Driving on tires with virtually no tread left.....

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Let's say that it's NOT raining out, and its summer and the weather is great and that the State Vehicle Inspection is 9 months away.

Might I be able to stretch the life of my summer high performance tires a lil bit? After all, they are pretty expensive.

What do you think? Bad Idea?

Will a spec on the road cause a puncture??

chime in.
 
Probably not a good idea but on dry pavement (pavement being a key word) you're probably not going to kill yourself or others.

A skiff of rain, loose surface, road debris, etc. will end your good time far faster than it could on proper tires though.
 
Depends on the tire. If it gets too close to the internal the compounds may not have sufficient traction. I know some tire designs have different compound blend along the trend block, and have different traction as the tire wear. They may or may not behave the way you expected.
 
Originally Posted By: mareakin
Will a spec on the road cause a puncture??


The thickness of the tread is directly inverse proportional to the length of the nail your tire will pick up.
 
i would recommend to you to change them if they are less than the legal tread depth. I would probably recommend changing them if they were still ok but getting close to the legal limit.
 
If they are below legal, and you are in an accident of any description, you'll draw heat from the Police, or your/their insurer
 
Originally Posted By: mareakin
Might I be able to stretch the life of my summer high performance tires a lil bit? After all, they are pretty expensive.
You certainly might get away with it, in fact you probably will. But I personally would not take that risk and would not want to be precluded from driving in the rain.

I think you would be better off getting less expensive tires that you can afford to replace at the right time than with expensive tires that you extend past their proper service life.
 
kumho_ecsta_v710.jpg

This is a new DOT approved tire... I'd hope your tires look better than this.
I would read the wording of your states regulations on tire tread depth. It might say something like that a tire needs a minimal tread depth somewhere on the tire, or needs the minimal tread depth everywhere on tire, big difference.
Probably you should go to the SCCA autocross forums to see how the tires in the street tire class do once they get really low on tread. They would know when the grip drops off in a street tire better than anyone I'd think.
 
Depends on your driving style and how old the tires are. Really old tires with little tread left probably are not as flexible as when new, therefore their road grip is not normal. If all you do is stop and go city driving, I'd say you're okay on the tires. Since you put expensive, high performance tires on the car, I'd venture to say your driving style is on the aggressive side and therefore you should change the tires.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: mareakin
Let's say that it's NOT raining out, and its summer and the weather is great and that the State Vehicle Inspection is 9 months away.

Might I be able to stretch the life of my summer high performance tires a lil bit? After all, they are pretty expensive.

What do you think? Bad Idea?

Will a spec on the road cause a puncture??

chime in.


Bad idea.

Racing slicks are for a very controlled road surface. And they are usually confined to the rear driving wheels. These are not racing slicks; they're bald street tires. NYC roads are hardly uniform. You know you're not going to drive like a granny the whole time. Tires lose grip and slide on dry pavement. Once bald tires let go, they're hard to bring back down. Hopefully, no one else will be around you when that happens.

I really don't understand why people put off safety issues to state inspection time. If one can't afford to keep it safe every day, it shouldn't be on the road. Tires and brakes are biggies.
 
If we're lucky, you'll get pulled over for driving with bald or near bald tires, and your car will get impounded. And if there was any justice, it would get crushed.

Like Volvohead said, bad idea.
 
I do it.. I have fun with my tires and get my money's worth and get them down to 0/32nds.

I usually have good tires on the front and the tires with less tread on the rear. If it rains I have tons of funs..
 
One nice thing about good tires is that they still handle well after they are worn and otherwise shot. I call them summer smokers. That's basicly why I use multiple sets of wheels, to keep good tires good for winter and bald tires handy for smokers.

Basicly, I'm saying I never throw out a tire with tread on it because I have a good set available too for bad weather.

Once you hit the wear bars, anything can happen, but I've been pretty lucky.
 
I had a set of 6 new tires on order for my duallie Dodge, when the left front blew out and damaged the lower wheel well where the tread hit it multiple times before it let go of the carcass. So, that is something to think about. My tires where not down to the wear bars, yet, but on their way there. Luckily, the dealer had called that morning telling me the new tires were in.
 
I was running a bald set of tires and blew one and i ended up badly hurting a good friend. I was 16 at the time and driving like a dumb a$$ but you will never catch me rolling on bad tires again. Most of us are crazy anal about oil and engine life but that engine won't be worth a thing if you bounce the car off a wall or worse. It is your call but, please think of the worst case.
Good luck.
 
Originally Posted By: mareakin
Let's say that it's NOT raining out, and its summer and the weather is great and that the State Vehicle Inspection is 9 months away.

Might I be able to stretch the life of my summer high performance tires a lil bit? After all, they are pretty expensive.

What do you think? Bad Idea?

Will a spec on the road cause a puncture??

chime in.


if you always drive slowly (eg. < 40 mph) on the dry smooth road, i think it is still ok.

But if you drive fast, it is better to change rather endangering others and yourself
 
Wouldn't a tire with very little or no tread left be more susceptible to puncture to something as simple as a chunk of jagged glass from a broken beer bottle, than would be a tire with a good amount of tread?

I think it would be.
 
Several years ago it was common practice to use a cutting device that would cut new tread on tires. As long as one did not cut into the cords this worked OK.

Many used car places did this to sell cars with better looking tires.

Don't know if it is still done or not?

Have you considered buying some tires that were only driven a few miles and removed by someone that wanted fancy rims - tires?

Often you can find deals on them. Many times @ auto swap meets they are available. Good part is you get new tires + the rims all ready to go.

Too this frees up the other rims for Snow Tires, etc.

This option can give you new tires and keep a pile of cash in your pocket!

Check with the local Rim Shops for deals.
 
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