Onlinetires.com has some Goodyear/Kelly for $60 each. Print the sheet and take it to Discount Tire for a price match. Or, buy those tires. Much better than 'caps.
Retread Tires... good deal or not worth it?
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I bought retreads from Sear's back in 83 or so.They were mud grips that went on a 72 Bronco,the vehicle was my daily driver.I sold it to a friend who ran it hard and the tires held up.
I beleive that Sears was touting a whole tire heating and recapping technique at that time.
I beleive that Sears was touting a whole tire heating and recapping technique at that time.
Back in 1962 I bought a 1961 Chevy Impala with a little over 20,000 miles on it. It had a brand new set of cheap tires on it; they still had the stickers on the tread. At 10,000 miles on the tires they were all worn smooth. I got a set of Firestone retreads to replace them and got 20,000 miles of trouble free driving out of them.
Since then, I have been in much better financial shape and never shopped for retreads since. I have not seen passenger car retreads for sale in many years.
Since then, I have been in much better financial shape and never shopped for retreads since. I have not seen passenger car retreads for sale in many years.
Retread Tires CAN be very good. I'm told commercial aircraft retread their tires. But consumer car and light truck retreads are made to a price.
If they came from the Sweatshop I once found myself in, you would not want them as a gift!
Possible cost savings range from using low cost raw rubber (or mixing tire Buffings with raw rubber to make it go further), Under-curing the tires to increase production, under buffing the worn casing to save rubber and reduce cure time, or just 'Don't give a darn' production techniques (I would often 'Eyeball' a tire in the mold rather than center it, because it would 'save' two seconds)
We also did Bandags, they were not much better, but at least the rubber was pre-cured.
If they came from the Sweatshop I once found myself in, you would not want them as a gift!
Possible cost savings range from using low cost raw rubber (or mixing tire Buffings with raw rubber to make it go further), Under-curing the tires to increase production, under buffing the worn casing to save rubber and reduce cure time, or just 'Don't give a darn' production techniques (I would often 'Eyeball' a tire in the mold rather than center it, because it would 'save' two seconds)
We also did Bandags, they were not much better, but at least the rubber was pre-cured.
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I'm not going the retread route... my dad bought an impala from me and two of the tires were good and two were shot... he bought 4 new tires and gave me the two other ones (I bought them for the impala when I owned it so I guess they were mine 
)
Both of those tires have 9/32nds on them and the other two I have on the car are 7/32nds (front ones are at 4/32nds, so I'm going to run them all summer and fall until winter and see where they're at... if they're still good enough for the following summer I'll put em on again and wear them completely out.)
Hopefully I can wear all of the tires down far enough that I can eventually end up getting 4 new (but cheapest I can find) tires.
)Both of those tires have 9/32nds on them and the other two I have on the car are 7/32nds (front ones are at 4/32nds, so I'm going to run them all summer and fall until winter and see where they're at... if they're still good enough for the following summer I'll put em on again and wear them completely out.)
Hopefully I can wear all of the tires down far enough that I can eventually end up getting 4 new (but cheapest I can find) tires.
i know a few people personally and several people on a couple of 4x4 forums i frequent run tires from treadwright - http://www.treadwright.com/
they have a very good warranty and they generally have very good reviews. one of my friends got a set of 32's and ran them probably 40k both on and off with no problems. lots of other folks have reported good success with them. personally i've never ran them but i will buy a set for my dodge ramcharger when the ones on it wear out.
my $0.02. YMMV
matt
they have a very good warranty and they generally have very good reviews. one of my friends got a set of 32's and ran them probably 40k both on and off with no problems. lots of other folks have reported good success with them. personally i've never ran them but i will buy a set for my dodge ramcharger when the ones on it wear out.
my $0.02. YMMV
matt
Originally Posted By: mcritch
i know a few people personally and several people on a couple of 4x4 forums i frequent run tires from treadwright - http://www.treadwright.com/
they have a very good warranty and they generally have very good reviews. one of my friends got a set of 32's and ran them probably 40k both on and off with no problems. lots of other folks have reported good success with them. personally i've never ran them but i will buy a set for my dodge ramcharger when the ones on it wear out.
my $0.02. YMMV
matt
Looks like Treadwright are remolded tires.
