Should You Buy Retread Tires?

These days, many people are choosing to soften the financial crunch by extending the life of that older, paid for, vehicle. Rather than dump a lot of cash to replace with new tires, one way to ease the impact on the wallet is to buy retread tires if you can find them in your size. While retreads won't quite live up to new tires, for the purpose which they're intended to satisfy, they will perform well and perform safely. There are a number of points to keep in mind when considering retread tires, and the article we found that follows delves into those factors. Read on for more information.

Pros and Cons of Retread Tires

It has been a rough year financially for most of us in one way or another. The last thing most of us need is to spend money on a set of tires. If you are facing this problem, you might be interested in the pros and cons of retread tires.

What are retread tires? They are tires that have been rehabilitated after being discarded. The country is full of discarded tires. There are now a ton of companies that go out and find these tires. They collect them and then retread them. The retreading process involves removing the worn out tread first. Rubber is then run around the tread area. The tire is then put in a mold where it is subjected to high heat. This seals the rubber to the tire and shapes the tread. You now have a "new" tire. There are also other processes called recapping, remoulding and remanufacturing, but retreading his the most common.

So, what are the benefits of retread tires? Well, there are a few. First, you are getting a heck of a deal. Retread tires come in at prices that are 30 to 50 percent cheaper than a new tire. These days, that kind of savings can't be understated. If a tire from your car runs $100, that could mean a savings of a couple hundred bucks for four tires.

The second benefit is you are doing something for the environment we live in. You might not care and that is fine as well. If you do care, however, discarded tires are a blight. The retreading industry is great because it actually involves going out to canyons, fields and wherever tires are thrown and removing them. In short, a classic win-win situation.

What about the downside of retreads? Well, there are two primary downsides. The first is availability. Retread are very common for trucks, but a bit less so for cars. They exist for certain sizes of car tires, but not all of them. So availability is a potential issue. The second downside is performance. Retread tires are not going to be good choices for your sports car. They're great for the family car, but probably not a Porsche!

Retreads often get bashed on reliability issues. This is actually an incorrect assumption. Retreads are just as reliable as new tires. The retread process molds the tires together. It is not as though the new tread is stapled to the old tire! They will last as long as your regular tires or at least into the same general mileage range. Any shortage of lifespan is more than made up for with the cost savings.

Are retreads better than new tires? No. That being said, they are safe and solid products. If you need tires, but don't want to spend a bundle, they make sense.

Dirk Gibson is with DCJ Auto Parts - your online home for high performance auto parts and accessories for your car.