Retreads worth it?

riptricket · **Posted:** Fri Aug 13, 2010 4:07 pm

I can get 5 for cheaper than 4 new...
http://www.treadwright.com/shopnow/product/tabid/61/productid/34/sename/24575r16-warden-at-e.aspx

$78 a tire

http://www.treadwright.com/shopnow/product/tabid/61/productid/32/sename/24575r16-puma-at-e.aspx

$74 a tire

http://www.treadwright.com/shopnow/product/tabid/61/productid/36/sename/24575r16-guard-dog-mt-e.aspx

$85 a tire

http://www.treadwright.com/shopnow/product/tabid/61/productid/35/sename/24575r16-crawler-mt-e.aspx

$85

Zack A · **Posted:** Fri Aug 13, 2010 4:14 pm

Ive got the top tire in 245/75/16 all the way around. I have had zero problems with them so far. I did a lot of research prior to purchase and found only 1 or 2 negatives compared to many many positives.

long_tall_texan · **Posted:** Fri Aug 13, 2010 4:17 pm

I would buy them again in a heartbeat. (If I can quit finding good deals on CL)

STINGN · **Posted:** Fri Aug 13, 2010 4:21 pm

you can also find coupons online to get the guard dogs for $78 a tire like me!

eyehatetofu · **Posted:** Fri Aug 13, 2010 5:52 pm

I have the Guard Dogs. I like 'em, no problems thus far, and will by another set when these give up the ghost.

If you search on here there are quite a few threads about Treadwrights. There was just one created the other day.

Quicksilversurf917 · **Posted:** Fri Aug 13, 2010 7:40 pm

someone said that a 31" gaurd dog with a steel wheel can weigh ALOT!! like over 70lbs..... Is this true?

DirtyKK · **Posted:** Fri Aug 13, 2010 7:44 pm

Yes and weight kills power and mpgs. I have 31" A/Ts, not retreads which would weigh even more, on 16x8 steel rims and they weight 77lbs. I lost 4-5 mpgs in town from stock.

I'm installing Moabs and 265/75 Duratracs today and they weigh 12-15lbs less. I forgot exactly what they weight, ill pry weigh again before throwing them on.

Dog'em · **Joined:** Sun Jan 24, 2010 4:15 pm **Posts:** 16

I have the 265/70/16 Guard Dogs which are the MTR tread design on mine and they are heavy and noisy but seem to be holding up very well. The tire shop also said they took allot of weight to balance when I had them mounted.

InCommando · **Posted:** Sat Aug 14, 2010 9:04 am

Most lifted KJ's run tires sizes that are generally "e" rated. These are much heavier than standards p-metric or "c" rated tires.

Sticking to a passenger car tire rating will help with the weight, but possibly (this is hotly debated) lower your resistence to punctures and sidewall slits when off road.

The 285/75/16 E's that I ran on my cherokee weighed about 110# EACH, or roughly double the factory combo... you can certainly feel that kind of change. While increased unsprung weight has proven consequences on performance and MPG, many (me inlcuded) believe that such weight can increase traction potential in some terrains, especially mud.

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Sat Aug 14, 2010 8:45 pm

As noted in another thread recently, I've run the Guard Dogs and the Wardens and both were excellent tires. TreadWright tires are done so well that it's hard to tell they are even retreads. I have never had ANY trouble with them and I've used them for everything from ice to snow to 100 degree heat on the interstate to offroad. They are awesome.

But also as noted, most TreadWright tires are "E" rated and on a steel wheel...they will be HEAVY. My 31s on steelies with air and weights went close to 90 lbs. each. That's a ton of weight on each corner of a Jeep...and my power and fuel economy showed for it!

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sat Aug 14, 2010 9:15 pm

The last set of 245/75R16 treadwrights that came through our shop for a balance took over 16oz of weight each and still would not balance out correctly,guy just had them mounted and were just shipped to him.What a joke compared to I just balance my 35x13.50x15 Toyo's yesterday and the 1st tire took 3.25oz to balance,the 2nd took 2.50oz to balance,and the last 2 took 1.75oz to balance and there 35" tires which is widely known that 35"+ tires are the worst to balance.

Jeepin_it_real · **Posted:** Sat Aug 14, 2010 11:39 pm

so what would be an alternative to treadwrights instead of bashing em... ( one that offers the same strength etc)

eyehatetofu · **Posted:** Sun Aug 15, 2010 12:22 am

Jeepin_it_real wrote:

so what would be an alternative to treadwrights instead of bashing em... ( one that offers the same strength etc)

Similar size, exspensive street tires.

If you were going to buy Load Range E mud tires, the Treadwrights will save you cash and they work great. Less than half the price of the MT/R K's and KM2's; which are pretty popular and pretty nice MT tires. If you are uber concerned with gas mileage and other factors and don't wheel, get the Firestone "whatever everyone else says is awesome" AT's. Those seem to come highly recommended :mrgreen:

ridenby · **Posted:** Sun Aug 15, 2010 1:56 am

Own 6 mounted Treadwright MT/crawlers,less than 12oz.of weight between them all,good tires.Wheel with 15-20 psi.,run 40-45 on road.Will buy again.

InCommando · **Posted:** Sun Aug 15, 2010 6:49 am

Everyone knows that paying the highest price possible for anything assures that you get the highest quality, especially if you make sure you let everyone know that you spent the highest $$$ possible at every opportunity.

In some cases, tires taking a huge amount of weight to balance means you have a tire tech unwilling to take the time to pop the bead and move a tire on the rim and then re-balance. Sometimes a dismount/remount is required. Some super-aggresive (especially bias) M/T's - toyo's do not fit that bill- do take a lot to balance, but i'd bet it is possible that if you figured out the total of the wheel weights to the overall rim/tire weight of such tires, you'd find that the percentage, on average, might be close. My Trxus M/T's balanced very easily while the 15/35-15's Swampers I used to have took a lot to balance. But not much more percentage wise then the junk Goodyear MT/R's I ran & ditched.

The current Dakota M/T's I have run perfectly, even in triple digits, with none having more than .75 oz's on them. I paid $5/tire for mounting and balancing from an old-timer with a BUBBLE BALANCER who moved the tire on the rim to get the best balance. The whole "duh puter says put weight here" generation has apparently lost that art.

For difficult to balance combo's, internal balancing media has proven worthwile.

Retreads worth it?

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