How many miles per 1mm of tread depth?

Tread wear rate

Knowing the tread wear rate of your tyres (how quickly they wear) will help you plan for and budget replacements.

General tread wear guidelines

Most passenger car tyres lose about 1mm of tread per 3,000 - 5,000 miles. Tread wear rate can vary drastically with a number of different factors.

Tread wear rate factors

• Type of tyre - Premium tyres wear more slowly per mm than budget tyres
• Driving habits - Aggressive style = higher tread wear rate
• Tyre pressure - Low = faster wear of the tyre edge; High = faster wear of the tyre centre
• Wheel alignment - Aligned = even tyre wear. Misaligned = fast wear of one tyre side
• Road surface - Dirt roads or bumpy roads = faster tread wear

Tread wear expectations

Most passenger car tyres have a new tread depth of 7 to 8 mm (some have tread depth indicator bars). Most manufacturers recommend replacing tyres when the tread depth is 3 mm, leaving roughly 4 to 5mm of usable tread. With average tread wear of about 1 mm per 3,000 - 5,000 miles per tyre, this equates to about 12,000 to 25,000 miles (passenger car tyres) before replacement is required.