Quick Tire Test To See If You Need New Tires

The first snow of the year is here. What went from a prediction of a trace of snow on Friday to a Winter Weather Advisory on Saturday and up to 2-3" of snow. I don't know about you but I got 4" of heavy wet snow at my house by Sunday afternoon.

My trip into the KHAK studios Sunday morning was an adventure. No, the roads weren't terrible... it was my tires!!! Slipping, sliding, white knuckle driving into Cedar Rapids and I was on well traveled I-380.

Now I knew I needed new tires... sometimes I like to play NASCAR and get the most out of my tires before stopping in for a 4-tire change and gas. Well, with the unexpected snowfall it was time to get the tires changed. The problem was, calling around for tires on a Sunday, every place that was open is booked a week out.

Not being one to want to wait and knowing I have manual tools to be able to dismount and mount another set on, I decided to take the challenge and do it myself. Hey, I needed a good Sunday afternoon workout.

With a quick MacGyver adjustment to my beadbreaker, it went from being able to dismount 15" racing wheels to being able to dismount 17" car wheels.

After about 1 1/2 hours, I had a new set of tires mounted and ready to go. If you're ever wondering if you need new tires, a good rule of thumb is the Abe Lincoln tire test. Take a penny and with Abe upside down, place the penny in the main tread. If you can see all of Abe head... you need new tires. And as you can see by the picture at the beginning of this story, I REALLY needed new tires. Below is what Abe looks like on new tires.