A tire’s main jobs are to give a smooth grip, keep the car in contact with the road, and, most importantly, not let the car “slip” and cause an accident. Usually, you can see that new tyres do these things without any trouble, but as the car gets older, the tyres start to lose their effectiveness. This happens because tyres wear out, which is a common problem.
When the tyres move against the road, there is a lot of friction, which wears out parts of the tyre called threads. This makes the vehicle lose its grip on the road. You don’t have to dig a hole in your wallet every time your tyre threads wear out. Instead, you can do what is called “retreading” by most people.
In this article from Motoring Junction, we’ll look at the whole process of retreading tyres. And if you should have your tyres retreaded or not.
Tire retreading is a process that gives your old, worn-out tyres a new lease on life. Before we get into the details of this well-known idea, let’s talk about why tyres need to be retread.
As the treads on a tyre start to wear down, the treads get shallower. To keep the car safe on wet and dirty roads, the tread pattern is very important. Remember these things to make your tyres last longer.
First of all, when you retread a tyre, you give it a new shape. This makes the ride better because the new rubber on the tread will grip the road better. Plus, the old tyre can now be used for something else.
It’s important to remember that not all tyres are or should be retreaded. Only tyres that have worked well and have only minor damage should be retreaded. Some tyres can’t be fixed after a certain amount of time, no matter how many times you retread them.
One of the best things about retreading your tyres is that you don’t have to buy a new one if one of them is damaged. This could save you money. You could save money by taking it to a retreading centre near you.
Types of Tyre Retreading
Most of the time, there are two ways to replace worn-out tyres on your cars:
Cold retreading
100 degrees (Celsius). Molds cost a lot of money, so they are not used in this process. Tire-liners are used in their place.
Hot retreading
In the Hot retreading method, the tyres are heated to more than 150 degrees Celsius in a mould. This method is used to make sure the tyres are the right shape. Hot Retreading is the process of changing the shape and threads of a tyre by vulcanizing it at temperatures of 150 degrees or higher.
Tire Retreading Process
Even though retreading your tyre sounds easy, there are actually quite a few steps that need to be taken.
Checking the tyres
As was already said, not all worn-out tyres can be retreaded. They have to go through an inspection so that we can see if they can be retreaded.
Tires aren’t just looked at by hand. They go through a test called “Laser Digital Shearography,” in which a laser scans through the whole tyre and the mechanic looks for damage in the small cracks. This will help the mechanic figure out if he can re-tread the tyres or not.
Tire polishing
After the first check, we can move on to buffing the tyres. In this process, parts of the tyres are taken out or cut out to get rid of things that aren’t needed and to make the tread more flexible.
Most importantly, this makes it easy to get rid of the tread blocks that form on tyres and cover the space between the rubber and the tread grooves. This process is done by computerised machines that are run by skilled mechanics. If you want to retread, you should really think about going to an authorised dealer or service centre.
Repairing
This part of the process involves figuring out why the tyres are damaged and fixing them in a way that will keep them from getting worse in the future. Even minute errors are made sure to not be left unsolved. For example, small holes in tyres can be found by running high voltage electricity through the tyre. This also gives the tyre a chance to get stronger again.
Building
After the above steps are done, materials are added to the casing with the help of computerised machines to improve the tire’s natural properties.
Computers are used in this process, mostly to keep the systems from making mistakes and to make the tyres work better. These days, computers are pretty accurate and are slowly taking over jobs like these that used to be done by hand.
Curing
The next step is to heat the tyre and then check the level of the tyre. This is done to find out how good the rubber is and whether or not it is still weak.
Last look-over
This is the last step where we can check to see if the tyre is ready to go. Here, the tyre goes through a series of checks to make sure it is in good shape. If any problems are found, the tyre can be replaced right away.
Two tests are done on the tyre: a visual and tactile inspection, and an inflation test. After all the tests are done, they go to the first Shearography test. If there are any small mistakes left, they can be found here.
Pros of Tire Retreading
The process of retreading can be done on all tyres, from the biggest truck tyres to the smallest bicycle tyres. This doesn’t mean that you should, though.
These tyres are better for the environment than new tyres because they don’t make as much pollution. Some of them give off harmful carbon dioxide, and not all of them are good for the environment.
One of the best things about used tyres is that they cost less than new ones, which helps you save money on new tyres.
Retreaded tyres can have any design you want, because retreading lets you get the design you want.
Cons of Tyre Retreading
If this job is done without the help or supervision of a professional or if the tyres aren’t checked properly, it can be a big deal because the driver’s safety could be at risk.
Tires that have been retreaded have been used before, so you can’t count on them. Tramlining can also be caused by bad tyre work.
Since budget tyres came out, which are much cheaper than retreaded tyres, they have been in a tough race with each other. Also, budget tyres have a slight advantage because they are brand new and much cheaper than retreaded tyres.
These are the best Indian tyre brands.
Should you get your Vehicle’s tyre retreaded?
Most of the time, retreading is safe if it is done by a professional. But no one with a high performance car should take the chance.
For your small commuter car or an agricultural vehicle like a tractor, retreading tyres is fine.
Most truck and bus companies re-use the tyres on their vehicles. But it can be dangerous because these tyres have to carry a lot of weight. The structure of these tyres’ sidewalls gets weaker over time, which is hard to see with the naked eye. If the sidewall of a retreaded tyre is weak, there is a chance that it will burst.
If a professional doesn’t put the new thread on right, the tread may start coming away from the tyre.
I wouldn’t put any of my cars at risk by retreading the tyres. But it can be great for reusing tyres on Farm Tractors and other low-speed vehicles.
So, now you know. Tire retreading is a simple and useful idea, but should you really get it done instead of just buying cheap tyres? In the end, it all comes down to how comfortable and happy the user is. Find out how to rotate tyres so they wear evenly.
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