Your Corner Wrench: Shopping for used winter tires

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Smart shoppers always know there are deals to be had when looking for winter tires, if you’re willing to consider used ones. Check any community buy-and-sell websites, at almost any time of the year, and you’ll find countless sets of summer, winter, off-road, and light truck tires, among others, at prices often less than half of what a new set would run you.

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Why are there so many for sale? The majority of tires listed by real owners – not someone collecting and reselling tires as a lucrative side business – are available primarily because those people bought new or newer vehicles, and their existing winter tires weren’t the correct size for the new driveway occupant.

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Still, when shopping for anything used on a buy/sell site, it really is a matter of buyer beware. Knowing a few things to look for can improve your odds of getting something that will safely give you better grip on the roads.

Size Matters

That means the entire size rating, not just the rim size. We’ve covered tire sizing before, but here’s a reminder. Tire sizes are embossed on the sidewall and either starts with the letter “P” for passenger series tires, or “LT” for light truck series.

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The next three numbers are the tread-face width in millimeters. The next two numbers represent the sidewall height, expressed at a percentage of the width, while the final two numbers give the rim size in inches. So a P225/65R17 is a tire with 225 mm tread width, a sidewall that’s 65 per cent of that width in height, and is meant for a 17-inch rim.

Know what size your vehicle takes by either looking at the current tire size, or by checking the automaker’s build label on the driver’s door edge or frame, or the owner’s manual.

Age isn’t as important as you might think

Contrary to popular opinion, tires don’t have an expiry date. There are all kinds of recommendations, from a variety of industry and government agencies, that suggest avoiding anything over six to eight years of age, but there is no hard-and-fast best-before date.

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A tire’s lifespan depends as much on where it lives, as how far it’s travelled. UV radiation from sunlight and a dry climate will take its toll just the same, in the form of weather cracking.

Not all tires have production dates stamped on them anyway. If they do, these date codes are usually found at the end of the large alphanumeric listing that follows the letters “DOT” embossed on the sidewall. The date codes will be four numbers standing on their own. The first two numbers indicate the week of production, and the last two indicate the year. For example, if it’s 1119, that’s the eleventh week of 2019.

Better than going by build date is to carefully examine the tire’s tread and sidewall for cracks. A few small cracks shouldn’t be a deal breaker, but any crack that’s deep enough to expose the beige or off-white cords under the rubber means the tire is scrap. Take a small, dull, flathead screwdriver with you to probe any cracks.

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Tread depth is key

Rather than learn all the popular coin tricks to measure a tread’s depth, spend the few dollars that a proper gauge costs and learn how to use it. A minimum tread depth for a used snow tire should be at least 7/32 of an inch if you plan on getting at least one season of winter grip.

To measure the depth, look for the wear bars. These rubber bars run across the tread face, at the bottom of the tread grooves, in five or six spots around the tire. Place the tip of the gauge’s probe on the wear bar and then read the measurement. If it’s too shallow, it’s time to say goodbye and check out the next person on the tire buy/sell website list.