There is a big difference between a retread and remold.
I had remolds, Green Diamond remolds for my old car for snow tire use....
the difference? It's almost like making a new tire.... however, they use an existing carcass, inspect, etc, then rebuild the tire up and goes into the steam-molder for the vulcanization process (like a new tire) to produce the tread and binds everything together.
i know a few people personally and several people on a couple of 4x4 forums i frequent run tires from treadwright - http://www.treadwright.com/
they have a very good warranty and they generally have very good reviews. one of my friends got a set of 32's and ran them probably 40k both on and off with no problems. lots of other folks have reported good success with them. personally i've never ran them but i will buy a set for my dodge ramcharger when the ones on it wear out.
my $0.02. YMMV
matt
Looks like Treadwright are remolded tires.
There is a big difference between a retread and remold.
I had remolds, Green Diamond remolds for my old car for snow tire use....
the difference? It's almost like making a new tire.... however, they use an existing carcass, inspect, etc, then rebuild the tire up and goes into the steam-molder for the vulcanization process (like a new tire) to produce the tread and binds everything together.
Buy four used tires for $60 total and be done with it. I did that for years. If money is a big motivator to buy used versus new, don't sweat the fact that your tires probably won't match. If you don't drive like you've got a race car, you won't have any problems. Your tires might have a "wop, wop, wop" sound, but I'd rather have money in my pocket for bills than tires that roll smooth as glass.
Just some background:
Aircraft tires, Mining tires, and Over-the-road Truck tires are designed to be retreaded. They are built with more expensive materials, which allows them to endure the stresses longer. In fact one of the selling points tire manufacturers use is the ability of the tires to be reteaded multiple times. Some even have warranties for a minimum number of retreads.
Passennger Car tires and Light Truck tires are not designed to be retreaded (with a few exceptions) - and while I am sure that most tires will not fail after a single retrtead, there is an increased risk that is not pressent in Truck, Mining, and Aircraft tires.
The stresses involved in a particular service would play a very large role as to whether or not it is a good idea to use retreaded PC and LT tires.
For example, heat accelerates the degradation of rubber, so I would not recommend using retreadeds in the Southwest or Florida. I would also not recommend retreaded tires for any high speed application.
Retreaded PC and LT tires would be quite useful in slow speed, off road usage. Plus snow tires would be a good application.
Aircraft tires, Mining tires, and Over-the-road Truck tires are designed to be retreaded. They are built with more expensive materials, which allows them to endure the stresses longer. In fact one of the selling points tire manufacturers use is the ability of the tires to be reteaded multiple times. Some even have warranties for a minimum number of retreads.
Passennger Car tires and Light Truck tires are not designed to be retreaded (with a few exceptions) - and while I am sure that most tires will not fail after a single retrtead, there is an increased risk that is not pressent in Truck, Mining, and Aircraft tires.
The stresses involved in a particular service would play a very large role as to whether or not it is a good idea to use retreaded PC and LT tires.
For example, heat accelerates the degradation of rubber, so I would not recommend using retreadeds in the Southwest or Florida. I would also not recommend retreaded tires for any high speed application.
Retreaded PC and LT tires would be quite useful in slow speed, off road usage. Plus snow tires would be a good application.
I Can't speak personaly about using retreads. But as a kid 48 or so years ago I remember when visiting family in Richmond VA my uncle taking my father & myself to a retread operation. It was a small business that did retreads. It was interesting to watch. At that time it was labor intensive. You bought the retreads directly from them.
I don't know if there were any problems with the retreads but nobody died in the family from a retread blowing
.
Whimsey
I don't know if there were any problems with the retreads but nobody died in the family from a retread blowing
Whimsey
Originally Posted By: eljefino
If part of the charm of snow tires is a really soft sidewall, should they find old snow carcasses for the donor part?
I don't buy that soft sidewalls are a requisite for a snow tire.
If part of the charm of snow tires is a really soft sidewall, should they find old snow carcasses for the donor part?
