Regrooving a tire.

[Missourian]

Probably many of you older folks are familiar with this, but perhaps the younger generation hasn't been introduced to this concept.

Can you do this to car tires as well?

Yes.

Should you?

Depends on the tire and your personal risk to reward threshold.


I personally am not adverse to regrooving custom patterns in light truck tires for traction or water displacement...but that's me.

Check with the manufacturer before modifying any tire that a life will depend on it's operational integrity.

The semi tire I'm regrooving today is labeled regroovable.

The outboard tire has a lot of life left in it, but the inboard your has a strange wear pattern.

Just one side top to bottom and one side edge to edge has worn below the 2/32 legal limit...and it is just this one type of 18...the others are nearly new.

Dual tires need to be replaced in pairs...so this tire is getting 4/32 of depth cut to allow the least waste of the outboard tire tread. Should extend the tires life a month or two.

The regrooving tool is like a giant soldering iron with a replaceable cutting blade. The high heat melts the rubber enough to cut the grooves... like cutting styrofoam with a hot wire.

I'd already started when I decided to photograph.

The cut pieces vvv

Once it gets dirty, you'll never know it wasn't original tread.

 

[Manonthestreet]

Do the DOT frown on that?

 

[strollingbones]

no just no

 

[Missourian]

Do the DOT frown on that?

Not at all. I've regrooved friends tires at the weigh station to get them legal.

But I don't advertise it either.

It's DOT legal to just just cut three straight grooves all the way around the tire. I try to replicate the old tread pattern.

 

[Missourian]

no just no

Yes.

 

[Manonthestreet]

Not at all. I've regrooved friends tires at the weigh station to get them legal.

But I don't advertise it either.

It's DOT legal to just just cut three straight grooves all the way around the tire. I try to replicate the old tread pattern.

did not know that....all I know our shop doesnt engage in it. You an owner op

 

[deannalw]

James does that with the tires on his race car now and then.

 

[MarathonMike]

Sounds like a good way to risk your life to save a few bucks. Buy new tires.

 

[Missourian]

did not know that....all I know our shop doesnt engage in it. You an owner op

Yes.

This is the first one I've done in probably three years on one of my trucks. But I get a 2am call at least once every few months from a grainhauling buddy that doesn't want to pay $500 for the road service truck who claims to have nothing but $450 recaps.

 

[Missourian]

Sounds like a good way to risk your life to save a few bucks. Buy new tires.

One tire of 18 in the winter is no issue.

They are built to be regrooved.

If this was summer, I'd worry a little about heat causing a blowout...but that isn't going to happen in the cold months.

Those two tires cost about the same as having a transmission replaced in a standard passenger car...$600 plus each.

 

[Missourian]

Yokohama 715R 295/75R22.5 H (16 Ply) AS A/S All Season Tire

Yokohama 715R 295/75R22.5 H (16 Ply) AS A/S All Season Tire

www.prioritytire.com

 

[strollingbones]

donut.media covered this

 

[Missourian]

did not know that....all I know our shop doesnt engage in it. You an owner op

Fleets usually don't regroove.

They recap.

 

[MarathonMike]

One tire of 18 in the winter is no issue.

They are built to be regrooved.

If this was summer, I'd worry a little about heat causing a blowout...but that isn't going to happen in the cold months.

Those two tires cost about the same as having a transmission replaced in a standard passenger car...$600 plus each.

Oh, OK if it's for an 18 wheeler. A four wheeler is a different story.

 

[Missourian]

Professional regrooving.

 

[deannalw]

Fleets usually don't regroove.

They recap.

And recaps come with a set of scary hazards of their own.

 

[Missourian]

Oh, OK if it's for an 18 wheeler. A four wheeler is a different story.

Oh yeah. I would never recommend regrooving to EXTEND passenger vehicle life...but (and this is not a recommendation, just my personal experience)...I have added additional tread to my light truck tires for extra traction in certain situations like offroading.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Probably many of you older folks are familiar with this, but perhaps the younger generation hasn't been introduced to this concept.

Can you do this to car tires as well?

Yes.

Should you?

Depends on the tire and your personal risk to reward threshold.


I personally am not adverse to regrooving custom patterns in light truck tires for traction or water displacement...but that's me.

Check with the manufacturer before modifying any tire that a life will depend on it's operational integrity.

The semi tire I'm regrooving today is labeled regroovable.

View attachment 881965

The outboard tire has a lot of life left in it, but the inboard your has a strange wear pattern.

Just one side top to bottom and one side edge to edge has worn below the 2/32 legal limit...and it is just this one type of 18...the others are nearly new.

Dual tires need to be replaced in pairs...so this tire is getting 4/32 of depth cut to allow the least waste of the outboard tire tread. Should extend the tires life a month or two.

The regrooving tool is like a giant soldering iron with a replaceable cutting blade. The high heat melts the rubber enough to cut the grooves... like cutting styrofoam with a hot wire.

I'd already started when I decided to photograph.

View attachment 881968


View attachment 881969

View attachment 881964


View attachment 881967




View attachment 881963


View attachment 881966

View attachment 881970


The cut pieces vvv
View attachment 881971

Once it gets dirty, you'll never know it wasn't original tread.

It's called siping if I remember correctly.
I've never done it to my tires but I've heard of people who do.
The only treads I've recut were on a pair of Crocs. When they get slick they're slippery as all get out.
I used a table saw and it worked great,it doubled the life of the shoe.

 

[Concerned American]

Probably many of you older folks are familiar with this, but perhaps the younger generation hasn't been introduced to this concept.

Can you do this to car tires as well?

Yes.

Should you?

Depends on the tire and your personal risk to reward threshold.


I personally am not adverse to regrooving custom patterns in light truck tires for traction or water displacement...but that's me.

Check with the manufacturer before modifying any tire that a life will depend on it's operational integrity.

The semi tire I'm regrooving today is labeled regroovable.

View attachment 881965

The outboard tire has a lot of life left in it, but the inboard your has a strange wear pattern.

Just one side top to bottom and one side edge to edge has worn below the 2/32 legal limit...and it is just this one type of 18...the others are nearly new.

Dual tires need to be replaced in pairs...so this tire is getting 4/32 of depth cut to allow the least waste of the outboard tire tread. Should extend the tires life a month or two.

The regrooving tool is like a giant soldering iron with a replaceable cutting blade. The high heat melts the rubber enough to cut the grooves... like cutting styrofoam with a hot wire.

I'd already started when I decided to photograph.

View attachment 881968


View attachment 881969

View attachment 881964


View attachment 881967




View attachment 881963


View attachment 881966

View attachment 881970


The cut pieces vvv
View attachment 881971

Once it gets dirty, you'll never know it wasn't original tread.

I worked in a recap shop in the early 70s. Cold Caps--Bandag. I have to admit, I have never heard of regroovable. Here in the NW, they "sipe" tires to provide better snow and ice traction, but that is the closest thing I've ever seen to what you are doing. Siping is a much finer cut though. The wear you show with the tread still acceptable in the center is due to underinflation or possibly alignment and rotation. Very interesting, thanks for the post.

 

[Missourian]

And recaps come with a set of scary hazards of their own.

I won't run them. Tried them once ... Did $5,800 worth of damage to a trailer from the blowout.

The tread separated from 80% from the casing in a long strip ... but the end of that strip stubbornly remained attached long enough for an excellent physics demonstration of the destructive power of angular momentum.

It was covered by insurance...but I was down a trailer for over a month.