It is very important to monitor the tread depth on your tires to ensure that you are above the 5/32 inches, where it is still safe to drive with them. If you go below 5/32 inches, you will lose a lot of the tire’s key properties and it will therefore not be safe to drive with those tires. This is why it is important to monitor the tread depth, so you know when you need to buy a new set. It is always safer to buy a full set of four new tires, as having different grip around the car can make the car less stable.
Key properties that will be lost are, stability on the road, causing the car to slide. Your braking distance will be extended, which will make you more likely to be in an accident. The braking distance is significantly increased when you go below the 5/32 inches. The risk of hydroplaning will increase, as there is less volume in the grooves to channel away water to ensure contact between the tire and the road surface.
Hydroplaning can be very dangerous as you lose all control over your car. The control is often not regained before the car slows down enough to enable the grooves to push away the water. It might already be too late when this happens. Slow speed is always beneficial to avoid hydroplaning, but with newer tires you don’t have to slow down as much.
When you change from your winter tires to all-season tires, you want to make sure that you change to tires that are safe to drive with. If your tire shop changes the tires for you, they should check your tires when they take them off to put on the all-season tires. They should at this point already inform you about the situation of your tires. If they are very close to 5/32 inches, you might as well change already at the start of the season to new ones, to save you the hassle to yet again have to go to the tire station. This is even more true if they store the tires for you as it might be strange to store tires that are worn out for a season, so you might as well change to a new set and have them stored and be ready for the winter when it arrives again. The safety and avoiding hassle should be prioritized in this case.
Good tires for the summer will make sure that you can drive safely, with good grip and stability. Even if you have heavy summer rain, good premium tires should keep you safe and avoid hydroplaning. However, even with safe tires, you need to drive cautiously and avoid distractions. Mobile phone while driving can be a very dangerous distraction as well as trying to use maps or anything else that takes your eyes of the road.
For more information regarding summer tires, visit: www.nokiantires.com