‘I'm a mechanic - a 10-second penny test shows whether your tires are safe to drive on’
A mechanic has revealed how to determine whether your car's tires have enough tread using nothing but a penny.
A mechanic has shown how to take the guesswork out of whether your tires have enough tread for maintaining road traction using nothing but a penny.
The technician lists the first step in his service center’s (@cochrancars’) YouTube tutorial clip as turning your wheels all the way to the right or left while parked, depending on which side you’re checking.
In this instance, the video’s mechanic turns the example vehicle’s wheels to the right to check the car’s right-side tires.
Next, he instructs you to place a penny with Lincoln’s head facing down in between the tire’s tread, sections which are identifiable as the deepest part of a tire’s rubber.
The technician explained that your tire needs replacing if you can still see Lincoln’s entire head when the coin is inside the tread.
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However, if you can only see part of Lincoln’s head, your tires are still healthy.
Worn tires are more susceptible to slippage, punctures, and blowouts on the road.
Excessively worn tires, otherwise known as bald tires, are especially prone to these hazards.
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While never driving on worn or bald tires is always a good idea, winter and rainy seasons are the worst times to skip a necessary tire replacement.
Many states also require drivers to replace their tires after they surpass a certain tread depth.
A total of 42 states consider 2/32 inches to be the minimum legal tread depth, Dunn Tire reports.
