Driving on 3/32 tread tires for a long road trip
Tires with 3/32" tread are nearing the end of their life, leaving drivers unsure whether to replace them before a long trip or wait until afterward. Driving on worn tread poses a risk in adverse conditions like rain and colder weather, and a severely bald tire may not even be patchable if it goes flat.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Driving slower and more carefully in wet conditions
- 2Waiting until returning from the trip to replace tires
- 3Planning to replace tires on the road if necessary
- 4Replacing the tire
- 5Getting an alignment
- 6Repurposing the old tire for a tire swing or firewood holder
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I know 3/32” is getting close to the end of their life, but how risky would you consider doing this trip on them, especially with the possibility of rain and colder weather in Quebec?”source ↗
“Would you replace all four before the trip, or would you be comfortable doing the trip and replacing them afterward?”source ↗
“I pulled over to a parking lot and saw that my tire is flat. Is this tire way too bald to patch up?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2How to tell if used car tires are worn out
- 10Is an old dry-rotted spare tire safe to use?
- 3Is it worth swapping tires between vehicles?
- 3Do I need a new tire after hitting a curb?
- 9How to tell if a worn timing belt actually needs replacing
- 22Is it safe to keep driving with needle bearings in the transmission pan?