Is this tyre still legal?

Spicy_McHaggis

Deleted_User wrote: »

Where did I state I was driving around on them? All I was asking was if the tyre was still legal or not. And yes the rest of the car is in good condition and the tyres were fitted prior to me buying the car.

So you've never driven it?

[Deleted User]

Spicy_McHaggis wrote: »

So you've never driven it?

Not since I noticed how bad it got.

mrmot

The tyre appears to have been manufactured with only 4 primary grooves, which means that these are the only places where a tread depth measurement can be taken. That looks at nearly twice the legal limit to me, so there shouldn't be any doubt as to whether it is legal.

Retrogamer

I'd imagine if it was unsafe to drive as well (as some have suggested) it wouldn't be legal.

Spicy_McHaggis

Have you measured the depth of the visible tread?

If it's more than 1.6mm you have your answer.

arcon5

whitecloud663 wrote: »

I can't believe people drive around in the state these tyres are in! The very thought is absolutely abominable!

OP do yourself a favour and get a proper branded tyre. I can't even imagine what kind of condition you keep your car in, when was it last serviced?

Hah, the all too common car safety high and mighty comment. Shame it shows how clueless a person is when they a moaning about a car potential being unsafe due to it being unkept and then ask when it was last serviced.

For starters a change of oil and all the filters doesn't make a car any safer or unsafe. It may or may not give a tad better performance and the engine may run a longer life - but certainly at the very bottom of the list when it comes to being 'safe'!

Worry less about servicing and more about suspension components, braking systems and other chassis systems if you're really that bothered about safety!

Paradigm

Nothing wrong with it, at all!

Before castigating the guy don't forget that the sipes on the two outer edges of the tyre are considerably shallower than the main tread & will "disappear" well before the tyre becomes illegal.

lemontart

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/legal-advice/tyres.html appears of less than 3/4 of width fall below legal limit then are illegal yours looks borderline on that from pics

windup

legal, not borderline at all, all 4 tread depth markers are well below the tread level, suggesting at least 3mm of tread, perhaps 4. The tread depth on the edges of a new tyre is nowhere near the depth of the middle, and doesn't play a part in the 1.6mm regulations, but there are probably plenty of garages and mechanics who may try to tell you otherwise to shift some rubber.

Joe_Horner

mrmot wrote: »

The tyre appears to have been manufactured with only 4 primary grooves, which means that these are the only places where a tread depth measurement can be taken. That looks at nearly twice the legal limit to me, so there shouldn't be any doubt as to whether it is legal.

This ^^^

Paradigm wrote: »

Nothing wrong with it, at all!

Before castigating the guy don't forget that the sipes on the two outer edges of the tyre are considerably shallower than the main tread & will "disappear" well before the tyre becomes illegal.

And this ^^^

lemontart wrote: »

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/legal-advice/tyres.html appears of less than 3/4 of width fall below legal limit then are illegal yours looks borderline on that from pics

No, because the tread on the shoulders of a lot of modern tyres doesn't count as tread when measuring.

The only tread pattern that matters for legality (and for most of the water shifting ability) are any grooves that were originally made to the full depth of the parts with treadwear indicators - in this case the 3 deep grooves. Anything that was shallower than those main grooves when new is ignored, and the shoulder pattern on that (and many other) tyres is only about half the depth of the main grooves.

I'm pretty certain the manufacturers would offer some sound technical reason for making a large band of tread down each side considerably shallower but, whatever that reason is, it has the (veryhappy for them) side effect of people throwing away perfectly good tyres believing them to be worn out.