Retreaded car tires (or remolds as they are sometimes better known) have been a part of the tire market for many years. It is not that long ago that every tire dealer in the country sold retreaded car tires as a budget line. These days, the increased influx of cheap new tires from China has meant that retreads are now available only through selected dealers. However, with environmental issues becoming more important to the general public, it is the retread’s status as a recycled product that is now becoming more important.

How is a Retread Made?

Firstly, the retreader takes a worn tire casing and inspects it to check it is suitable for retreading. The remaining old tread rubber is then removed during a process called "buffing". This provides a profile and surface texture in preparation for the application of a new tread.

The tire is then inspected for a second time and any correction work is then carried out before the next stage of the manufacturing process, which is the application of a new tread and sidewall veneer. In car tire retreading this is done by applying uncured tread and sidewall rubber, usually by using a strip-winding machine.

The built tire then moves on to the curing or vulcanization process. In car tire retreading this is carried out in individual curing moulds (similar to those used in new tire manufacturing).

After curing, a final inspection process is carried out identify any potential defect. Unacceptable tires are rejected and scrapped.

What is the Quality of Retreads Like?

Despite the historical image, the quality of retreaded tires today is very good. Since 2004 all retreaded car tires in the UK have been subject to an ECE Regulation (Reg 108), which stipulates that all retreads have to meet the same load and speed test criteria as new tires. Each retreader has to subject a proportion of his production for testing and, if his tires fail, he runs the risk of being closed down. Retreaded tires not produced to ECE 108 are illegal.

One erroneously held belief is the idea that retreads cannot be used on motorways or above 50 mph. Absolute Rubbish! Most retreads sold in the UK market are rated to either T (118 mph), H (130 mph) or V (149 mph). The exception is some retreaded winter tires which may be Q rated (99 mph) but these are mostly sold overseas.

Another myth is the belief that the discarded tread rubber from truck tires that you see on the side of motorways is from retreads. Not true. Truck tire failures occur primarily as a result of poor tire maintenance, for example by running a tire under inflated or when the tire has suffered some kind of damage. In this case the tire will fail regardless of whether a tire is a retread or a new tire.

Incidentally retreads make up about 40% of all truck tires on the road and in many applications they routinely outperform new tires.

How Green Are Retreads?

Retreads are extremely environmentally friendly.

Firstly, the production of a retread saves substantial amounts of fossil fuels. In fact, the manufacture of a passenger retread requires 4.5 gallons less oil than a new tire.

Secondly, retreaded car tires sold in the UK are almost exclusively manufactured in the UK, which means they don’t have to be shipped from the other side of the world, unlike many budget new tires, a high proportion of which are manufactured in China and other Far East countries.

Retreading is also the best practical environmental option for tire recycling. Every retread used means one less new tire saving in natural resources. It also means that less tires ultimately have to be burned (the most common form of disposal in the UK) thereby reducing pollution. In fact, a recent study by the Environmental Association found that out of all the various options for tire recycling, retreading has the least environmental impact. So retreads really are green.