Advertisement

Tires with built-in sensors keep a watchful eye on tread wear

Continental is bolstering its Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS ) to not only monitor your tire pressure but its tread depth, too. As your tires age and change shape, so does the way they roll and interact with the road surface. Continental's clever system keeps track of these differences and compares them over time with model-specific stored data. When your tires eventually hit some pre-determined threshold, the car will notify you that your boots have reached their end of life. Continental expects this to roll into retail for the 2017 season in cars equipped with its TPMS systems. But fret not, you can always use that old standby -- your eyes -- to actually look and see if the tread wear indicators are flush with the tire surface. If they are, remember it's safety first, so go get yourself a new set.

[Image credit: Continental]