Whenever those winter months are starting to peek over the horizon (though from this weather you would never guess), its a good idea to start thinking about what may need to be done to your car to make it safe for another Cincinnati winter. Whether this means prepping your classic car to sit protected in the garage for a few months, or taking your daily driver to your local auto mechanic for a radiator flush to make sure it can handle the freezing weather, it is a good idea to be prepared in advance for anything Mother Nature has to throw at you. And one of the simplest things that you can do at home is see what condition your tires are in. All you need is a penny.
Tire Test in Your Pocket: Rely on A Dead President
One of the simplest pieces of advice that has been given for years to those who need to to check their tire depth is to just dig around in your pocket for some spare change. If you pull out a penny and stick it into the groove of the tread on your tires with Lincoln’s head pointed down, you can tell whether or not your tries are legally roadworthy. If part of Lincoln’s head is covered up, you should legally be good to go. The part from the edge of the penny to the top of Lincoln’s head measures 1/16th of an inch, which is the required tread depth for tires in most states here in the US of A.
Another easy way to check your tire tread uses the tread depth indicators that are built into your tires. These may be difficult to see when the tire is on the car if you don’t have a lot of clearance between your wheel and wheel wells. These tire wear bars are located in the deepest parts of the treads on your tires and extend horizontally across the vertical treads. When the tire is new, these wear bars are buried deep in the depths of the treads. As the tire is used, the rubber will wear down accordingly, exposing the horizontal bars as it disappears. When your tire wear bars are the same depth as the tread on your tires, it is time to replace those tires. Though 1/16 of an inch is the lowest legal depth that tires are allowed to be, it is not necessarily the safest depth for tires to be, especially when winter is on its way.
Getting Groovy for Winter Weather: 1/16th Tire Depth is Not Enough
The thing is, whenever tires have below a 1/8th (2/16) of an inch tread depth, there is a loss of 50% of the amount of friction that a tire has at the beginning of its life when stopping in wet weather. Depending in your driving style, the weather conditions, and a whole host of other things, 1/16th of an inch isn’t gonna cut it when you want to stop on another one of those dead presidents—this time FDR on a dime.
This means that despite the fact that those helpful tire tread bars exist, they exist at 1/16th of an inch. And when wet, snowy weather arrives, 1/16th of an inch just isn’t going to cut it if you do have plans on stopping. Instead, check your pocket for a quarter. If you stick Washington head down in your tread, it takes 1/8th of an inch of tread to cover the top of his head. This is a much safer minimum amount of tread to have on your tires—especially in the winter. If your tires take 300 feet to stop with 1/8th of an inch of tread, you will still be going 44 mph 300 feet later after attempting to stop when your tires only have 1/16th of an inch of tread. This a huge difference, and could very well prevent a crash.
Winter Tires Could Save You Big By Preventing a Crash
That being said, just getting new tires isn’t the only way that you can keep you and your car safe this winter. Though all-season tires are a great choice for many people, if you foresee yourself doing a lot of driving in inclement weather this winter, it may be worth it to invest in a set of winter tires. They are designed with deeper grooves that are more able to flush the snow and other debris from the tread so you get the maximum grip per square inch. If you are worried about ice, studded snow tires are also an option. They have the same type of grooves as the typical winter tires, but have metal studs all over the tire’s tread, which gives you extra grip whenever there is ice on the roads.
Whether you are using Lincoln or Washington or an actual tire depth gauge to check those tires out, it is always a good idea to take your tires (and your car along with them) to your favorite auto repair shop in Cincinnati if you have any questions or concerns about the state of your tires. It’s better to be cautious before you get a flat, or the snow starts flying (or both at once). Your car mechanic will be able to advise you as to your best options, whether that is all-season tires, studded snow tires, or somewhere in between.
