THE QUALITY OF RETREADED IS NO LESS

Road grip and safety are so guaranteed that also off roads vehicles and airplanes have discovered these advantages. Moreover, they are ecofriendly and cost less than new ones. They are the less expensive alternative and the most efficient investment you can make on your road vehicle. We are talking about retreaded tires: but is it a real quality or does it hide some flaws?
To better understand the situation: retreaded tires are used tires to which a new tread is applied. 
In this field, Italy is a cutting-edge country as far as collecting and managing out-of- use tires is concerned, but this will be the topic of another blog post.
What we want to focus on right now is explaining that retreaded tires are the first phase of the recycling process. In fact, they are not only ecofriendly (because they avoid exploiting raw materials as they recycle material which is already present inside the production cycle), but they are also a high-quality product. In addition, we should not forget the low environmental impact: the energy required for producing recycled pneumatics is 70% less than the one used for producing new ones.
As for ecological sustainability, you must know that for manufacturing a new pneumatic 20 to 28 crude oil liters are consumed, while for retreaded pneumatics only 5,5 liters are required. Moreover, with retreading you actually preserve 80% of the old pneumatic, thus avoiding to throw it away into a dump before its time has come. If we could use oil as a unit of measurement to make this comparison, a retreaded tire would require only 5,5 lt oil vs. 20-28 l for a new tire. 
In addition, the level of safety ensured by retreaded tires is the same of new one, taking into consideration the very strict controls required by EU regulations.  There is also another important advantage: they cost less. The price for a retreaded tire, for instance, can be half the price of a new tire, and this allows to save up a considerable amount of money.
But how can you recognize them? In order to understand if you are buying retreaded tires you should check the homologation to the European standards.
So, it is mandatory to check that:
- on the tire side the code 108 R is present together with letter E placed inside of a circle and followed by a digit made of 6 numbers;
- the initials Retread are written, besides the name of the Retreader and the week and year when the retreading took place.
You should keep in mind that for the Highway Code, the thickness of the tread must be at least 1,6 mm on the whole surface and that the same pneumatics must be mounted on the same axle. Always according to the regulations, the measure indicated in the car registration document is binding, cuts and lacerations on the tire side can be dangerous if they have damaged the structure frames.
If you still have doubts on retreaded tires here is another advantage in terms of road grip and safety: 6 airplanes out of 7 fly with retreaded pneumatics. We are not talking only about private or tourist planes, because also airline companies use them. These are official data from the AIRP, the Italian Association of Pneumatic Retreaders, which refer to the numbers provided by Trib (Tire retread & repair information bureau). They are so sure that in average 6 airplanes out of 7 are equipped with retreaded tires, taking into consideration the quick consumption of tread and the way in which airplane tires are used, even if their load-bearing structure remains intact. And so, thanks to retreading, it is possible to give to bearing structures a brand-new tread.
Also, if you keep your feet on the ground, you see that retreaded pneumatics with a certified quality can be a winning solution also for those who use an off-road vehicle for work (construction, agriculture, emergency, civil protection). State-of-the-art pneumatic can cost 40% less if compared to similar new ones. Or they can easily satisfy the needs of those seeking pleasure in driving off-roads vehicles, also as an extreme sport, without losing anything in terms of performances, road grip and safety. Performing and suitable for all surfaces, some types actually pass the same lab tests that are required for the homologation of new types and are therefore chosen and used by drivers in rally and rally cross championships.
In case of pneumatics that cannot be recovered and are thus out of use, the life cycle of the rubber can be completed realizing the principles of circular economy: the recycled rubber fibre becomes raw material which can be employed for manufacturing objects, used in many fields. The rebirth of rubber, so as Salvadori sees it www.salvadori.com/retreading/en/antishock-flooring/, boasts a very wide offer and includes antishock flooring for public parks, swimming pools and playgrounds for children. Moreover, it offers specific rubber tiles to be used for horse boxes, shooting ranges and gyms. We will talk about this in our next blog post…