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September 26, 2017

How Do I Know When I Need New Tires?

Hello, my name’s Christian, a manager here at Virginia Tire and Auto. You may be asking yourself, “How do I know when I need new tires?”

Simple enough to determine, we recommend replacing your tires when the tread grooves get 4/32nds of an inch or lower. At this point, tires performance starts to drop. When the grooves are at 2/32nds of an inch or lower, the tire’s no longer safe, particularly in wet conditions and should be replaced as soon as possible.

Now at our shops, we use a tread depth gauge to determine specifically how deep the grooves are and determine when it needs to be replaced. Luckily, there’s a simple way to do this at home.

First: the quarter test. Take any quarter, place it with Washington’s head down. If you can see the top of his head the tire’s tread is at or below 4/32nds of an inch.

The penny test, take any penny with Lincoln on it. Stick his head down into the groove. If you can see the top of Lincoln’s head, the tire is at 2/32nds or less and should be replaced as soon as possible.

If it looks like you need a new tire or want one of our experts to take a look for you, come by any Virginia Tire and Auto at any of our convenient locations and we gladly take a look at your tire and determine what the next step is. We’ll always take care of you and your vehicle.

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