New Treadwright Tire Review

[willymutt]

I bought a some Treadwright tires for the back of my dually and had them installed yesterday. My truck is a 2006 Dodge dually with an auto. No programmers or anything so stock power. I had installed a pair of virgin Firestones on the front for a decent steer tire. I went with the 245/75R17's for the rear since they had a hard time getting the 235's that are stock on it. The tires showed up when they were suppose to and looked good. The tread is really deep on them. I had them installed and balanced and they seemed to balance out really well. I don't have actual figures for them but no noticable vibration. The main thing I've noticed is quite a bit of tread squirm. I knew this could happen with the deep tread though so I'm not surprised.

I'll get some pictures in the next day or so but wanted to start a little review on them here. I'll be making a 1000 mile trip this weekend unloaded so we'll see how they do with that. So far though, I'm happy with my experience with TW.

[Master-Pull]

Which tread pattern did you go with? I have been looking at the guard dogs for my tow rig.

-Alex

[olllotj]

I just put 4 265 wardens on my 2500hd, gas. The tread is deep as hell. Definate tread squirm, but not bad. i have 1000 miles on mine with 600 towing. the car trailer and Jp.

So far so good! Price was great.

[Brutpwr]

Almost all tires these days suffer from pretty bad tread squirm except DOT style automotive race tires because of fairly deep tread depths along with the soft "out of the mold" compounds used with most tires these days. Usually takes about 10000 miles to firm a the tread blocks, and round off the tread block edges as they scrub in and loose a bit of tread depth before the tire asks like it should on most pavement conditions. Deep tread is really only helpful for off road, really deep standing water on pavement and for more tread wear miles really and not the stuff demanded of tires 99.99 % of the time which is for maximum traction when needed and low rolling resistance all the rest of the time lol.

Jason

[MNorby]

Just got home from towing to moab and back on my new 285/75r16 wardens (BFG A/T look-alike) and they did great. One didn't balance up great but they are also some used wheels I got to put them on too so I can't verify the wheels themselves.

[87manche]

I see that they have 245/70R19.5s in the MT tread.

Does anyone think they'd be a bad idea for the drive axle on my toter? They're reasonably priced, before shipping that is.

[Back Woods]

I put guard dogs on my Super Duty and had to take the back tires off after a little over 1000 miles.

Good tires but my driving style cant handle them.

[willymutt]

I have the Guardians. Similar to the Dueler tread. Just got back from a 1000 mile round trip. Empty one way and they did good. I'm not real happy with the tire shop that mounted them though. They didn't line the wheels up so the valve stems are clocked correctly on the duals. Means I have to pull them off and realign.

I've gotten used to the squirm now. They rode good though and no noticable noise. I'll keep tabs on them. For the money though, I'm happy.

[Master-Pull]

Update? I am still considering these tires.

Also how squirmy are they under load?

-Alex

[matty_fly]

Put a set of 285/75/16 load range E's on my gasser f250. Went with the guard dog(I think, whatever the old style MT/R) so far, so good, had about 3500 pounds in it a few times with no issues and they squirm less than the 265 michilin ltx's that were on it.

[willymutt]

So far I've only put about 4000 miles on them. They aren't as squirmy anymore. The only load I've pulled with them was when they were new, still not bad. We haven't gotten any snow yet so I don't know how they'll do there but in wet roads they work great.

[Fleetwood]

Originally Posted by Master-Pull

Update? I am still considering these tires.

Also how squirmy are they under load?

-Alex

Ive got about 10k on my set i went with a D load rating hoping for alittle better ride quality, but it didn't help stick with the E rated. They aren't that squirmy, but noticeable the heaviest i pull is a short gooseneck with a toyota pickup and Razor.

Edit: for the load rating the tread feels extremely soft, but at 10k miles im not showing hardly any wear.

Edit: 265/70/16 Guard Dog

[Master-Pull]

Originally Posted by Fleetwood

Ive got about 10k on my set i went with a D load rating hoping for alittle better ride quality, but it didn't help stick with the E rated. They aren't that squirmy, but noticeable the heaviest i pull is a short gooseneck with a toyota pickup and Razor.

Edit: for the load rating the tread feels extremely soft, but at 10k miles im not showing hardly any wear.

Sorry what tires do you have? I want the 315 70 R17s and I can only get the mud terrain.

-Alex

[Back Woods]

Put four 285 Gaurd dogs on my super duty.

Great tires, hook up awesome. Ended up having to take the rear tires off at about 3000 miles, still have the fronts on and they are holding up great.

Put the other two on my camper truck. The tread is pretty soft and my foot is very heavy. Took almost half the tread off in half the summer.



I plan on buying a set of 285 A/Ts from them next summer just for the rear. So I have 4 to swap in and out. Its welded.

[86k30]

Originally Posted by Fleetwood

Ive got about 10k on my set i went with a D load rating hoping for alittle better ride quality, but it didn't help stick with the E rated. They aren't that squirmy, but noticeable the heaviest i pull is a short gooseneck with a toyota pickup and Razor.

Edit: for the load rating the tread feels extremely soft, but at 10k miles im not showing hardly any wear.

