Re-treads experience?

[CoreyZ]

So seeing as how the retreads are a very economical option for tires.... has anyone had experience with them to say they are worth it?

Been looking at the treadwright 265/70/17 "Wardens" for when I get the OME lift... and at $540 shipped, hard to beat.


I know semi's have used retreads for years... and I wont see too much trail time, but I dont want the tread flying off while on the way to work lol.

[Matt]

While I don't have any direct experience with retreads, there's a reason for that. Tires are the most crucial part of a vehicle. So everytime I've been shopping for tires and have come across retread pricing I have asked myself, is saving $300 worth the risk? Most good offroading tires will last over 40k miles with proper alignment, inflation and maintenance. So that $300 in savings isn't really all that much when you consider savings/year or savings/mile. Thus, I always choose to stick with proven/known brands. Regardless of how many sucess stories I hear, its just not worth the unknown risk.

With that said, if I was building a trailerd trail rig.... I'd toss retreads on that in a heartbeat.

[AJeepZJ]

While I don't have any direct experience with retreads, there's a reason for that. Tires are the most crucial part of a vehicle. So everytime I've been shopping for tires and have come across retread pricing I have asked myself, is saving $300 worth the risk? Most good offroading tires will last over 40k miles with proper alignment, inflation and maintenance. So that $300 in savings isn't really all that much when you consider savings/year or savings/mile. Thus, I always choose to stick with proven/known brands. Regardless of how many sucess stories I hear, its just not worth the unknown risk.

With that said, if I was building a trailerd trail rig.... I'd toss retreads on that in a heartbeat.

I call this the grandpa approach - stuck on old ways, and I totally agree with you, lol.

[Matt]

Lol that's because those who don't follow the "grandpa" approach don't live long enough to reach grandpa status!

In all seriousness though I also question people's level of knowledge when reading the "I've never had issues" reviews. Is this person a 16 year old kid or an astronaut?

There's also an inherent level of "what I have is the best, because I have it" philosophy amongst the online community... which is funny because I have seen people swear up and down that (for example) their tried and true 4spd trans is the best and that new 6spd trans is nothing but junk..... then they eventually trade in the truck and all the sudden the 6spd trans is leaps and bounds better than that "old 4spd" they had.

So for those reasons, I try not to base any of my entire decision off online reviews.

[AJeepZJ]

I try to look for areas of consistency when I'm trying something new, or thinking of trying a different approach. Because, you are right, people can become... sensationalists, lol. When you find patterns of success or failure in a product - it allows you to ask the right questions.

[Matt]

Exactly. I pay special attention to those who have used multiple products throughout years of being an enthusiast. And these sites are good for identifying trends as well.

My main point on retreads is we're now talking about safety. Its not "are they loud?", "how long do they last?" , etc type of questions..... its "are they truly safe for daily driven highway use with my kids in the back seat" type of question that honestly makes the $300 savings a moot point (IMO). And that's why I don't run them.

Hell, you notice that most guys will spend $300 on new rotors for their vehicles instead of resurfacing rotors with plenty of meat left.... I wonder if there's anyone who would run retreads to save $300 but is also against rotor resurfacing (which isn't an issue when done right). That would be kind of funny.

Edit: hence, in my personal opinion, I think retreads have a solid place in the market for trails rigs where the risks/consequences are much much lower.

I know there are at least a few in the XK/WK community running them on DDs, so I expect we'll hear some differing opinions. It definitely comes down to a personal choice in this matter.

[CoreyZ]

My concern is also on safety... however most of the horror stories or "grandpa" experiences are just that, old. While technology increases, so do the process in manufacturing as well as all other processes. Perhaps the retreads have gained enough technology that the process has improved and the safety issue can be much smaller than it was before.

Plus when you think of it, all tires are manufactured in the same way. They are all pieced together and adhered in some manner. So really a re-tread, is nothing more than the standard process of tire manufacturing however some parts of the tire are used and re-conditioned. Its really about half the cost of standard tires where you are paying for the name and advertising. If 80% of the commercial industry, 100% of the government and military use retreads.... why not passenger vehicles?

[Matt]

Manufacturing of a retreading is different than manufacturing of a tire from scratch. There is also a bond between dissimilar rubbers (the OEM case rubber and the retreading rubber).

Also, the "case" of a tire isn't necessary designed to last 20 years or 100k miles. Belts separate as tires get older.... just one of the common failures in "old" tires. I emplore you to carefully read the warranty PDF on the treadwright website.... you'll notice that ONLY their tread manufacturing is covered. If you get a set of their tires and one of the belts separates after 2 miles, you're SOL.

[Matt]

I'm Not 100% sure on this, but I believe that there are laws against using retreads on steering axles of commercial vehicles. Its not a big deal on the other axles because they don't maintain the drive line of the vehicle AND there's 4 tires per axle.

You have to look at ALL factors involved (risk/cost/etc). For commercial vehicles with redundancy on the axles, the risk is low and the cost savings is high.

Edit
I would also add to that question. Are the cases for commercial and government vehicles designed differently to ensure case stability for a longer life? I'm not sure... I bet theyre designed to last longer than the cases of passenger tires though.

[LWM]

If 80% of the commercial industry, 100% of the government and military use retreads.... why not passenger vehicles?

Not sure where you got your stats from, but zero percent of our government (law enforcement) vehicles use retreads. There is no way I am driving at 100 mph on a retread.

[CoreyZ]

Not sure where you got your stats from, but zero percent of our government (law enforcement) vehicles use retreads. There is no way I am driving at 100 mph on a retread.

On October 29, 1993, President Clinton signed Executive Order 12873 entitled 'Federal Acquisition, Recycling and Waste Prevention', which mandates the use of retreaded tires on all government vehicles.

Perhaps local municipalities are exempt and this is more federal?

[Matt]

It doesn't mandate that 100% of government tires are retreads. This is what it says:


Sec. 506. Procurement of Re-refined Lubricating
Oil and Retread Tires. Within 180
days after the effective date of this order,
agencies shall implement the EPA procurement
guidelines for re-refined lubricating oil
and retread tires.
(a) Commodity managers shall finalize revisions
to specifications for re-refined oil and
retread tires, and develop and issue specifications
for tire retreading services, as commodity
managers shall take affirmative steps to
procure these items in accordance with
RCRA section 6002.
(b) Once these items become available,
fleet managers shall take affirmative steps to
procure these items in accordance with
RCRA section 6002.

From reading the intent of the executive order, these are basically guidelines that should be followed when possible. I would not assume that this order means that every single tire, including steering axles, require the use of retreads.


Edit:
Doing some google searching because im curious about the difference in tire casings... I've changed thousands of tires and a very common issue that a customer would have with their car pulling or a vibration was the belts separating. So that would be one of my biggest issues going to retreads: not knowing how much longer that casing will last and NOT having a warranty against such a defect. I've read a few statements on websites that commercial truck and bus tire casings are designed for up to 5 retreads... but couldn't find anything specific for passenger car/truck tires.

In doing this little bit of research I came across some info on safety that may make you feel a bit better if you wanted to give retreads a try (FWIW, I still wouldn't get them https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png... but figured its good info to help you make your own decision):
http://www.green.ca.gov/EPP/vehicles/RetreadedTires.htm

[Holaday07 4.7]

There are a few guys on the other forum that were running them, I almost bought a set myself. Came accross a set of Rubicon Tires for less, that were not retreads, so I went that way. After doing a ton of research and talking with people that ran them, I would have no problem putting a set on my dd, but thats just me.