Checking tyre tread

 

Fulda recommends to check your tyre tread regularly to find out whether a tyre needs replacing. All passenger, light truck, and medium commercial tyres have tread wear indicator bars moulded in the tread. These bars are located at the bottoms of the tread grooves in several locations around the tyre. Their location is indicated in the shoulder area by little triangles. If the tyre is worn to the point that the treadwear indicators are at the same height as the adjacent tread ribs, this means that the tyre has only 1.6mm of tread depth left. You should replace your tyres immediately, as 1.6 mm is the legal minimum tread depth required by law.

 

The performance of a tyre on wet roads decreases with the remaining tread depth. With a reduced tread depth the tyre is not able to evacuate the same quantity of water  as before and therefore the risk of aquaplaning increases. Moreover, the braking performance on wet roads is reduced. It is therefore generally recommended, to replace your summer tyres when less then 3 mm profile depth is left.

 

Fulda winter tyres are equipped with special winter wear indicators. The locations of these winter wear indicators in the tread are indicated in the shoulder area with a snowflake. When the tyre is worn to the point that the winter wear indicators are at the same height as the adjacent tread ribs the tyre has only 4mm of tread left. It is generally recommended to replace winter tyres with less than 4mm profile depth, to ensure optimum safety in winter conditions.

 

If your tyres wear off irregularly, this may be an indication your tyres don't have the optimum tyre pressure or that your car has some kind of chassis problem.

 

If the tread is deeper on the edges than in the centre, the tyre is possibly over inflated.

If the tread is deeper in the centre than the edges, the tyre is possibly under inflated.

If the tread is deeper on one side than the other, have your wheel alignment checked soon.