speedking

Are tyre wear bars set at 1.6mm tread depth or 2mm?

I know UK legal minimum tread depth is 1.6mm, but seem to recall that in other European countries it may be 2mm. Therefore to sell the same tyre across Europe the manufacturers would have to set the wear bars at 2mm. Is this the case?

Lee uk300

Most tyre wear indicators are set to 2mm.

From an MOT point of view the 1.6mm rule still applys. But i think this is still a grey area for insurance companys as i know of a case where an insurance company did not want to pay out because the tyre was on the wear bar limit. They reported a statement from a tyre manufacture that stated.."When a tyre reaches the wear bar limit it is longer fit for road use".

I would be interested to know the limits from a Police point of view, But as normal i would expect the Police/Mot/insurance laws to all differ.

*Sonic*

on the michelin cards from the Shell garages it states, 1.6mm is the legal limit (which we all know) then anothe 1.6mm above that it states seek specialist advice

SiPie

And the Michelin cards state that this applies to the centre 3/4 section of the tyre, so.........does this mean that my F1's are still 100% illegal as they are totally bald on outer edges due to cornering ???

quicksprint

Yep...as long as there are no cords showing.Some Yokohama's look bald on the edges when they wear but that is a tread design that cannot be failed on unless for the reason stated above.

steve (Authorised Examiner/MOT tester when at work !!)

SiPie

Cheers Steve