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High Tec Retreads - Anyone use them?

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Pookster

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I did do a search could it be possible that tim is the only one who uses them??? From what I can scour on the web, they seem to be of good quality, and the price... reasonable!

I was looking at a set of 4 285/75's with the green diamond carbide embeeded, it was pretty cheap! (same for 305).

Since this is for my Daily driver/ hauler (90% driven, 10% hauler) I wanted it to be able to do well in my "self predicted" bitter winter this year. However, they only have "MUD" pattern tires above 265-

I was hoping collectively everyone would have some experience with these tires. Walmart Liberators in the same size are within a few dollars of each other, but offer an AT tread pattern.

Pro: MT's always look better. REasonable price, avaliable with carbide bits which is cheap insurance on slippery ice.
Cons: Unsure of noise levels. Having driven on muds a lot, I know they are certainly not quiet!

Pro: Walmart liberators come with a great warranty, that I can get serviced at any walmart- including free replacement. All terrain tire will probably run smoother and quieter. Its also a brand new tire made by (IIRC) Michelin.
Cons: doesnt look as cool. No avaliability of carbide bits. Not avaliable in 305 sizing.

All in all, I'd like to give them a try- I think I remember SHaggy running them at one point too. So if any of you have any experience with them, please let me know.
 
I guess I'm the only one. I have a set for my DD. I ran them 20,000 miles and they're half tread. I am polishing up the wheels and i'm going to put them back on.

The muds are loud as hell. WAY WAY WAY louder than my old BFGs. Even louder than my swampers althoug a different pitch.

They're 31x10.50R15s and they're balanced, and they're louder than any set of TSLs I've ever drove on.

If you get them, get the all terrains from them. They have four different tread patterns, mine are shown as the OTR mud, because they no longer make 31" muds.
 
I'd save your cabbage and buy some normal tires. Personally, I wouldn't run a retread on the front axle.
 
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I'd save your cabbage and buy some normal tires. Personally, I wouldn't run a retread on the front axle.

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Over the road trucks do it all the time, that is absolutely silly.
 
I won't be home until Sunday , but I will look for the article on these . They are name brand carcasses that get the tread put back on in a way that makes it like new . Will look for it when I get home /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif
 
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Over the road trucks do it all the time, that is absolutely silly.

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NEVER on the front they don't. I would run retreads on an off road rig only, but never on the front of ANY rig that was a DD. I base that decision on my experience working for a tire company that produced retreaded tires. Yes, I ACTUALLY retreaded tires myself. They do a pretty dang good job on them, but any retreader worth a sh*t will tell you do NOT run them on the front of rig.
 
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Over the road trucks do it all the time, that is absolutely silly.

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Actually, I know alot of over the road owner operaters and companies that will not run them.. It's also illegal for School buses to run retreads on the steer axle. How many times have you gone down the highway and have seen a section of retread on the side of the road? I would rather be safe than sorry.... And companies receomend that if you use a retread on a steer tire that it be limit to short haul trucks that dotn go over 60 mile radius, 60 miles an hour and drive distance is 60 minutes or less...
 
It is my theory anyway that the reason tires are on the side of the road is that they are underinflated and loaded to full load or overloaded. I have never met a trucker that checked his tire pressure, usually just see them hit them with a stick and call it done.

It is not illegal to use them as steer tires unless it is a passenger vehicle (as you guys mentioned)

Also, unlike the "recapping" process used on truck retreads, these are vulcanized.

I have personally driven 20,000 miles on my own set, and my friends have them on their farm trucks with great results.

You guys can talk all the crap you want, but I believe if you tried them, you'd be hooked. I won't buy anything else for my DD after having these. They're great tires, wear even, and for $250 to the door for four, they simply can't be beat.

Mine are on Goodyear Wrangler RT/S carcasses.
 
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It is my theory anyway that the reason tires are on the side of the road is that they are underinflated and loaded to full load or overloaded

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You are correct for the most part. The only part you forgot was speed. Usually when a tire separates, it's because the rig is;

A. Traveling too fast and is overloaded.
B. Traveling too fast, is overloaded, and the tires are
underinflated.
C. The tires are seriously underinflated which casues them to build heat much faster under normal load than if they were properly inflated.

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You guys can talk all the crap you want

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You call it crap, I call it fact. I guess it depends on your experience level.

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Also, unlike the "recapping" process used on truck retreads, these are vulcanized

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When I was in the industry, vulcanizing was a part of the recapping process. That said, what exactly is the "recapping" process? Also, what is the difference between "recapping" and "vulcanizing"? Remember, you are talking to a person who knows this stuff inside and out. /forums/images/graemlins/shame.gif

On a side note, most of the tire treads you see on the road today, are actually from new tires, not retreads. The liability is so high with a retread company, they usually do a VERY good job of vulcanizing the tread to the carcass. They wouldn't be allowed on the road if they were prone to frequent failure. However, I would not run a retread on the front of ANY of my vehicles that are a DD. I have seen retreads fail along the outside edges of a tire. There was no tire failure in the sense of tread peeling off, but had the tire been on the front where the forces of turning corners under load are significantly higher, There is no doubt in my mind that the tread could have peeled right off while turning a corner. That is a recipe for disaster.
 
I have seen tires on the side of the road where the entire tread pealed from the tire. This has obviously not been vulcanized, but rather glued to the tire. In this day and age, vulcanizing may be common, but in the past I have seen many tires with the tread pealed from the carcass without any pieces of the carcass attached to the missing piece.

The majority of truck tire failures are not due to the retreading process at all, as you already mentioned.
 
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I have seen tires on the side of the road where the entire tread pealed from the tire. This has obviously not been vulcanized, but rather glued to the tire. In this day and age, vulcanizing may be common, but in the past I have seen many tires with the tread pealed from the carcass without any pieces of the carcass attached to the missing piece.

The majority of truck tire failures are not due to the retreading process at all, as you already mentioned.

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No matter why they came apart, it is still not the safest practice to use them as a steer tire.
 
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I have seen tires on the side of the road where the entire tread pealed from the tire. This has obviously not been vulcanized, but rather glued to the tire. In this day and age, vulcanizing may be common, but in the past I have seen many tires with the tread pealed from the carcass without any pieces of the carcass attached to the missing piece.

The majority of truck tire failures are not due to the retreading process at all, as you already mentioned.

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No matter why they came apart, it is still not the safest practice to use them as a steer tire.

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Any tire can come apart, and a vulcanized retread is no more unsafe than a new tire in my opinion.
 
THe green diamond stuff really impresses me however- Given as to how ass happy my truck is now (BFG radial long trails, but their down to the wear bar) They are in desprate need of replacement. The traction is so bad, that going up a small hill in the rain, I can feel the ass end move side ways as both wheels start spinning.

I've had a couple not so friendly encounters sliding with mud terrains in light snow and especially ice.

I do a lot of winter traveling, a lot of places that dont plow (easily 7-8" deep) and when driving, always encounter sections of snow, and then sections of plowed.

I wanted to get a 285 size, but they dont make it with green diamond, and an All terrain tread. Its just that the noise factor is a consideration (I already have to listen to my diesel, I think its time to add some floor insulation).

Question, if they claim that no tire needs more than 6 oz of balance- Anyone ever use equal in their wheels then? SEems like a perfect fit.
 
They claim that no tire requires more than 6 ounces, but they also require that the tires be static balanced before they are dynamic balanced.
 
All the tires on Our Boieng 707 (E-6B) are all retreads, they are going around 180-200 mph when they land so id call it safe, although aircraft tires probally go through a different process though /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif
 
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