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Are retreads false economy or great value?
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It's your(and families) life.As the Bell helmet advert used to say-"put a five dollar helmet on a five dollar head".
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I think its down to the use the car will get. If you know you'll only be using it at low speed around town (eg. you live in the city and never go beyond it) then they may be a good choice. If you regularly use motorways then I wouldn't.
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I've no recent experience with retreads but I'll bet they don't perform as well as new tyres (noise, comfort, road-holding, water dispersal, etc). They are most likely to wear out more quickly too, in which case there won't even be a cost saving overall.
There's a lot of technology in a tyre and every bit is designed as part of the whole. In any case, when the tread on a tyre has worn out, there is almost certainly a level of degradation of the carcase too. I'd stick to new, and to respected brands like Goodyear, Michelin, Continental.
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I would rather drive on a part worn tyre than a retread.
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I should add a part worn tyre of a decent brand such as those mentioned by Dizzy.
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Good retreads can perform very well. Indeed, retreads are still very widely used in the LGV, PSV and even aircraft tyre sectors.
Car retreads have become much less popular in recent years though and some companies have even gone out of business - the reason being that brand new car tyres are now relatively cheap. Overall, as others have said, unless you are about to 'dump' the car then buy a new, well known, brand.
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Agree with Aprilia, We use retreads on the 7.5t lorries, but only on the rear wheels. They are no trouble at all - retreaded by the original manufacturer. But we fit only new tyres to front wheels. To be honest, some of the cheap 'new' tyres I see don't come anywhere near a Michelin retread in quality or performance.
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Then why do I see the motorway littered with all these lorry treads that have come off?
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I have bought retreads for trailers before now, as they are not intended to break sound barriers.
I have never bought retreads for cars. Though I have bought part worn for previous cars, and have to say I have not always been wise to do this.
My current twin axle trailer takes 10" mini wheels and I have only bought part (hardly) worn for this, on the wheel for a fiver each from a chap who had written off his mini just after replacing all his tyres. The old tyres and wheels were disposed of as complete units (in the correct manner - friendly ELV scrapyard a mile from where I live).
My van, which is also not a sound barrier contender, has not yet needed new tyres. I was quite lucky when I bought this as it has been very well looked after from the servicing point of view - no expense spared (was a delivery van for a stationary company in Oxfordshire).
However, I did replace the spare, as this was worn and may have been swapped for a good one for a van that the company were holding onto. I got a good 3/4 tread costing £12.50 including fitting and disposal of the old - can't complain.
H
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We used to run retread tyres on the rally car. They were always very good - though we did always buy Colway, amongst the best exponents of the retread art. Colway and others are now out of business because old pattern tyres made in the Far East are so cheap nowadays.
Buy a respected brand of new tyre.
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I assume you're all referring to REMOULDS, not RETREADS, with the exception of lorry tyres possibly.
You have not been able to purchase RETREADS - ie tyres which have a new tread pattern grooved or melted into the existing worn tyre - since cross-ply tyres disappeared, as far as I'm aware.
REMOULDS are produced by vulcanising a new tread-bearing outer onto the reinforced radial tyre casing.
Tell me if I'm wrong btw.
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My guarded opinion that remoulds were OK in some circumstances has changed from ten years ago. Now tyres are so cheap**here is no point in buying other than a major brand new. Remoulds and Far East for low speed trailers only.
My best budget advice is a Firestone F590. Decent performance at budget money.
The one place remoulds are OK would be an older Land Rover. The replacement Michelins for the ones we have fitted at present are £110 each. A decent remould would be about £45 so sensible savings possible on a cheap slow vehicle.
**15 years ago I was paying broadly the same for tyres on my Saab Tubo as I would now.
M.M
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Renault Family,
The reason you see bits of lorry tyre tread on the motorways is because the tyre was damaged or flat long before it disintegrated. It's invariably a rear tyre that gives up, and usually the inner one. A driver can casually inspect the outer rear or front tyres before the start of a journey, and a flat one shows up. He won't usually inspect the inner tyres and a flat one - often a retread - will overheat and shed it's tread.
The driver might not notice any difference in vehicle handling until he sees the smoke / debris in his rear view mirror.
Long Driver,
All new lorry / bus / etc. tyres are regrooveable. When worn to marked limits the tyre can be recut to the manufacturers spec. When the recut tyre is worn to legal limits, it can be retreaded or remoulded. I know them as recuts or retreads.
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As an active motorsport participant and happy Colway customer in the past, I am pleased to report to the BR that, having indeed gone into receivership in late 2001, the Colway brand (now made by C-Tyres Ltd) has been back up and running for a while. They also still produce a good range of motorsport tyres.
Pulled off their website www.colwaytyres.co.uk
"Many Colway products carry the company's Lifetime Guarantee, which offers to replace a tyre if it is found to suffer from a manufacturing fault or accidental damage whatever the mileage."
The Colway Intermediate is currently the obligatory 'control' tyre for the Lodge Sports Porsche 924 Racing Championship.
Lots more interesting reading on their site.
For those still awake, here is some C-Tyres Ltd background from www.tyres-online.co.uk
"C-Tyres Ltd, a new company headed up by ex-Colway Director, Gary Oliver, has concluded an agreement with the Receivers to both Colway Tyres and its sister company, Motorway Retreads to acquire a number of the assets of both companies. As a result production at Colway's Langley Moor factory near Durham, which had been on hold since receivers were appointed in November, recommenced on 2nd January [2002].
"The new company is funded by a management consortium... According to Gary Oliver, C-Tyres has acquired Colway's production facility, all plant and equipment at both Langley Moor and the Motorway plant at Knighton, Powys, existing stock and intellectual property rights to both businesses including both the Colway and Motorway brand names.
"Sixty production and administrative staff have been retained at Langley Moor with initial production levels being set at the equivalent of 500,000 car tyres per annum, which is in line with Colway's sales prior to going into receivership."
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Read an article in Autocar, I think it was, about a company that made performance remoulds. It told of Porsche owners in Germany using them...
I think very often we are too set in our ways & no matter what we read or see, we refuse to be shaken from our beliefs.
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I\'ve been using remoulds for over 40 years(no not the same ones!)Started off on cross-ply tyres,they were a bit dodgy at first, but they did gradually improve on them.
I used to buy Colway and Homerton brands,the tyre walls were thin some developed large blisters that chafed on the chassis. No QC in those days apparently.They did change them for you without question, but it was \'pot luck\' with the replacement. Cars and vans were much slower than today\'s vehicles. So they were ok for local driving.
I have never had new tyres,unless they were already on,so I can\'t compare mileages,but I\'ve always managed with them.
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If we are talking remoulds here, never again. Back in my poor student days I had an old Fiesta. Literally scraping the barrel, when the two fronts needed changing I went for two remoulds. I know what make they were as well but won't elaborate here as not sure I'm allowed.
Anyway, wheel on rim and onto the balancing machine. Wouldn't balance. Kept coming up with errors on the machine. Anyway, boyo takes the wheel off the balancer and on the sidewall of the tyre "hidden" from view is a huge bulge sticking out about two inches and approx 6 inches across.
My response was literally **** that thank you very much. I decided to go with less beer for a few weeks rather than risk my life.
Perhaps this was a "one in a million" unlucky tyre but I'd never go down that route again.
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