a couple of seasons look very different from new ones. They were worn off along the way, the seats were broken. In the background, you can see that the tire has already begun to lose studs. Even with sufficient tread, you can be left without spikes very quickly, it is better to look for another option Ads often offer used tires at an inflated price.
We have made a special calculator that will help you calculate the fair value of tires, regardless of the manufacturer, technical parameters of tires and their number in the kit.
