Checking Your Tire Tread: A Better Way

Bring your Mazda into our tire service center in Beaverton and our tire service technicians will check the tread and wear on your Mazda tires. If you need new tires, Herzog-Meier Mazda Service has a great selection in our tire shop at fair prices. We often run tire specials or provide tire coupons or tire specials. If you just need a tire repaired to fixed, our Beaverton Mazda service department will try to mend them if possible, making sure that they are safe and road-worthy, based on driving conditions in the Beaverton area. We also provide tire rotation and wheel alignment if your Beaverton Mazda needs it.

Tire Treads - What Do They Do?

The traction is what "holds" your Mazda on the roads in Beaverton, especially when driving in non-perfect conditions like rain, slush, and snow. Tire tread directs water and slush from between your tire and Germantown roads and also helps create edges to grip snow. Tire tread plays a huge role in how quickly your Mazda can stop when the brakes are applied. 2/32" might be used as a general rule for new tire replacement, but Herzog-Meier Mazda Service thinks this guideline could be cutting it too close for Oregon drivers.

Test Your Tires for Tread

A lot of Beaverton residents abide by the Penny Test. It's easy: place a Lincoln penny into the tread groove of your worn tire. If you can't see all of Lincoln's head, then the tire tread should be fine. Unfortunately, this isn't a very accurate way to test whether or not your Mazda tire tread is at a safe level, and could result in some dangerous trips driving around Beaverton. The idea behind the Penny Test is that the performance of your Mazda doesn't really go down in poor driving conditions (rain, slush and snow) until the tire tread wears down to around 2/32" (which is where you will see all of Lincoln's head). This idea is simply wrong. Many states consider 2/32" of tread the level at which a tire's tread is worn out. However, 4/32" or more is needed to maintain good and safe traction on your Beaverton tires.

Do You Have Uneven Tire Treads?

The penny test is a good way to check if your tires are wearing evenly. If they aren't, you may need a wheel alignment or tire rotation from Herzog-Meier Mazda Service in Oregon. When this happens, our service department can help you understand why this is happening, and how you can keep it from continuing. For example, if your Beaverton tire tread is worn down mainly in the middle of the tire, you may have been driving with an over-inflated tire around Beaverton.