When the studs wear down

We continue the topic of studded tires. Today, we will touch on the most important topic of one of the most insidious damages to anti-skid studs, which reduces their effectiveness to zero. In fact, the studs in place can mislead the car owner into thinking that everything is in order, but in fact, they do not work.

The thing is that the studs are made of two main components - an aluminum or, much less often, a steel body and a hard alloy insert. Over time, the aluminum body weakens and becomes depleted. At the same time, the hole in the tread where the anti-skid stud is installed is also developed. Visually, the stud is in place, but it has enough space around it.

Now, let's imagine the contact patch of the tire on ice. The stud needs to puncture the ice crust, thereby improving traction. But will it do this if it has the opportunity to simply deviate? Of course not, so such a stud simply does not work.

Take a closer look at your tires, if most of the studs are depleted, they don't work, and perhaps it's worth thinking about replacing the tires.