Retreads...I have to agree with others, are dangerous and should be
illegal. Look at all the truck detreads you see littering the highways. I
personally have experienced a detreading retread, and it was "new".

The carcass of an old tire has done a lot of flexing and perishing, and is
soft. The new tread layer added is stiff, and this puts an instant stress
on the interface. This causes internal friction and heats the tire, in a
feedback loop which results in a new retread giving less than half the life
of a new tire.

Also the rubber used has no modern technology behind it, and the tread
designs date back to the 60s and 70s. Therefore they have very poor grip
and stability.

Use of these things is irresponsible.

Retreads KILL.

I wrap my rims with new (not used) rubber bands. You get them cheap in bulk.

Duct tape (not duck) can be used to protect the bands.

Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin, New Zealand
VW & mollusc nut
1984 VW Caravelle (currently SVX engine; waiting for a Porsche trans)
1985 Mitsubishi Galant Sigma 2.0 (FWD), for sale
1986 CE80 Toyota Corolla 1.8DX diesel (extaxi)
1989 CE96 Toyota Corolla 1.8DX diesel van/wagon
1989 CT170 Toyota Corona Select 2.0 diesel (taxi)