Despite their poor history, I was wondering what people's recent experience was of retread tyres.

I understand they now have to conform to EU regulations and meet UK standards.

At less than half price of a new tyre: Colway or Enza are tempting to consider. They are both tubless radials and at least 6-10 ply I gather.

Enza (spanish) do a 235/85 R16 called Sahara which looks interesting. Unidirectional groove along the centre similar in theory to a dunlop desert. The tread on either side of this groove is similar in concept to a Michelin XS or Goodyear.

Colway offer a clone of the BFG Trac edge in the same size.

Anyone tried a retread recently?

ctc
Whoa, this is not an answer, just another question. (If that's ok)
By retread do you mean remoulds, or recut tyres? The first has extra rubber moulded back on the worn tyre and the other has a tread cut into the bald(ish) tyre. It could be that recutting isn't allowed these days on ordinary tyres, even though I believe it is done routinely on truck tyres which are specially made with that in mind.
My experience is probably irrelevant, I did need a tyre in Yugoslavia 30 yrs. ago and the only one available was a recut one, the guy cut the new tread in his garage with a sort of rigid loop of wire on the end of something that looked like a heavy electric soldering iron, it just gouged a strip of rubber out of the tyre. In fact he did a remarkably neat job of it. Didn't half stink, mind. It seemed quite normal to have this done, nothing out of the ordinary. It lasted about a thousand miles (1500km) The next one we had was a remould, that lasted a couple of hundred miles then the tread lifted off, the first we heard was the tread flapping about and hitting the wheel arch, abut a foot had broken off.
All this was on a Bedford CA 15cwt. van, by the way.
Cheer up, things must have got better since then (Won't they?)
Good luck whatever you decide,
John


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Johnefyn

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Johnef

I mean a new tread bonded / cemented onto an old tyre.

This whole delamination issue is the main worry as you point out.

recuts....

I have run a set of recut XCLs in the UK and they are legal and, performance-wise, excellent. The tread isnt as deep as the new tyre but they are tough old things anyway so they wear fairly slowly for mud patterns.

I almost bought a set of Colway AT remoulds (got a set of second hand Rangemasters instead) and have heard nothing but good about Colways from users on other forums....

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'91 LR 110 Def/Disco hybrid "Elsa"
Bring me the horizon....

Recuts are a definate no no for 4x4 tyres in stony deserts. The main problem is the depth of rubber in the grooves. This reduced thickness makes them prone to punctures when stones/thorns get pushed into the tread grooves.

Retreads/remoulds are a different proposition.
Today's quality control standards are much higher than they were, and these tyres are used successfully under harsh offroad and onroad competition conditions routinely in UK and europe. However you need to keep in mind that remoulds tend to have softer rubber compounds than new tyres, which means that they are unlikely to last as long as a similar tread pattern new tyre. Also bear in mind that the carcass of the tyre has already had one life, and although carefully selected before remoulding, is unlikely to last as long as a new tyre. As far as I know modern remoulds are far less likely to delaminate than those of years ago.

[This message has been edited by Diff (edited 06 May 2004).]

It depends on the use of the tyres and what you expect. Using a remould on an overland trip is not a good idea, tyres in these conditions are at the limits of there usage, with high running temperatures on hot asphalt and corrogations, higher than normal loads carried,, more sidewall flex (at low pressures) not to mention the stress of sahel thorns, tree stumps, rocky pistes etc etc. Remoulds have there place, and that is on a vehicle that does not do much mileage, a second vehicle for farm work or green laning. Remoulds are generally very noisey on asphalt, especially MT/AT pattern, compared to a Michelin/BFG/Goodyear/Bridgestone. The choice of tyre/rim/tubed/tubeless setup is one of the most important parts of vehicle preparation - and can save you lots of time on the road fixing endless punctures. The people with the most (tyre) problems, are the ones who havent thought about tyre choice for the vehicles size, load and usage and they have tried to save money. Cheers, Grif.

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Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

I was chatting, last weekend at the land Rover Show at Gaydon, with a chap from one of the large 4 x4 tyre suppliers. I ask about 900 x 16 tyres and remoulds were mentioned. He discribed bronco tyres as the old type remould, with the tread added to the old tyre and said that with modern techniques they were a good tyre for the money. Colway tyres, he rated much higher, as they re-cast the whole tyre, only using the case. He said they were vertually a new tyre and said they were very good for the money.

All I know is that nails cannot tell the difference. You pay your money and take your choice.

P.S. He was no help on my search for 900 x 16 suitable for the desert.

Cheers Mick

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The Simpler, the Better!

Dont Colway sponsor one of the major offroad racing teams in the UK? I vaguely remember a team running Wildcats that was sponsored by Colway, who were keen to point out that their tyres are supposedly now far more durable, and in fact good enough for high-stress offroad racing....

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'91 LR 110 Def/Disco hybrid "Elsa"
Bring me the horizon....

Hey Jabbawocky, which vehicle are you using 9.00x16 on ? If you are after a dedicated sand tyre then the 9.00x16 Michelin XS is the only decent tyre to get. Yes they are expensive, but nothing is better in soft hot sand, however, the wear rate on them on asphalt is bad, if you are taking the vehicle further than the Sahara, then use XZL, XCL or another good Mud Terrain pattern, these will suprise you with their performance in sand, they will also be much tougher in Sahel conditions than a dedicated sand tyre and the wear rate is MUCH better. Just make sure you dont use Bar grips - they are terrible. Need any more info, - start a new thread... Cheers, Grif.

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Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

Hi Gripper

Check out my earlier Threads on the subject. Re: 900 x 16

Cheers Mick

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The Simpler, the Better!