Tire Life
Estimate tire tread life and replacement timing by tread depth.
About Tire Life
Depth lost from new is divided by the usable depth range and scaled against the tire's expected mileage. Tires below 4/32 inch lose their grip in the wet, so depth is the reliable way to decide when to replace them.
Formula
Tire Life
Remaining = tire life x (current - minimum) / (new - minimum)
- 32nds
- Tread depth measured in 1/32 inch increments
Worked example
With the default values below, Tire Life returns Miles Remaining of 23,000. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- New tread depthminimum 0.1 32nds
- 10 32nds
- Current tread depthminimum 0 32nds
- 6 32nds
- Minimum depthminimum 0 32nds
- 2 32nds
- Typical tire lifeminimum 1 mi
- 46,000 mi
Results
- Miles Remaining
- 23,000 mi
- Tread Used
- 50.0%
- Tread Status
- Replacement coming soon
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Tire Life
- 3Miles Remaining= 23,000 mi
- 4Tread Used= 50.0
- 5Tread Status= Replacement coming soon
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 1 decimal place, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Tire Life calculated?
Remaining = tire life x (current - minimum) / (new - minimum) Depth lost from new is divided by the usable depth range and scaled against the tire's expected mileage.
Why does Tire Life matter?
Tires below 4/32 inch lose their grip in the wet, so depth is the reliable way to decide when to replace them.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 4 inputs: New tread depth, Current tread depth, Minimum depth, Typical tire life. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.