Tire Tread wear

Ok, i do not know how far this is true but i have heard this suggestion from others.
If you stick a penny into the dfeepest part of the groove and look at it from the side, and can see Lincoln's head, then you know that your tires are worn down. If you cannot see the head above the level of the tread, then you should be fine.

 

You still got some tread left because the wear-bars (that flat area between those horizontal sipes in the thread) aren't at the same level as the rest of the tread there, for dry roads.

You could take a penny with Lincoln's head pointed toward the tire, and place it in the groove just behind that area of sideblocks in the picture. If the tread is close to the top of Lincoln's head (penny test), it's time to change the tires.

I've attached a picture of my tire just before I changed them yesterday.

 

Amazing how two people gave a similar reply at the same time

 

flareak,

If you look on the second picture, there is a small triangle on the side wall of the tire at the 12 o'clock position. This indicates where the wear bar is located buried in the tread region of the tire. The wear bar will be at the same level as the rest of the tread when the useful life of the tire has expired. This can be seen as a stripe running across the tread.

Some people will replace their tires before this point due to the nature of hydroplaning when the tire can not clear the water from under itself during wet road conditions.

Kaos1

 

What pressure do you run it your tires? It appears that the center tread has a LOT more life left in it, which is pretty usual. Its another reason why I don't think running 42/40 is going to decrease the life expectancy of our tires, because all my tires wear out the outside tread first anyway.
And, as others said, you don't have to replace the tires yet, as they aren't down to the wear bars. But, if you live in a rainy area, and worry about hydroplaning, especially with spring coming, it may be worthwhile to change them earlier.

 

How many miles did you have on them?

 

Fishtail (or any other traction loss symptom) can be the result of tires that are inappropriate for the road and weather conditions- ie, it could occur even if the tires are *BRAND NEW* if the tires are not right for the driving conditions..

That said, your treads do look quite worn, and the Integrity is not known for great traction even when new, so I would recommend replacing them with something that has better traction and durability than the Integrity. The most popular multi-season replacement tires are the Michelin Hydroedge and Harmony and the Goodyear ComforTread and TripleTread.. I personally have the Hydroedge, which have excellent wet traction, but do generate a fair bit of road noise (which I really only noticed when I swapped them out to put on the X-Ice winter tires, which are exceptionally quiet tires, all the more amazing for being a winter tire)..

 

I got 40k out of my stock tires. Pressures need to be 36 to 42 psi range or they will wear very uneven, with the driver side going bad first. Rotate every 5k with your oil change. I had about 0.100" of tread left on the outside edge, driver's side tires.

Hydroplaning is PRIMARILY dependent on tire air pressure. 36 psi gives a THEORETICAL hydroplaning speed of 54 mph-above this in standing water and you will be hydroplanning. ( Square root of tire pressure X 9= max speed before hydroplanning)

 

flareak,
What was that "crack" between two rubber islands I can see in your photos? Did you do side-to-side rotation? Usually, front-to-rear rotation is recommended to avoid such cracking. Just for that cracking, I would change out the tires.

 

I get new shoes tomorrow. Replacing the Integrities with ComfortTreads. I'll post comparisons between the two tires for you.

 

I got my car in 04' and follow the service religiously, at 20k I noticed the tires were blading.. The LR on the inside edge, RR on the outside edge, LF on the outside edge & RF on the inside edge.. I asked the dealer about this and they said the car was severly out of alignment.

I asked them how that could be as they did an alignment at 10k??? I replaced the tires, they wanted $$$ for the tires I left and went to a discount store only to find out the tires are not readily stocked. I then had to get H rated 195/65/r15's for $190.00 instead.

Now the cars handling is so responsive you have to be careful when you nudge the wheel or you might end up in the trees. I have noticed definate increase in road noise since I changed the tires, I then asked the tire dealer about that, they told me the tires that were taken off were touring tires and that they do not make a lot of noise and have a softer ride..

My wife has stated she thinks the mileage readings have changed also..?
Aside from that the car runs and drives great..

 

flareak, the cracking is obvious in both photos unless I am mistaken somehow.

priusguy04, tires are all about tade-offs. noise, handling, wet/dry/snow traction, hydroplaning, tread-wear, temperature endurance, etc. You pick a tire that best fits your driving situations. Goodyear Integrity, seems to me, was designed with LRR (low rolling resistance) and tranquility in mind. They don't last very long because the tires are narrow for a 2900lb vehicle with heavy front end.