You are getting me interested,could I use this to sort of refresh an old set of all seasons to get me through the winter? recaps are hard to find and this sort of “recycling” has my interest,I hate sendind something to the trash bin that could be put back in use-Kevin
Siping only helps a bit with wet or icy, not deep snow. You need tread for that.
No, you should absolutely not use siping to “refresh” an old set of all season tires to get through the winter. Not only will they not help in snow, as Texases has pointed out, but they could fail prematurely and also give you a false sense of security, which could lead to a head on with a semi.
I urge you, if your tires are low replace them with new ones. It’s extremely cheap insurance against getting killed or maimed. Pleas, please don’t try to use trickery to retain worn out tires.
Thank you,poor Rednecks around here used to regroove thier 4wd tires.your points are well taken,I’ve yet to see a modern tire that didnt have a thousand sipes in the tread
(for wet performance)-Kevin ps I’m sure the sipes will go away on my ROADIAN suv tires long before they are unsafe-Kevin
I've yet to see a modern tire that didnt have a thousand sipes in the treadBut those are far different than the sipes cut into a tread by a siping machine.
That Discount Tire webpage Robert posted a link to claims that “To sipe (in mass production) after the molding process would be too expensive and time consuming for the manufacturer.”
If that’s the case, why are the new tires I buy already siped?
It’s pretty clear that web page is nothing more than marketing hype, and if you believe it, just remember the phrase “caveat emptor.”
As a former tire designer, I find these claims laughable.
I frequently wonder why the FTC isn’t after these guys for false advertising - then I remember the current climate towards shrinking government and in particular, making it easier for business to … ah … do business.
The true answer is that aftermarket siping hurts fuel economy, but it will be hard for anyone to be able to tell. Besides, there are HUGE differences in rolling resistance between tires of the same size.
And one last thought: Tread pattern plays very little role in RR, but tread COMPOUND can be huge! But there is not free lunch. One buys RR by selling treadwear and/or traction.
But those are far different than the sipes cut into a tread by a siping machine.
You’re right!! The sipping that is from the manufacturer…is designed by the engineers who actually have a degree in mechanical engineering. Where as the person who’s running the sipping machine at your tire store had a 2 hour training course on the machine and has no idea about the physics of the tire and what effects sipping will have.
Heck, I’ll just do it myself! And it’s only $68!
•Quickly Sipe and regroove tires
•Heating capacity of 250 watts
•Plugs into standard 110volt outlet
•Includes head and 12 blades
•Works great for Race Car Tires, Off-Road/Mudd tires, Go-kart Tires, Truck Tires, and many hobbies and crafts
Great link Texases! I can’t wait to buy one off these and run out and sipe my Race Car Tires! 
First I think I’ll update my Will…
I remember seeing one of those in the Whitney catalog when I was a kid. The ad talked about putting new grooves on a bald tire. Unsafe at any speed indeed.
That’s just what I need to keep my bald tires legal!!! With something like this, I can turn a 1/32" tread depth into a 5/32" tread depth. (Just kidding. I’m not suicidal.)
First I think I’ll update my Will…
Unsafe at any speed indeed
+1 to both comments.
Those who are as old as I am may recall a series of horrendous accidents involving Greyhound buses, back in the '60s. After several of their buses crashed, and after quite a few folks were killed, following blowouts and/or skids, it finally came to light that Greyhound was re-grooving bald tires in order to get a few thousand more miles out of them.
Why are a lot of new truck tires rated as regroovable?-Kevin
Grooving bald bus tires to get more life out of them? Sick!
Hey VDC, did the tort lawyers take a bus to the courthouse?
An independent tire dealer sniped the rear tires I had on my 1961 Corvair. I didn’t have the money for snow tires and he claimed that this would help me gain traction with my regular tires.
I couldn’t see that it made any difference as the Corvair was good on ice and snow with regular tires.
As for re-grooving tires, I saw a new car dealer do this preparing a trade-in for resale. I hope the practice is illegal now. I did purchase a lot of recapped tires back in the 1960s and had no problems.
" I didn’t have the money for snow tires "
Back then in 68 or so, I used to get the Firestone recapped tires on sale for $50 for two snow tires mounted and balanced or $100 for four tires, two snows and two regular or four regular. I used them several times. I never had any trouble with them and even though didn’t have any money, seemed like a good value. And they were whitewalls too.
Recaps were common on those old bias ply carcasses. Thank God that era has ended!
Recaps are still common with trucks and many other commercial vehicles.
Back in the 80s while employed at a local Nissan dealer and when the option was a lot more popular, white wall tires were offered at considerably more expense on some models such as the Maxima, Sentra, and so on.
The dealer turned the blackwall tires into whitewalls by having a guy come around and alter them out in the lot. He had a machine that would spin the wheel up and peel a 1/2" wide groove out of the sidewall followed by the insertion of a white tape into the groove. The guy did this for 5 bucks a tire so 20 per car. The customer would pay a few hundred extra for the whitewall option…
Think about that; slicing rubber out of the sidewall… 
@ok4450
Yeh, but you had the added safety of that vinyl tape protecting you from blowouts at 70 mph. What more could you ask for. A great deal for those who buy with " their eyes only". Sounds like a good James Bond car,