how to estimate the tyre wear???

[willie]

i am confused with the method to estimate the tyre wear... some told me by looking at it, some told me to feel for the "hump" in the center "groove" of the tyres :dunno: so actually how to know how much tread i got??? i always see that when people selling rims with tyres they know how much tread left, how they estimate it????when actually should i start looking for a new sets of tyres????thanks,willie

 

[OSFlanker]

Just use a ruler! Most tyres come with 8mm of groove new. The wear indicator rib is usually 2mm. Just take a ruler and measure the groove depth at several places. Due to negative camber, most tyres will wear out on the inside first so that's where you should measure.

If the groove depth is say 4mm, then you have 50% left (4mm out of 8mm). Most people will start looking for new tyres after 50% wear but with high performance tyres, the grip & noise level will usually still be good upto 30%.

 

[c-square]

Originally posted by OSFlanker@Sep 27 2005, 04:57 AM
Most people will start looking for new tyres after 50% wear

Changing at 50% tyre wear? Isn't that a tad too soon? I always thought that the wear indicator rib (as you describe it) is THE indicator and you only change the tyres when the wear rib indicator starts to show, which according to your measurement should be 2mm of groove left. Am I then running an unsafe tyre by allowing it to go beyond the 50% threshold?

 

[OSFlanker]

I said "start looking for new tyres", doesn't mean change after 50% mah. Get quotation, see what patterns are available, etc, etc. Then buy maybe around 30% wear, or cannot tahan the noise after 50% wear.

 

[vincent]

when the person ask you to feel the tire is to feel the un even tread wear cause by bad shocks and bad alightment makan dalam the more the tire feel like cutting the hand that means the tire is very noisy, and also use hand to feel the tire izit bengkak or not . other that that use hand cannot judge anything ....

 

[Strider]

Buy a cheap vernier caliper from hardware or DIY shop, much precise and easier to measure tread depth. Otherwise look for a free one given by tyre manufacturer as goodies. I got mind from Michelin. Small and simple.

 

[viewfinder]

Just a thought on a cheaper alternative. If 2mm +/- is what we are looking after, one can slot in a 10cent Malaysian coin into groove of the innner side of tire. I think 2mm is just enough to sink the coin in to just cover one or two characters of the "BANK NEGARA MALAYSIA" words depending on the rotation of the coin. For example if you can see any sign of the upside down "B" right above the groove, that means the groove depth is 2mm or less.

 

[cwk_ipoh]

My car comes with a card located in a slot at the tool box in the boot and the recommended wear is stated in the card. Can remember how many mm and the card has a slight curvature to fit into the tyres................ :yahoo:

 

[ozone]

I normally depend on threadwear indicator on the type as well as visual and will change just before it touches the bump.
- if you don't know how to see, just look for small arrows at the edge of the side wall pointing upwards. Once you have located any arrow, follow the arrow and you will notice some bumps between the tyre threads - if you tyre thread is level with the bump, you better go change tyre immediately otherwise very dangerous especially when it rains.

 

[cwk_ipoh]

Originally posted by cwk_ipoh@Sep 28 2005, 05:18 PM
My car comes with a card located in a slot at the tool box in the boot and the recommended wear is stated in the card. Can remember how many mm and the card has a slight curvature to fit into the tyres................ :yahoo:

Checked the card yesterday evening and it read 1.6mm while BMW recommends 3mm for safety.