^ I have been really suprised by the tires Fleetwood put on his Dmax. Several of us gave him hell about how they wouldn't last 10,000 miles since they are so soft and squirmy. But you can't see that they are wearing at all. And I know he's not easy on the throttle

[cnrussell]

I put the guard dogs on my F-150 in E range 265-70-17. I'll probably wear through them in 24,000 miles. They're soft, they have some bubbles and cracks in the tread, and I had one separate on the highway (luckily, without the camper in the back). I wouldn't buy them again.

[twoslo4five0]

ive got 6 coming, even if 1 blows out i still did better than buying a new set for my dually i put mabye 1000 miles a month on if that.

[oldenginebuilder]

I'm not convinced that it's ever okay to put retreads on the front of anything driven on public roads. For big-rigs, it's blatantly illegal.
I have these on the rear of mine, and I have no issues with tread squirm. But I don't drive hard when I'm not in my Trans Am, either. My trucks are for earning money, not destroying tires. That's why I have my T/A.

[gavan]

Originally Posted by oldenginebuilder

I'm not convinced that it's ever okay to put retreads on the front of anything driven on public roads. For big-rigs, it's blatantly illegal.

False.

For commercial busses it is illegal. Everything else is nice and legal.

What are the regulations regarding the use of retreads on steering axles?
This is an issue that confuses many people. A misconception exists that retreads are not allowed on the steering axle of any vehicle. The fact is, retreads can be used on the steering axle on any vehicle with the exception of a bus. Paragraph "d" of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation Title 49 Part 393.75 states, "No bus shall be operated with regrooved, recapped or retreaded tires on the front wheels."

From here

http://www.retread.org/?page=FAQs

I would run a good, quality carcass that was x-rayed and properly retreaded on the steer axle of just about anything. Most tire failures are from under inflation or abuse/neglect these days anyways.

If you CHOOSE not to run them on your steers, thats up to you. It is legal.

[DRTDEVL]

Originally Posted by gavan

False.

For commercial busses it is illegal. Everything else is nice and legal.



From here

http://www.retread.org/?page=FAQs

I would run a good, quality carcass that was x-rayed and properly retreaded on the steer axle of just about anything. Most tire failures are from under inflation or abuse/neglect these days anyways.

If you CHOOSE not to run them on your steers, thats up to you. It is legal.

Of course they will tell you that. It's *technically* there:

(d) No bus shall be operated with regrooved, recapped or retreaded tires on the front wheels.

BUT it continues on in the next line with:

(e) A regrooved tire with a load-carrying capacity equal to or greater than 2,232 kg (4,920 pounds) shall not be used on the front wheels of any truck or truck tractor.

No semi truck would be legal to have a retread on the front. Heck, you'd be shocked how small a tire can be with a load range greater than 4920 lbs. A 265/70R19.5 Load Range "G" is rated 5000lbs @ 105psi. A 11R17.5HC "G" is 5050@105.

It's all a matter of perspective... And complete information.

[Dustin Smith]

Originally Posted by DRTDEVL

It's all a matter of perspective... And complete information.

Thats states "regrooved" not retreaded. The bus statute plainly states "regrooved, recapped, or retreaded." One could accurately surmise that, based on the existing wording, recapped and retreaded tires are legal on a steer axle, but not regrooved. If there were no statutory difference, the differentiation would not have been made in the section concerning busses..

Complete information, and all......

[spreader]

'gavan' is correct. Drove class 8 trucks for 37 years. Ran retreads for many of those. Never on steer axles tho, as a matter of choice. Of course, hauling aviation fuels and regular gas/diesel played into that decision. I was never uneasy with re-caps. A good cold cap(Bandag) on radial tire will usually outlast a new tire. Harder compound. If you're going to throw a cap it will usually be in the first 1000-2000 miles. After that, forget about it and just maintain tires as usual.
Tire failure, unless it happens to you, is almost infitesimal. Considering the abuse and number of miles on a yearly basis the safey factor is great. Three million miles and I never had one failure due to defective material/manufacturing. Road hazards/trash/improper PM, yes.

[makya]

Originally Posted by DRTDEVL

Of course they will tell you that. It's *technically* there:



BUT it continues on in the next line with:



No semi truck would be legal to have a retread on the front. Heck, you'd be shocked how small a tire can be with a load range greater than 4920 lbs. A 265/70R19.5 Load Range "G" is rated 5000lbs @ 105psi. A 11R17.5HC "G" is 5050@105.

It's all a matter of perspective... And complete information.

regrooved, not retreaded.

[twoslo4five0]

i do have to say at this point im a little aggrevated with treadwright. I placed my order friday morning and after a call today they are just now shipping out my tires. I bought spacer and a set of wheels after the tires and both are here now, tires just left today.

[makya]

Originally Posted by twoslo4five0

i do have to say at this point im a little aggrevated with treadwright. I placed my order friday morning and after a call today they are just now shipping out my tires. I bought spacer and a set of wheels after the tires and both are here now, tires just left today.

that's faster than a lot of places will ship your tires, two business days is not much of a delay.