6 Myths of Retread Tires Exposed | TreadWright

To the general public, retreaded tires can carry a bad reputation. Maybe they’ve seen a delaminated tire from a truck on the side of the road and assumed it was a retread, or overheard someone saying that they are simply illegal. 

But in reality, retread tires are one of the most common types of tires in America. In the commercial trucking industry (which is the biggest user of retreads), has been increasing its retread use by over 20% every year since 2009.

Retreads are also commonly being used for daily drivers, off-roaders, overlanders and various other outdoor enthusiasts. Their lower cost and green nature combined with grip enhancing components like Kedge Grip make these the tire of choice for many outdoor enthusiasts and environmental cautious people.

 Take a simple look at our TreadWright Instagram page and you will see numerous people using our product on a daily basis. 

So why are retread/remolded tires not more popular? It is because people are stuck on 6 big retreading myths:

Myth #1: Retreads Are Not Safe

A big myth of retreaded tires is that they’re unsafe. As we mentioned before, many people see parts of discarded tires on the side of highways and freeways and assume that it’s a retreaded tire that has delaminated.

In fact, studies from both State and Federal Bodies have shown that most tire failures are caused by vehicles being overloaded or tires being underinflated. There is almost no difference in the rate of issues and accidents being caused by retreads than new tires.

To ensure constant improvement in retread technology and tire safety, the American tire industry actually has its own internal set of standards in regards to retreads. Every retread has DOT number which has date and manufacture location stamped on the tire. Due to these internal standards, the Department of Transportation has not developed Federal Regulations for retreads. 

Retreaded (sometimes called Recaps) are just as safe as regular tires. Remember, the trucking industry, which probably has the highest miles per vehicle of any industry, mostly use retread tires. As well as commercial trucks, other high impact vehicles use retreads like the U.S. Postal Service, commercial and military aircraft as well as emergency services like ambulances and fire trucks.

To top it off TreadWright has made advancements in retreading with their mold cure process, which is very similar to a brand new tire. Read up on the differences in a typical retread and a remold

Myth #2: Retreads are illegal:

Due to a lack of clarification of laws and backyard mechanic chatter, there is a lot of people who think that retreaded tires are illegal in some states. In reality, there are no states that ban the use of retreaded tires on vehicles of any type.

The only piece of legislation that has any comment on retreads in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA) and it states:

“Question 3: May a vehicle transport HM when equipped with retreaded tires?

Guidance: Yes. The only Commercial Motor Carrier (CMV) that may not utilize retreaded tires is a bus, and then only on its front wheels.”

So the only part of a vehicle that is not allowed to use retreads are the front wheels of buses.

By misinterpreting this law, a lot of people think that retreaded tires are illegal on the front, steering tires of all vehicles. When in fact, there is only one specific vehicle that is not allowed to use retreaded tires.

Myth #3: Retreads Wear Faster Than Normal Tires:

TreadWright Retreads use the mold cure process, which is far superior to the pre-cure retreading. TreadWright uses unvulcanized rubber from some of the top rubber manufactures in the US to create a long lasting tire.  All TreadWright Tires are DOT rated for 40,000 miles and have an option of premiere wear to get a 60,000 miles upgrade to your tires. 60,000 miles is well above the standard Mud Terrain average of 40,000 miles.  Of course, just like new tires, all things can vary depending on weight load, under-inflation of tires, highway vs non-highway miles, driving style, traction upgrade and etc.  We recommend using the penny test to keep track of tread wear and tread depth. 

Myth #4: Heat Kills Retreads

The old wives' tale that heat will kill your retread and cause the bond to fail is simply false.  Yes, heat can ruin any tire new or retreaded.  However, the biggest cause of heat on a tire is underinflation.  That is why properly inflating your tires and keep track of your air pressure is important. Make sure you always have a tire gauge handy and know how to properly use a tire gauge. 

Myth #5: Retreads Do Not Perform

This is completely false. As we stated before just check out our Instagram page to see many users over a vast amount of applications using our TreadWright Tires.  Our tires are even tough enough to take on the toughest one-day race vehicle race in the world competing in King Of Hammers.  Our tires are the first remanufacture tires to ever run in such a tough race.  We are completely satisfied with the results of no blowouts, air leaks, bulges, tread separations and etc.  The tires practically came out unscathed. 

Myth #6: Retreads Don't Look Good

Have you seen our tires? Like I have stated many times before we are not your typical pre-cure retread. Our mold cure process gives us the ability to reprint the sidewall with our TreadWright brand and to the average viewer is indistinguishable from a topline tire. I mean just take a look for yourself

Not Your Grandpas Retread

Retread tires were a common sight on American roads right up until the 1960s seen as a tire for the budget conscious consumer. Due to the technological limitations of the time, retreads of the 1950s were good for low speed and low weight applications and could delaminate after a few hundred miles. And as the manufacturing technologies of new tires improved, retreaded tires on cars became less and less popular. 

Fortunately, time and technology have moved on. Modern retread tire manufacturing such as remolding has a much higher level of quality. Unlike old retreading where new tread was glued to the cleaned up old tires, modern remolded tires are cleaned, inspected and then bonded to the new rubber through a curing process to ensure a high level of adhesion. Treadwright presses and molds use the same mold curing process that is standard in all new tire manufacturing plants.

Remolded tires have a lot of benefits that new tires cannot beat:

• They’re up to 40% cheaper than new tires
• They’re excellent for off-roading (especially if you look at our Kedge Grip tires)
• They’re much better for the environment - Remolded tires only require a fraction of the oil that new tires do.
• Remold tires are made in the USA, keeping jobs and the industry local.