Tread

The tread of a tire or track refers to the rubber on its circumference that makes contact with the road or the ground. As tires are used, the tread is worn off, limiting its effectiveness in providing traction. A worn tire can often be retreaded.

The grooves in the tire are correctly called the tread pattern, or simply the pattern, but the word tread is often used casually to refer to the pattern of grooves molded into the rubber. The grooves are not the tread, as they do not make contact with the ground. This distinction becomes significant in the case of racing slicks: which certainly have a tread but do not have grooves, and so they neither have a pattern.

The grooves in the rubber are designed to allow water to be expelled from beneath the tire and prevent hydroplaning. The proportion of rubber to air space on the road surface directly affects its traction. Design of tire tread has an effect upon noise generated, especially at freeway speeds. 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. Tires intended for dry weather use will be designed with minimal pattern to increase the contact patch. Tires with a smooth tread (i.e., having no tread pattern) are known as slicks and are generally used for racing only, since they are quite dangerous if the road surface is wet.

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. Brake pads use similar indicators in the form of notches on their surface that disappear when they are used.

Snow tires or Winter tires are tires designed for use in colder weather, snow and ice. To improve traction, they are made of different rubber and have a different tread pattern from regular street tires.

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Wikipedia