So I recently acquired a set of new All-Terrain tires for the 4Runner. They are an all-terrain tread pattern from a company called TreadWright. From the looks of them they should be perfect for overloading.
Here’s the basic details:
- Tread Pattern: Warden All-Terrain
- Size: 265X75 R16
- Service: LT
- Load Range: E
- Sidewall: 10 ply
- Retail Price: $129.99 (on sale now for $124.99)
Here’s what the TreadWright product page says about the tire:
The Warden’s all-terrain design provides high-void, interlocking tread blocks, upper sidewall traction bars and abundant siping for your Light Truck and SUV. The Warden is known for its traction, handling and steering control in tough off-road conditions without generating excessive noise on the highway. No off-road adventure is off limits for the Warden’s superior traction and handling characteristics.
What is a Re-Molded Tire?
So you may have been super shocked by the price given that the “name brand” tire you might be thinking of retails for $187. But there’s a reason for that. TreadWright makes Re-Molded tires. So what is that?
Well let’s start with a little bit about how most new tires are made. Check out the video below but the key detail is curing. A new tire is assembled on a special drum with wire for the bead and wire for the reinforcement belts encapsulated in fresh, un-cured rubber. It’s the consistency of silly putty, doesn’t hold it’s shape and has no tread or labeling on it.
A fully assembled tire goes into a mold that seals the raw tire in with heat and pressure forcing it into the shape of the mold. After curing for an hour or more, it comes out a perfectly new tire. Here’s the video:
Is this a re-tread?
No. A re-tread is when they Buff out the tread and apply a strip of cured rubber to just the tread with adhesive.
Remolded tires start as used tires off trucks just like yours or mine. They are ground down to just the bar casing, then re wrapped with fresh uncured rubber from bead to bead then cured in a press just like a new tire. The result is more or less a new tire that has been made with the bones of a used tire.
Here’s a good video, it’s kind of long, about how TreadWright makes tires in their factors in Houston, TX.
I first learned of TreadWright on the High Sierra 4×4 Podcast, a great podcast from Sacramento, CA. They interviewed the CEO of TreadWright. Check out this episode of HS4x4 and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Where do you get TreadWrights?
TreadWrights sell through their website and ship to your house as you see them in my video above. Just the bare tire with a label wrapped on them. Dealing with four big tires can be kind of inconvenient, but I’ve been doing this for years, since I can get tires directly from the Tire Rack warehouse here in Reno.
The other issue is that they can get damaged in transit as one of mine was. I didn’t notice that one tire had what looked like a box cutter slash in it until I got them home all mounted up. TreadWright didn’t ask any questions and sent out a replacement right away. Cost of doing business this way I guess.
Anyway, we have a pickup truck so I loaded them in and it wasn’t a big deal. If you’re tying to fit 33s or bigger into an SUV, though, good luck. Plus mounted tires are heavy (80# in my case) so lift with the legs.
How do they perform?
I thought you’d never ask. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time in this episode to get to all that so stay tuned and we’ll hit that in part 2 of our review or TreadWright’s Warden All-Terrain tire.
-Mike
DISCLAIMER
We received these tires at no cost from TreadWright as a sponsorship in exchange for an honest video review. I present my honest opinions as to the performance and safety of this tire.
Add comment