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Washington or Lincoln -- Tire replacement

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by Stevewoods, Jun 5, 2023.

  1. Stevewoods

    Stevewoods Senior Member

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    Showing adult daughter the tire wear trick with quarter or penny.

    My advice was from late spring to early fall, rely on Mr. Lincoln and if tread is below his head, replace.

    From October to March if tread is below Mr. Washington's head, replace.

    Base my opinion on drag cars. Best traction on "slicks" on dry ( summer) tracks.

    Of course, you can always go safe and replace earlier....but younger folks these days are having some issues with housing prices and saving a few centavos here and there really helps.
     
  2. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    for dry roads, traction persists pretty well 'all the way down' through tire wear. For slushy, 3 millimeters may already be too little. For real ice, it is hard to imagine what 'enough' tread depth means. So, it all kinda depends.

    If teaching coin tricks, they also show uneven tread wear across the span, which lets one know if the correct air pressure has been maintained.
     
  3. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    I rarely have change on me. For those that do, they probably have enough to get a tire tread gauge.
     
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  4. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    For long term planning and maintenance by serious drivers, a tread depth gauge is quite useful, and dirt cheap, even if not near the top of the list of necessary tools:
    upload_2023-6-5_18-52-45.png
     
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  5. Stevewoods

    Stevewoods Senior Member

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    As I have said before I have the proper tire gauges, but I do not carry them around...but I always have quarter and penny.
    The quarter and penny are perfect subs...
     
  6. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    ... but does your daughter usually have a quarter and penny on hand anymore?
     
  7. Pulse07

    Pulse07 Active Member

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    I believe Washington is for, time to shop around and start saving for new tires. Penny is make next available appointment. I don't get snow here, but if you get snow or really rainy days, ( i see you are WA) you should start buying tires at 4/32. My two pennies.
     
  8. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    People who experience 'tropical downpours' just stick with quarters.
    People who do not, should.
    After all, WHAT exactly is the difference (1/8"?) and how much tire wear does this ACTUALLY represent?

    Tires are expensive, but so are hospital visits, "final expenses" and body shops.
    Your call.....
     
  9. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Is there a reason to not just look at the wear indicators molded into the tread grooves?

    From on-line:

    Maybe the easiest way to check tread depth is to examine the tread wear indicator bars. These bars are chunks of rubber that span the grooves in the tread at different points around the circumference of the tire.

    Their height is 2/32nds of an inch above the lowest point of the groove, which is the depth at which the U.S. Department of Transportation recommends replacing a tire. If your tire has worn down until flush with any of the tread wear indicator bars, it’s time to replace it, even if the tread is still higher than the indicator bars elsewhere on the tire.
     
  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    At least one set of Nokians we had, there was a column of embossed numbers, indicating remaining tread depth (in mm IIRC). The depths of the embossing was such that the numbers wore flat as the tread depth wore, so you could read the remaining tread depth.

    barring that, I’d second @fuzzy1 tip: just get a depth gauge. Get a couple, one in tool box and the other in the glove box.
     
  11. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    I rarely even carry cash anymore.

    I check the wear when doing a rotation or oil change. Wear doesn't fluctuate like tire pressure, so I don't see the need to be able to check it away from the garage. But a tread gauge can be kept in the glove box with the pressure gauge
    The wear bar generally isn't easy to see with the tire on the car. Even with a coin, you have to bend or kneel to see where the tread is at.
     
  12. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    2/32nds may be legal everywhere in the U.S., but is still inadequate in climate zones with any serious wetness. Many modern recommendations lean towards 4/32nds, which also happens to be law for British Columbia and Alberta winter mountain use.
     
  13. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    It is not overly difficult to look at the wear indicators and make an educated estimate. When in doubt, throw it out....