Tire/Wheel Thread

I got one heck of a deal on some Bandag retreads on my last set of drives. I kept them inflated properly and they lasted me close to 400,000 miles. I never had a problem with them.

This time around, though, I wasn't able to get a good enough deal to make me put them on again.

The company I'm leased to has a few trailers around with super singles on them. I don't like them because I run on some pretty grooved up asphalt roads. They seem to wallow all over the place and drag my tractor back and forth. I'm told it's because the super singles are a little more narrow and dont ride in the grooves in the asphalt right. I've never noticed any fuel mileage improvement, but I've never had them on my tractor.

 

The damage one does when it delaminates completley negates any savings.

1: NFI only got 22.5 out here
2: If you can find the generic version of a bigger brand you will get the just outdated tech they used in the last evolution of the flagship model.
3: Recaps are only for people who want to appear to pinch pennies. You will, over the long run, nett more savings by running quality tires than recaps. Fact is, first run tires rarley delaminate and come apart, whereas recaps are known for it.
4: SS are an interesting idea that i dont believe measures up in the real world. less weight capacity than duals, higher cost, damage one and its road service time, and i just dont believe they are as stable.. ( that last is after spending a month towing B-Doubles on super singles with the occasional one on traditional duals.
5: quality brand alloy. less rotating mass, which in theory shuold be better for mpg, but i think its better on the suspension components.
Plus they look good polished up.

 

Actually, that's a myth. Reps from both Goodyear and Michelin told me that the "gators" you see on the road side are about 50/50 caps vs. virgins. Both companies told me that it wasn't caps that delaminate, but rather underinflated tires. People have just always assumed that they were caps. That's according to goodyear and michelin.

That being said, while I didn't have any problems with them, I didn't really like them. They didn't ride too well and my fuel mileage suffered running caps.

I like the drives I have on now much better an they're not caps.

 

well according to my tires, and all the guys out here, it aint. ( AU btw )

stop sometime and have a good look at the gators, its not hard to pick a virgin from a cap..

 

I would second that thought. I run caps that were on my casings never had trouble with them but they dont ride as well and mpgs suffer.

I only buy tires that say made in USA on them.

 

The more buyers that look for the Made in the USA stamp, the less Taiwanese stuff will be stocked & sold.

 

Absolutely. My neighbor bought some of those gigantic Chinese drive tires with about 3 inches of tread on them. They all but destroyed his fuel mileage and didn't last 150,000 miles. He was TICKED OFF!!

 

The real reason behind super singles....

One man can build a $900 tire in the same amount of time he can build a $450 tire, and Michelin created enough PR to sell them. The number one reason for super singles is to save labor cost, not save you fuel.

 

Now don't confuse folks with the truth!