Tire Wear and The Pucker Factor

We’ve all had it happen one time or another driving down a road on a rainy day. You see some puddling water it doesn’t look too deep drive through only to feel the unsettling feeling of hydroplaning. Wheeee and away we go! You grip the steering wheel tight, hold on and try to keep the vehicle straight until it subsides. Yes the pucker factor is real and a lot of accidents happen due to hydroplaning or loss of control. Speed, tire type and tread depth all play a factor in how much and how long control is lost. It should be noted that all tires will eventually hydroplane or lose control at some speed. Part of winter and emergency prep is having good tires you can read emergency prep here. I cant count how many cars I’ve seen spun into wall or stuck in snow. US minimum legal tread depth is 2/32nds and just cause you can go that low means that you should. While at a gas station or doing a pressure check you can do a quick glance over tires and do a depth test. There are a few ways:

• Penny Test if you can see the top of Lincolns head its time for a replacement.
• Tire Depth Tool these are easy to use press into tread groove and they’re marked with go or no go visual aid.
• Tire Wear Bar in tread groove bars the go cross the tread if they are even with tread a replacement is due like (pictured below)

Tire tread depth test