Topic: Winter Driving: Car Care Canada’s winter tire tips

[Autos_Editor]

In the winter months, winter tires with the proper tire inflation pressure and tread depth are critical for safety, good fuel economy, maximum tire life, and proper handling, says Car Care Canada.  

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[Gardiner Westbound]

I have never seen a tread depth gauge that measures "one-fifth of a centimetre" They read 32nds and mm. Nobody uses the mm reading anyway.

[Tabarnak]

1/5 of cm = 2 mm!

[Toe]

The minimum recommended depth for winter tires is 6/32, less than that and they're no better than all seasons.  Legally, the 2/32 minimum still applies regardless of tire type (in Ontario).

[Stan_PhD]

NO WAY!!! 2 mm thread is virtually nonexistent and will be ABSOLUTELY USELESS and DANGEROUS for winter driving!

Most tire manufacturers recommend at least 6.5 mm residual thread depth for winter tires. After that the tires should be used as spring/fall tires or recycled.

[Don Xiong]

One fifth of a centermeter is completely wrong, I can't believe this is an article for winter tire tips!!! The author should correct it before this misleading info is passed to innocent drivers and before any death happens due to this article.

2 mm is even less than 2/32nd inch, which can NOT even be safe on all seaon tires during non-winter seasons.

It is recommended to have at least 4/32nd (which is about 5 mm) thread for winter tires, preferably 5-6/32nd (6.28 mm - 7.54 mm). My new winter tires come with 14/32nd (about 17.6 mm) new, I don't think I will even want to drive it to below half of its tread (8.8 mm).

[Don Xiong]

Oops, I did the calculation wrong.

But still 2mm is terribly wrong for winter tires!

2/32nd = 1.5875 mm
4/32nd = 3.175 mm
6/32nd = 4.7625 mm
8/32nd = 6.35 mm
14/32nd = 11.1125 mm

[sailor723]

2 mm....that's crazy!....when most winters get down by about 50% (usually 5-6/32's remaining) it's time to think about replacements.

Who wrote this article?

[rhoro]

I thought the common principle for all-season tires was that their rubber became inelastic at +7-10 C, i.e. *plus* not *minus*.  Can we not get this simple understanding consistent?  Eg. this from the APA:

"The rubber in all-season tires can begin to lose its elasticity in temperatures as warm as 7° C"

( www . apa . ca / template.asp?DocID=97)

[sailor723]

Yep....I'd always understood it to be +7C. I don't know where this authur got the -8 to-10 number. Anyone?