I don't buy that soft sidewalls are a requisite for a snow tire.
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Pretty sure they are not legal in CA on passenger vehicles. I wouldn't run them personally.
This is part of the Class A test. Regrooved tires are not legal in Ca unless they are large truck tires.
27460.5. No person shall knowingly sell or offer or expose for sale any motor vehicle tire except a commercial vehicle tire, or any motor vehicle equipped with any tire except a commercial vehicle tire, which has been recut or regrooved. For purposes of this section a recut or regrooved tire is an unretreaded or unrecapped tire into which new grooves have been cut or burned.
Retreaded tires are tires that have a new tread Bonded to the old tire casing. These are legal in Ca on all positions on a passenger vehicle. They are not legal on the front of a commercail vehicle in Ca.
Pretty sure they are not legal in CA on passenger vehicles. I wouldn't run them personally.
This is part of the Class A test. Regrooved tires are not legal in Ca unless they are large truck tires.
27460.5. No person shall knowingly sell or offer or expose for sale any motor vehicle tire except a commercial vehicle tire, or any motor vehicle equipped with any tire except a commercial vehicle tire, which has been recut or regrooved. For purposes of this section a recut or regrooved tire is an unretreaded or unrecapped tire into which new grooves have been cut or burned.
Retreaded tires are tires that have a new tread Bonded to the old tire casing. These are legal in Ca on all positions on a passenger vehicle. They are not legal on the front of a commercail vehicle in Ca.
Originally Posted By: Whimsey
I Can't speak personaly about using retreads. But as a kid 48 or so years ago I remember when visiting family in Richmond VA my uncle taking my father & myself to a retread operation. It was a small business that did retreads. It was interesting to watch. At that time it was labor intensive. You bought the retreads directly from them.
I don't know if there were any problems with the retreads but nobody died in the family from a retread blowing
.
Whimsey
Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe did a segment on a place that does Retreading of tires. May be floating around youtube.
I did remember my Green Diamond remolded tires passing the NJ State Inspection (at the DMV) on my old car a few years ago... I don't run them on my current car because the load rating is not high enough for my car
I Can't speak personaly about using retreads. But as a kid 48 or so years ago I remember when visiting family in Richmond VA my uncle taking my father & myself to a retread operation. It was a small business that did retreads. It was interesting to watch. At that time it was labor intensive. You bought the retreads directly from them.
I don't know if there were any problems with the retreads but nobody died in the family from a retread blowing
Whimsey
Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe did a segment on a place that does Retreading of tires. May be floating around youtube.
I did remember my Green Diamond remolded tires passing the NJ State Inspection (at the DMV) on my old car a few years ago... I don't run them on my current car because the load rating is not high enough for my car
Originally Posted By: UG_Passat
Originally Posted By: Whimsey
I Can't speak personaly about using retreads. But as a kid 48 or so years ago I remember when visiting family in Richmond VA my uncle taking my father & myself to a retread operation. It was a small business that did retreads. It was interesting to watch. At that time it was labor intensive. You bought the retreads directly from them.
I don't know if there were any problems with the retreads but nobody died in the family from a retread blowing
.
Whimsey
Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe did a segment on a place that does Retreading of tires. May be floating around youtube.
I did remember my Green Diamond remolded tires passing the NJ State Inspection (at the DMV) on my old car a few years ago... I don't run them on my current car because the load rating is not high enough for my car
I believe those were commercial truck tires, not passenger car tires.
I'm not a tire guy, nor do I play one on TV, but here are some of the reasons I'm thinking, (and perhaps CapriRacer could chime in) as to why truck tires are a better candidate than passenger car tires.
1. As has been stated, many are designed to be recapped/retreaded.
2. Many of them put miles on quickly, so the carcass is not exposed to years of environmental damage such as UV rays as the tread wears. Therefore, there is a higher chance the carcass is less degraded than the car tire which takes years to get the same wear level.
3. Cost. Since commercial truck tires are more expensive, there is more opportunity for savings compared to car tires. Given how labor intensive it appears to be, I wonder if one can retread car tires and make a tire at a price that would entice enough consumers to warrant the business for those who retread and carry such tires. When you are talking about new tires for $50-$100 each in many cases, it seems this would be a hard market to make a buck. One might be able to do it for more expensive speed rated tires, but do the resultant tires have the same speed rating? Probably not, so what are the liability issues in that market segment?
