The answer to the title’s question is sort of. We’re sorry we can’t be more specific here at Trojan Auto Care, but the penny test gives you a very basic idea of whether your tires need to be replaced. In fact, some experts say that it’s not an accurate way to measure your tread depth, but it can still give you a hint that your tire tread is too low. Let’s talk more about the penny tread test, how you can do it, and other tire tread measurements that are more effective in revealing your tire tread life.
Performing the Penny Tread Test
Before you do the penny tread test, pull your car out into the daylight, put it in park or neutral, set the parking brake, and secure the wheels with bricks or large rocks if you are parked on an incline. You are going to have to get down on your hands and knees to inspect your tires, so you don’t want any chance of your automobile rolling while you are partially underneath it.
Take a flashlight or your smartphone’s flashlight and shine it on each tire all around to inspect for uneven tire tread wear. You are looking for more wear along the edges of each tire, or places along the tire where there are patches of tread wear that look like feathers, scallops, or chunks of the tread missing. If your tread wear is uneven, you have a wheel balance or alignment problem.
Next, grab a shiny new penny that shows President Lincoln clearly and insert it head-side up in between the tread rows in many different areas around each tire. The basic measurement that honest Abe gives you is if you can see all of his head, your tire tread is too low and you need to replace your tires. If part of the tread covers his head, it is believed you have enough tread but this isn’t necessarily the case.
More Effective Measuring Methods
Where this test is effective is revealing that your tires are bald, i.e., you can see all of his head. Where it isn’t effective is your tire tread may still be too low even if it covers part of President Lincoln’s head. This is why a better way to measure your tire tread depth is with the tire tread gauge. You can pick this up at an auto parts store and it will give you an exact measurement of your tire tread depth.
We can also inspect your tires and measure the depth here at Trojan Auto Care in Troy, OH. Give us a call today to schedule an appointment.
