There are a lot of difference between winter and summer tyres. Since winter tyres have to perform on snow, ice and slush they will need to rely on deeper grooves. If you have low tread depths, the performance and safety will decrease, and you will not have the same braking distance or slusplaning prevention properties, as you need volume in the grooves to channel the slush away from the surface. Also, the wet and ice/snow grip will be impacted as the tread depth decreases. If you reach 4 mm of tread depth it is time to change to a new set of winter tyres. If you are driving on lower depth, you are not having the best safety profile anymore. You will be less safe as you have less grip, and your braking distance will be longer and that can easily cause an accident.
For summer tyres you are also dependent on the tread depth for good performance and safety and you need to make sure to also check the tread depth and change tyres once you reach 4 mm, which is the same as what is recommended for winter tyres. For summer tyres with low tread depth you have worse wet grip, longer braking distance and you are more likely to experience aquaplaning. This is why it is important to make sure that you also rotate the tyres to even out differences in the tread depth.
When it comes to all-season tyres you will need to treat them as winter tyres and make sure that you have sufficient tread depth. Since with all-season tyres you don’t alternate with other tyres during the year, which makes it more important to measure the tread depth as soon as you detect a difference between the front and rear tyres of more than 2-3 mm. If you have an electric vehicle or hybrid, the wear will be higher, and you should make sure that you have tyre with low rolling resistance to ensure that the wear is low.
When it comes to larger vehicles that are heavy and more dependent on excellent grip to be able to brake in short distance, the tread depth again becomes important. This is why it is important to check the tyres of your SUV or CUV to ensure that the tyres are in good conditions. In addition to good tread depth, you also need to check the tyre pressure, as low pressure leads to higher wear and increased fuel consumption. The condition of the tyres also needs to be checked as the tyres should be free from cracks or cuts to be safe to drive with. Bulges on the sides of the tyres can lead to nasty explosions of the tyre, which can be dangerous if you are driving at high speed. If you notice tyre problems, you should immediately visit your tyre service station and have them check the tyres for you.
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