Maybe if you would retread tires for Hybrid vehicles such as the Prius and sold them to those who are in the car for environmental reasons. You might be able to charge a premium to a new tires because you are selling a green tire.
Originally Posted By: Whimsey
I Can't speak personaly about using retreads. But as a kid 48 or so years ago I remember when visiting family in Richmond VA my uncle taking my father & myself to a retread operation. It was a small business that did retreads. It was interesting to watch. At that time it was labor intensive. You bought the retreads directly from them.
I don't know if there were any problems with the retreads but nobody died in the family from a retread blowing
Whimsey
Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe did a segment on a place that does Retreading of tires. May be floating around youtube.
I did remember my Green Diamond remolded tires passing the NJ State Inspection (at the DMV) on my old car a few years ago... I don't run them on my current car because the load rating is not high enough for my car
I believe those were commercial truck tires, not passenger car tires.
I'm not a tire guy, nor do I play one on TV, but here are some of the reasons I'm thinking, (and perhaps CapriRacer could chime in) as to why truck tires are a better candidate than passenger car tires.
1. As has been stated, many are designed to be recapped/retreaded.
2. Many of them put miles on quickly, so the carcass is not exposed to years of environmental damage such as UV rays as the tread wears. Therefore, there is a higher chance the carcass is less degraded than the car tire which takes years to get the same wear level.
3. Cost. Since commercial truck tires are more expensive, there is more opportunity for savings compared to car tires. Given how labor intensive it appears to be, I wonder if one can retread car tires and make a tire at a price that would entice enough consumers to warrant the business for those who retread and carry such tires. When you are talking about new tires for $50-$100 each in many cases, it seems this would be a hard market to make a buck. One might be able to do it for more expensive speed rated tires, but do the resultant tires have the same speed rating? Probably not, so what are the liability issues in that market segment?
Maybe if you would retread tires for Hybrid vehicles such as the Prius and sold them to those who are in the car for environmental reasons. You might be able to charge a premium to a new tires because you are selling a green tire.
I would add one other item to JavaContour's list.
Tires are the second largest expense in a truck fleet, so they really pay attention to tire mantenance - inflation pressure, alignment, etc. - unlike the average consumer using passenger car tires.
They also program into their system a removal policy that maximizes tire life.
One popular scenario is to run the front tires down to about 75% wear, retread them with a drive tread pattern. Run those through 2 cycles, then finish their life as trailer tires. I've seen up to 7 retreads - and I am sure some tires have seen even more.
Plus they are predisposed to remove a tire that is questionable. Trailer positions are good places to put tires that have questionable futures!
With a truck fleet of 100 vehicles, there are 180 tires on the ground at any particular moment. Having spares available - both on the truck and in the shop - and having a regular pattern of removal and retreading, just makes sense from a downtime and financial point of view. A truck sitting on the side of the road having its tire changed, isn't making money!
Tires are the second largest expense in a truck fleet, so they really pay attention to tire mantenance - inflation pressure, alignment, etc. - unlike the average consumer using passenger car tires.
They also program into their system a removal policy that maximizes tire life.
One popular scenario is to run the front tires down to about 75% wear, retread them with a drive tread pattern. Run those through 2 cycles, then finish their life as trailer tires. I've seen up to 7 retreads - and I am sure some tires have seen even more.
Plus they are predisposed to remove a tire that is questionable. Trailer positions are good places to put tires that have questionable futures!
With a truck fleet of 100 vehicles, there are 180 tires on the ground at any particular moment. Having spares available - both on the truck and in the shop - and having a regular pattern of removal and retreading, just makes sense from a downtime and financial point of view. A truck sitting on the side of the road having its tire changed, isn't making money!
30 years ago, when I was first out of High School, with not much money, I went with retreads. Never had a problem with them, but bought them because of the big price difference between regulars and retreads. Now, if you can find them, there isn't much difference in price, so why go retread?
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