Is 1.6 mm actually safe?

It is legal, not safe. Wet braking and aquaplaning resistance degrade sharply below about 3 mm — independent tests show wet stopping distances growing dramatically between 3 mm and the legal floor. Treat 1.6 mm as the law's minimum and 3 mm as your own.

How do I measure tread depth without a gauge?

A depth gauge costs a few euros and lives in the glovebox. Failing that, most tires have wear bars at 1.6 mm across the grooves, and a 1-euro coin's gold rim is roughly 3 mm — if the rim stays visible in the groove, you are at or below the wet-grip threshold.

Native tool · INT.05 Care · runs on this page

Tread Depth Estimator

One measurement, three honest numbers: how much usable tread is left, roughly how many kilometres it buys, and where you stand against the legal floor and the wet-grip threshold that actually matters.

Free forever No login ~1 min EU thresholds

Tire life · v1.0

Enter your shallowest groove

Measured depth · depth when new

MM MM

Most summer tires start at ~8 mm, winters at ~9 mm.

Tire type

Kilometres on this set (optional)

Enables the kilometres-remaining projection.

30% of usable tread left

Above legal floor2.9 mm
Est. km remaining~8,600 km
VerdictOK — recheck at 3 mm

Projection assumes wear continues at your historical rate. Uneven wear across the tire is its own warning — see the FAQ.

Why 3 mm is the number that matters

The law and the physics disagree. The EU legal minimum is 1.6 mm, but a tire's ability to evacuate water collapses well before that: independent wet-braking tests consistently show stopping distances growing sharply once tread drops under about 3 mm, and aquaplaning speed falling with every tenth. That last "legal" millimetre and a half is the most dangerous rubber you will ever run.

The tool therefore measures life against the wet-grip threshold, not the legal floor — usable tread is what sits between new depth and 3 mm (4 mm for winters, where the tire stops being a winter tire long before it stops being legal). The kilometres projection is simple proportionality from your own wear rate, which beats any generic mileage claim because it is measured on your car, your roads, your right foot.

Thresholds

Depth	Status	Move
8–6 mm	Fresh	Check pressures monthly, nothing else
6–4 mm	Mid-life	Rotate if wear is uneven
4–3 mm	Wet grip fading	Budget for the next set now
3–1.6 mm	Legal, not safe	Replace — especially before autumn
< 1.6 mm	Illegal	Replace before driving

Tab.01 — summer tire thresholds; winters shift one step earlier

FAQ

It is legal, not safe. Wet braking and aquaplaning resistance degrade sharply below ~3 mm. Treat 1.6 mm as the law's minimum and 3 mm as your own.

A gauge costs a few euros and lives in the glovebox. Failing that: wear bars sit at 1.6 mm, and a 1-euro coin's gold rim is roughly 3 mm — if the rim stays visible in the groove, you're at the wet-grip threshold.

Uneven wear is a message: worn edges suggest underinflation or hard cornering, worn centre suggests overinflation, one worn shoulder points at alignment. Enter your shallowest reading — the tire is only as good as its most worn groove.