You will be aware that the legal minimum tread depth for tyres is 1.6mm because at this level of tread, your tyres will find it hard to grip the roads surface in wet conditions, which could lead to aquaplaning and a loss of control over the car. Your stopping distance will have also increased to nearly double, making a collision far more likely should you need to brake suddenly.
However the rate at which your braking distance increases does not directly correlate with the amount of wear on your tyres’ tread. New tyres generally come with 8mm of tread, and as this wears towards 3mm, your stopping distance naturally increases. Once past 3mm of remaining tread however, the stopping distance dramatically increases. At 1.6mm tread, the stopping distance has reached more than double the distance it was between 8mm and 3mm of tread.
So to put it simply, once your tyres have reached 3mm of remaining tread, you’d be wise to change them for a new set, both to remain safe on the roads, and to stay out of illegal tyre territory.
