Check Tire Tread with a Penny
There is a simple and no-cost way to check the tread on your tires. With the simple use of an Abe Lincoln penny, you can quickly determine whether or not you need to buy new tires.
Steps
- Select a shiny penny. It will be easier to read when you perform the test. Very dark pennies or pennies with Abe’s face obscured will not work nearly as well as a new penny.
- Hold the penny between your thumb and your forefinger. Make sure Abe’s body is in your grasp; don’t hold the penny in such a way that you obscure Abe’s head.
- Choose a point in your tire tread that appears to be low. Insert the penny into the grooves on the thread with Lincoln’s head pointed down.
- Look at the penny. If any part of Lincoln’s head is obscured by the tire tread, your tires are fine. Otherwise, your treads are too shallow and you should replace them.
- Check more than one groove. Continue the penny test around the tire about every 15”. Check the central grooves and the inner and outer grooves. This will tell you if your tire has uneven wear.
- Check each tire. Tires do not wear evenly so be sure to check the tread on each tire to determine that the tread depth for each is safe.
Tips
- Tread depth is critical to tire safety, but you can help keep your tires on the road longer if you treat them with care. Be sure to keep your tires inflated properly and rotate them according to manufacturer’s recommendations (usually about every 5,000 miles) so that the tread wears evenly.
- Don’t forget to check your spare tire as well.
Warnings
- In most states, legal tire tread depth is 2/32 of an inch, which is the exact distance from the tip of Abe’s head to the edge of the penny.
- Keep in mind that even if your tires pass the Lincoln penny test, you may want to consider buying new tires before the 2/32” rule kicks in. Tires with low treads make hydroplaning on rain-soaked roads more likely and significantly reduce traction in snow.
Things You’ll Need
- Lincoln head penny
