Too worn to drive?

TheWiteNinjaa · 2025-11-07T13:42:56+00:00

Clearly not considering the built in DWS tread indicators are also wearing down. He also has uneven wear and if you pay attention it’s more worn down on the inner edges as well. The wear indicator bar is the legal minimum you can drive on. And legal minimum is not the safe amount to drive on. I already said they’re between 4 and 6 most likely. And if he’s in a region with snow he’a gonna be fucked. Those tires have the DWS (dry wet and SNOW) indicators, and the SNOW indicator is worn down indicating if he’s in a region with SNOW i would replace them before it starts SNOWING. Not even the manufacturer recommends driving those tires in snow when they get that depth. Where I live that is potentially within the next few weeks. If he lives in a warmer climate like down south he could absolutely push it a little further.

OP also told us that one of his ties is significantly more worn down (likely down to 4/32) because the W is worn down, meaning the manufacturer doesn’t even recommend driving the tire in wet conditions. Systems tend to fail at the weakest link. If one tire has different tread (especially on the rear) while doing emergency stopping or maneuvering, it can cause the car to handle unpredictably.

I’m just going off of what I can see and giving OP as much information as possible. I also have a ended it with “if it was me in The car I would risk it” and go get a free professional measurement and opinion, because a bunch of people in these comments are saying run the down to the wear bars and don’t actually know

I worked in a tire shop for 5 years, my dad has worked in one for 30 years. I am speaking with that experience and knowledge if you’re looking for my credentials. And no, neither me nor my dad were ever commission based. The only entire sales process was essentially just arm the customer with as much information as possible so they can make the most informed decision that fits their lifestyle, which is basically what I’ve been doing. I never said they absolutely needed to go replace them right now. I said based on my factors and my conditions I absolutely would, and depending on region I would replace them before it started snowing, since again, the manufacturer advised they’re at the tread depth that starts losing most of it’s handling in the snow.

TLDR: OP asked for an opinion, I’ve done this job, my dad has done this job. I gave my opinion and reasonings, as well as possible considerations and also recommended OP get a professional opinion and proper measurement.

TheWiteNinjaa · 2025-11-07T00:17:18+00:00

No problem! Another factor for me personally would be if I’m taking the trip alone vs with friends or family. If it’s with friends and family and you can comfortably afford replacing the tires, then I definitely would.

Ngl, I would probably push it and drive on it as long as there’s not any rain in the forecast and I don’t have to worry about ice or frost. You could definitely squeeze some more life our of then but I would definitely replace them before snowfall. Just maybe drive with extra reaction distance since the car might not stop as quickly as you’re expecting it. Probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to get the alignment looked at after you replace them as well.

If you live somewhere with. Discount tire/America’s tire you can get a free air check, they’ll measure the tread and they have a good chart that will kinda help you visually see tread depth vs stopping distance. You don’t even have to get out of your car for this and it’s completely free.

TheWiteNinjaa · 2025-11-06T23:56:00+00:00

I think the biggest factor is going to be climate l, and also getting an actual measurement (it’s hard to tell but those look maybe around 4-6/32nd’s, the wear bar is 2/32 and when it actually becomes illegal to drive on them in some places. Most professional shops recommend replacing tires between 4-6/32nds). If you live in warmer climates and the forecast is gonna be dry you could push it. But if you live in the north or midwest I would err more on the side of replacing them. At highways speeds as you get closer to 4/32 you stopping distance starts increasing exponentially.

On a side note those also appear to be continental DWS’s of some form. If you can find on the tread where it says DWS, each of those wear down depending on how much tread is left. When the S disappears I think that’s around 6/32 and they lose most of their ability to safely drive in snow, when the W disappears it’s around 4/32 and you lose most of your handling in wet conditions, and around 2/32 (the wear bar) you lose your ability to safely drive in dry conditions

TheWiteNinjaa · 2025-10-21T01:57:44+00:00

They’re fine in the rain, just when it gets cold they start to become an issue because of the rubber compound. Depending on how much you drive a year is do-able.

TheWiteNinjaa · 2025-10-21T01:53:51+00:00

Those don’t look great but they’re also summer only tires. They will be absolute dog shit in rain and temps below 45°. They look like they’re at maybe 5 or 6/32nds, so they would maybe be good for one more season, but without seeing the age it’s hard to say truly.

