As a mechanic, I see a lot of worn out tires. Usually we’re able to sell tires to a customer before they’re completely used up, but sometimes they’re already bald, or even worn down to cords. Sometimes the tires are just old and getting all cracked an dry rotted. But of all the tires I’ve seen, this car had the worst.

At first I just noticed that the tires were getting low, and were old and had the typical small cracks forming in the rubber. But then I saw the inside edge of one of the front tires.

The edges of tires often get worn down early due to improper tire pressure or suspension that’s out of alignment, and if they’re not caught soon enough can get worn down to the cords. This tire wasn’t just worn to the cords, it was starting to wear through the cords and a split was developing. Then I spun the tire to check the rest of it and saw the worst tire I’ve ever seen.

There was a huge split in the tire, with tons of cords showing and broken. You can even see a second layer of cords through the split. I’ve seen tires with bulges in the sidewalls, shifted belts, leaking sidewalls, but I’ve never seen a tire that I would be scared to drive on like this one. It’s surely only a matter of time before the tire just shreds apart. If it was up to me, this car wouldn’t leave the shop without better tires on it.

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-Dan