Tire tread

[1] Generally there is a tradeoff of tread friction capability; deeper patterns often enhance safety, but simpler designs are less costly to produce and actually may afford some roadway noise mitigation.

Street tires will also include wear limit indicators in the form of small raised bridges within the grooves.

When the tread is worn down enough that the limit indicators make contact with the road, the tire is deemed to be at the end of its service life.

Given the smaller contact patch, these tires tend to wear quickly when used on asphalt (depending on type of rubber).

This feature provides better traction and lower noise on asphalt at high speed and on high tire pressure, but retains the ability to provide grip on a soft or loose surface- lower tire pressure or soft ground will cause the side lugs to come into contact with the surface.