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Tyres >Help >Tyres Help > Why are tyres treaded?
A tyre's tread is essential for a safe and optimal driving experience. They provide tyres with grip, helping with handling and braking.
What Are the Benefits Of Tyre Tread?
Having the correct levels of tread on a tyre leads to improved performance in various weather conditions. This is because they provide good traction. Tread also helps to reduce stopping distances and improved fuel efficiency.
What Is Tyre Tread?
Tyre tread is the pattern of groves and ridges that you’ll find on the surface of most tyres. These help to improve grip and traction when driving in wet or slippery conditions. They channel water away from the contact patch with the road surface. Without tyre tread, it would be much harder for your car to maintain grip.
Why Is Tread Depth Important?
It’s not just having tyre tread that matters - it’s also important to make sure that the depth of each groove is sufficient enough for maximum performance and safety.
The legal minimum depth in most countries is 1.6mm – any less than this and it could be dangerous to drive as there won't be enough grip between the tyre and road surface.
It's recommended that you check your tyres regularly using a gauge or 20p coin, which can tell you whether or not your tyres need replacing due to lack of adequate tread depth.
How Do I Know If My Tyres Need Replacing?
If your tyres have less than 1.6mm depth, then they need replacing immediately; this is both illegal and unsafe.
You can measure this yourself using either a gauge or 20p coin; if either device shows that there's less than 1.6mm then it's time for new tyres.