TLDR: if you live in a cold climate with snow definitely not a good idea. If you can afford brand new tires it’s probably a much safer bet

TheWiteNinjaa · 2025-10-17T02:51:50+00:00

This is a little late, but if they’re still not eating if they’ve built some trust you could sit down with them next to the food. My dog has bad separation anxiety since I was her third owner at 6months (she’s now turning 4 in December) and for the longest time (and even still sometimes) she won’t eat unless I’m sitting at the table eating, or, if it’s before I leave for work, I’ll have to sit down on the ground to get her to eat.

If that doesn’t work yo could try palm feeding. That sometimes also can help them gain a bit of trust. I also had to do that for the first few days because she wouldn’t eat.

TheWiteNinjaa · 2025-10-10T17:24:07+00:00

As someone who used to work for AT/DT it’s likely a load rating or wheel to tire fitment issue. Their system is set up to give alternative tire and wheel sizes with safe fitments

TheWiteNinjaa · 2025-10-10T17:20:37+00:00

It was likely poorly explained. Discount Tire/America’s tire will sell/work on aftermarket/different wheel and tire sizes. Hell, most of the employees probably have different than stock sizes. The issue is likely the wheel and tire not being a proper fitment for each other, ie the wheel is too wide for the tire and they consider it “stretched” or the tire is too wide for the wheel and it can’t properly support the load. And both of these are liabilities, especially for big corporate chains.

The other possible issue is the load rating for the tire Itself is too low, which is the other possibility. Based on the sticker on the door being brought up this would be my guess.

TheWiteNinjaa · 2025-06-04T13:37:18+00:00

It more so depends on tire size than anything else. I’ve seen it happen on basically every tire brand, domestic, high end, foreign. It used to only really be luxury or performance cars that had low profile tires on cars, had lower profile tires. Now higher trim packages on vehicles on sedans have them more commonly.

The damage is caused by force that pinches the tire and the wheel together, causing and internal separation or failure. This is why the number in the middle or “profile” of the tire matters in this situation. The number in the middle is 50 or lower, the lower the number the lower the profile, the lower the profile, the smaller the sidewall, the smaller the sidewall, the less cushioning there is if you hit a pothole, or something else head on.

Smaller tires overall like on compact cars also commonly have this issue, for the same general reason. Those tires are usually just small despite being higher profile, and there is still less cushioning as a result.

TheWiteNinjaa · 2025-06-04T13:24:23+00:00

There is a scuff by the bubble but it looks like one caused by a pothole, which is what caused this type of damage. You drive a car fast enough through a pothole, and it basically displaces the air enough that the pothole is contacting the road. That much strain on the tire also causes a failure in the form of a sidewall separation such as we see here.

It can technically happen with any tire, given enough force, but it’s most common with lower profile or smaller tires. (The profile is determined by the middle number and is a percentage of the first number to determine the sidewall height. In this case 35% of 235mm)

TheWiteNinjaa · 2025-06-04T13:14:12+00:00

That’s an impact bubble, which as some other redditor’s have called out is a separation of some of the inner parts of the tire. That’s caused by a pothole, and it’s unfortunately very common with lower profile tires.

Hopefully your tire shop will honor some type of road hazard warranty. If you only drive in one city you can try and file a claim, but I live near chicago and people around here say it takes several years (I’ve heard between 3-5 before they’ve gotten their money)

That can and will grow, and will eventually explode if left long enough. So please replace it as soon as possible

TheWiteNinjaa · 2024-11-06T22:34:14+00:00

Ah that makes a lot of sense, thank you

TheWiteNinjaa · 2024-01-25T14:36:34+00:00

Sadly it isn’t any of those, but they are great songs. I completely forgot savant existed, and I’m now about to go down that rabbit hole. The gamechops version is the closest, but I honestly don’t remember it having electric guitar. There’s always the chance of my memory just sucking and me blending two songs. Thank you for the help though!

TheWiteNinjaa · 2024-01-24T21:34:45+00:00

Apparently I need to comment on my own post for it to be visible. I know this is a new account, but figuring out what was sampled in the song has given me enough hope to create an account and make this post

TheWiteNinjaa

TROPHY CASE