Is it OK to use a retread tire? At some point in time anyone who owns a car might have to ask themselves that question. It is getting very expensive to fix a car these days, and when you see the difference in the price of reread versus new it is hard not to go with the less expensive one.
Not many average drivers think that a retread could be anywhere near as good as a new one, or even a used one, but the reality is that these tires must go through an inspection and be approved by the Department of Transportation, and given a rating of “good as new performance”, before the can enter the market for resale.
Passenger cars hardly ever use retreads, because they are not normally made that small. Retreads are mainly used in jeeps, construction vehicles, off road trucks, and SUVs. Because of the size of these tires they are normally much more expensive than smaller ones. When you need to replace one you could actually save about sixty percent of the cost, by buying a retread rather than a new one.
On one of the U. S. Government websites, it says that it takes much less oil to make a retread tire than it is to make a new one. A retread only needs about seven gallons of oil to make one, while a new one uses twenty-two gallons of oil to produce. That of course makes them less expensive, another reason is that the casing from an old one is used to create the retread, and that in turn saves time and money.
When a retread is made, the manufacturer takes a casing from an old tire and bonds new thread onto it. Government vehicles like school buses and fire trucks use retreads, in fact eighty percent of all U. S. Aircraft use retreads. In the United States, the trucking industry saves 3 billion dollars a year by using retread tires.
When consumers buy only new tires it turns out to be a very big problem getting rid of the old. Most are not recycled, they are just “stockpiled” like a big heap of garbage in a dump. Sometimes these catch fire, and a rubber fire is hard to control.
Rubber burns very hot, produce a thick black smoke, and is very hard to extinguish, in dry areas this can be a risk for people who live in the area, and the firefighters. Another problem with stockpiling is when water builds up inside the rubber, this is a breeding ground for disease carrying mosquitoes.
Knowing that retreads are held up to standards, and have to be approved by the Department of Transportation before they can be sold, eases many thoughts when it comes to buying a first retread.. Also knowing that keeping rubber out of stockpiles where it will take millions of years for the rubber to break down calms the environmentalist in all of us.
State Governments each have made different laws regarding the use of retreads. In some states you cannot purchase a retread for vehicles that them in 16 inches or smaller that will be used on passenger cars, like the law in California. In other states retreads can only be used on the backs of vehicles.
People everywhere agree that purchasing a retread tire is just as good as buying a new one when you need one. The best way to not have to purchase new tires for your car at all, is to always keep them properly inflated and have them rotated. More flats occur from people who do not follow the advice above, then do from people who run over things.
Each technician is fully licensed with a minimum of 5 years experience in servicing your truck and/or any Tires Mississauga and Winter Tires Toronto needs. The Tire Terminal 1750 Britannia Road East, Mississauga, ON L4W 2A3 (905) 565-8406