Does anyone make retreads anymore?

Speaking of repaired tires reminded me when I was 17 I ordered a couple used tires for my Morris Minor from JC Whitney. What did I know? They came in to the freight warehouse and I went to get them but looked at them first. One maybe was passable but the other they had actually taken the side casing of another tire and glued it on the side of the tire. Might have been ok for a farm wagon but geeze on the highway? I just sent them back.

ā€œPeople the world overā€¦know about the McDonaldā€™s coffee ladyā€

But, what they ā€œknowā€ about that case is likely to be just as inaccurate as what many Americans ā€œknowā€ about the case.

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Iā€™ll admit Iā€™m no expert on the case

But the the fact that the lawsuit even occurred says a lot about the culture of the USA :smiley:

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As I understand it, McDonaldā€™s was brewing their coffee at a higher temperature than coffee is usually brewed at, because doing this allowed them to extract more flavor from less grounds, thus saving them money. And they didnā€™t allow the brewed coffee time to cool down to an appropriate serving temperature before serving it to customers.

As I understand it, McDonald's was brewing their coffee at a higher temperature than coffee is usually brewed at, because doing this allowed them to extract more flavor from less grounds, thus saving them money.

Iā€™m not a coffee drinkerā€¦but I listened to this special on NPR about coffee I found interesting.

The optimal temp is between 195 and 205. Any hotter and coffee looses flavorā€¦and cooler and and the coffee is flat. The trial pointed out that almost every coffee house brews coffee at the same temps as McDonalds.

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The woman put the coffee between her thighs and burned her legs. Stupid, but enough to launch a lawsuit. As a result, their coffee is now cooler, much to the chagrin of real coffee drinkers.

Seinfeld did a great episode with Kramer about how he spilled hot coffee on himself.

Actually I think after the jury made the ridiculous award, it was over-turned later on for a much much smaller amount. The details escape me.

The thing is, judges should be much more aggressive in refusing to hear cases so as not to fuel these kinds of law suits. I mentioned before trying to find the Crest Neet Squeeze toothpaste and found out the took it off the shelf because of a class action. The complaint? It was too hard to get the last 20% of tooth paste out of it. Like donā€™t buy it then Charlie. What did I read though? The court refused to review the suit on polygamy brought by that Utah TV star. That was smart like they should have done (especially the Supreme Court) on these past few cases. Donā€™t set a precedent for other cases, just leave them alone.

What was the question? Oh yeah retreads. Not economically feasible for cars anymore.

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I saw a retreadā€™s treads lying on the Interstate last week, making a racket when it slapped against passing cars, so I guess theyā€™re still around.

Retreads are the norm on Semis . . . but ONLY on non-steer axles

Speaking of retreaded subjects, I think most everything to say has been said on the subject. Just watch for flying rubber on the road.

regrooving is still a common practice today in large bus fleets as long as the tire is marked ā€œregroovableā€. Cheaper than buying new or retreaded tires. They use a hot iron that has a blade attached at the end and recarve existing grooves.

I doubt you can identify an original tread from a retread lying on the road while driving by in your car.

If the debris came from a truck tire it is likely the scrap was from a retreaded tire as they are commonly used on commercial trucks.

If it came from a passenger car tire it was from an original casing, the practice of retreading passenger car tires ended may years ago. Despite having tire pressure monitors in cars people still drive on leaking tires until the tire comes apart.

Iā€™ll stick to retreads for large trucks, and ONLY for non-steer axles

Iā€™m a fleet mechanic, and I can tell you with 100% certainty we stay away from regrooving

Passenger jets, because of the uneven tire wear caused by landing, have their tires retreaded as much as 7 times! A proper retread is just as safe as a new tire, provided the tire itself is sound.

Because of cost, cars no longer have retreads.

Not a surprise. Aircraft tires must meet stringent FAA standards. They are handcrafted and bias-ply, not radial, construction.

They still retread tires for pickup trucks to this day, at least around here. Now keep in mind up until the recent past you could also get brake shoe relining done here. We are 30 years behind the times.

A guy at work is running them on a diesel pickup, I am not sure where he got them but I have to say I thought it was stupid. I know years ago he had one come apart.

When you are getting 13mpg I guess you have to save money where you can.

I use retreads on my Piper Seneca (light twin engine plane). Theyā€™re the safest part of my planeā€™s landing gear.

Montainbik: You know what Iā€™m talking about. If you get a chance, lookup how may AD notes were issued against PA34 landing gear :slight_smile:

Why do they call them ā€˜landing gearā€™ instead of ā€˜taking off gearā€™?

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Taking off gear is harder so say.