We feel the spring visit recently, and it gets warmer in Japan.
We are in also the second-highest season for collecting the used tires as Japanese drivers start to exchange the snow tires for summer or all-season tires. We hope we are able to find a lot of better condition tires.

Today, I introduce the grade of a Japanese used tire and how we inspect it. We are sometimes asked by foreign customers about the grades and tread condition. First of all, we check if there are any damages or cracks on the tread area or sidewall and bead area. There could be some cracks if tires are old that would cause erosion inside the steel code.

cracked used tire

damaged used tire

After that, we inspect tread depth with a gauge as in this photo. The point of this inspection is to measure at the lowest position on the tread. For instance, even though the tread overall has more than half grade, this tire would be less than half grade if it has any flat spot or has been worn partially. We also sometimes degrade the tire if it has any worse spots after inspecting the overall condition.

measuring used tire

You can ask us anything if you still have questions, and also you can come to Japan and visit us in order to see our tires after the border opens again.