Treadwright tire review anybody?

[salong53]

I just installed my Daystar leveling kit, and I'm looking to replace the 265/65 Michelin LTX M/S tires I have with some A/T 265/70 tires. The problem is, the Michelins have about 70% treadwear remaining. I think I can get $400 out of them on craigslist, and I've been considering going with these Treadwright Warden retread tires. Anybody have experience with this company?

 

[ebg18t]

I have seen quite a few. Several Freinds have them it appears people either love em or hate them. My neighbors wife refused to drive her truck with the TW's since they couldn't get them balanced right. It all depends how they balance out. If you get a set that balances well initially you are golden, if not good luck. They wear well and for the price they are hard to beat. But in all honesty not in the same league as Michelin if you are used to that level of quiet and wear then look elsewhere.

 

[JBurt]

I've got their Guard Dawg MT's and they are pretty good. They are loud but what do you expect with an MT? My only problem with them came from a worn out front end where the bad alignment caused uneven wear, but that's not really a problem with the tires themselves. There is a specific balancing procedure that they tell you of when you buy the tires. Static balancing with half the weight on the inside and half outside.

FWIW I've had them about 2 years and put about 10k on them.

 

[mracko]

I had a set of larger Warden AT tires, with the KedgeGrip, on a Jeep Cherokee. I liked them and Treadwright was great to deal with. You can't beat the price.

My Jeep wasn't a daily driver. It was more of an old beater/hunting rig. I put on about 10 to 15K on them and while they may have been louder, I don't think they were any louder than comparable tire treads. I have been thinking of maybe going with Treadwright when the Hankook tires wear on my T4R.

 

[alunnrhue]

I've had a set of wardens and guard dogs on my '86 4runner. SO, my first set of wardens had dry rot cracking on the sidewalls, but performed OKAY on the road. I was unable to warranty these tires because my alignment was off and had uneven wear after 10k (I know my fault). I ended up selling these tires on craigslist. Aside from build quality issues, the tread was decently quiet, and handled well on snow, dirt, and dry pavement. BUT beware, they were scary slick in the rain! I believe this has to do with their rubber compound.I purchased these in '11.

Being a broke college student, and after just lifting the '86, I purchased the guard dogs in '13. Their build quality seemed to be better, I'm referring to the molding and their picking of the carcass tires. These tires were MUCH louder than the wardens. They performed decent in most terrain, but once again when it rained, good lord, you better leave an extra 500 feet stopping distance. Could lock them up, and spin them like butter. Another issue I had were spin cuts in the tires after a few trips offroading. Their compound is soft... great when its dry pavement.

With both tires I always had balancing issues. Didn't know if the techs ever knew the difference between static or dynamic balancing, or if it really was the tires. I did try several different shops.

Consensus, save for another month or two and do it right. They don't even come close to the real deal (BFG A/T and Big'O A/T). Not trying to slam the company, they are great to deal with, and love their business model, just think their product has a little ways to go. Honestly, I was always a little sketched out when driving on those things, but they did take me where I wanted and brought me back. Would I buy another set ever, NO. Do not waste your money. BUY ONCE, BUY RIGHT, AND BE DONE.

Cheers

 

[Sungod]

I may consider them for off road only, but there is no chance I would want to take the chance with retreads at 75mph.

 

[bigwheel]

We ran a set of the A/T's on a 99' 4Runner and they seemed good at first and good in snow but, they are a lot a heavy tire. If they catch a grove in the road they pull all over, and once out of balance you will almost never get them back in. They are not worth the savings IMO. Save up and buy a good set.

 

[zonianbrat]

Do more research on these and check out all of the reviews you can. I heard a personal story about a guy who endorsed them until his friend and his wife had a tread seperation at highway speeds and were almost killed. He now advises against them unless it is for a dedicated off-road application. On the other hand I know a person I work with who put a set of 35" treadwright re-treads on her new power wagon. She says they are awesome and is going to buy another set. I personally will not put them on a vehicle that my wife and kids ride it at highway speeds.

 

[H20skier70]

Im getting my wardens put on next week.

 

[Gatafly]

I would keep the Michelins on until they wear out then replace with larger tires if you want. Unless you have money to burn I think you would regret it.

 

[Brutalguyracing]

ran 2 sets of guard dog m/t's with kedge grip 285/75/16
loved them
noisy as **** but great tires.....

 

[Park]

I've heard plenty good things about Tredwright tires and I don't think they fail any more than any other tire. I will be buying there M/T Guard Dogs as soon as my current tires wear out.

 

[JBurt]

I did lots of research before I bought mine. I looks on lots of forums and found 132 people with positive reviews and 2 (first hand accounts) people with separation (failure). That works out to a little over 1.5%. That seemed to be in line with other tire failure rates at the time. Granted one of those two people had the tire for 3 years before it failed.

With zonianbrat's friend (assuming it wasn't one of the two I counted) that takes the failure rate to about 2.3%, still not bad. Plus I'm sure that have been many other positive reviews (several in this thread) since then.

This isn't the best statistical analysis, but it's what I could do with the information I had. Should you trust my numbers, hell no. You need to do what you feel good about. I feel fine with Treadwrights and I'll continue to run them. Maybe not as good as a brand new name brand tire, but way better than buying a used set.

 

[Sungod]

I did lots of research before I bought mine. I looks on lots of forums and found 132 people with positive reviews and 2 (first hand accounts) people with separation (failure). That works out to a little over 1.5%. That seemed to be in line with other tire failure rates at the time. Granted one of those two people had the tire for 3 years before it failed.

With zonianbrat's friend (assuming it wasn't one of the two I counted) that takes the failure rate to about 2.3%, still not bad. Plus I'm sure that have been many other positive reviews (several in this thread) since then.

This isn't the best statistical analysis, but it's what I could do with the information I had. Should you trust my numbers, hell no. You need to do what you feel good about. I feel fine with Treadwrights and I'll continue to run them. Maybe not as good as a brand new name brand tire, but way better than buying a used set.

Is it really worth the risk?

 

[Dylan]

This guy's post on an FJ forum about Treadwrights is worth a read, if you're contemplating buying a set.