Carving New Tire Treads

[StoneHeartFarm]

glennmac,

JC Whitney used to sell an electric tool for recarving tire treads. In part the ad spoke of retreading your own tires. It so happens, that I have one that I got when I cleaned out an old shed for a friend. It is basically a curved handle like a saw, with a straight shaft out the front with a small, thick, blunt blade on the front. You plug in the cord, and the blade heats up, allowing you to melt your way through the tire treads.

At least that's the theory. Buck, buck, buck, bawck! Anybody need some eggs?

SHF
<font color=yellow> nobody here but us chickens!</font color=yellow>

 

[MChalkley]

Glenn - Um, from someone who didn't jump in, rip your arm off, and beat you with the bloody end:

I hate to bring this up, but the "legendary Michelin XM27" already has the ply strength of an R4 (it is an R4, remember?), the width and flotation of a turf tire (if you get it wide enough), and, obviously, "the enhanced ag traction pattern of the Michelin". (The period does not belong inside the quotes here because, even though it could've been, as part of your quote, its most important function is to end the entire sentence... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif)

MarkC

 

[glennmac]

True, Mark. But as the CEO of Firestone has said: "Dem Michelins cost an arm and a leg and ya can't fit four a dem on smaller tractors.".

 

[MChalkley]

Glenn - We-el, now, mebbe, mebbe not. I gots me 4. I gots 2 leetl'uns on de front, 2 big'uns on de back. 'Nuff sed.

(Postulatory proclivities notwithstanding, in such matters, cognitive methodologies tend to engender respective orthodoxies.)

MarkC

 

[RegWaters]

I work for Michelin in the Tire testing Area. We often get "Slicks" from the Research Department which will later be carved to the appropiate test tread. I was manning the booth at the Detroit Auto and noticed almost all the tires on display were developement tires with hand carved tread.

Reg In SC

 

[glennmac]

Ahah, from drunken lunacy to standard Michelin operating procedure in 48 hours! The miraculous grace of the internet.

Reg, what kind of tool is used? How are the patterns created?

 

[RegWaters]

I could tell you but I'd have to kill you !!!!!! We'll if I knew, Never seen it done, but a tire designer at the auto show said they just go at it with a pattern and a die grinder.
" This should be attempted only by professionals " Standard Evil Kenievil disclaimer.

I always got a hoot out of those messages the TV scrolled across the screen.
Yeah right a " professional " Idiot !!!!!!!

Reg in SC

 

[dmccarty]

Glennmac,

I nominate this thread as A Classic TBN Conversation! The Power, Knowedge, and Humor of TBN all in one topic. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

It went from interesting to You Have To Be Kidding to Very Rip Roaring Funny and right back to Interesting!

/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif RegWaters timing was perfect! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Later...
Dan

 

[Pks]

When I was following Pro-Rally Racing here in Michigan, I used to watch the pit crews carve their tires. They would take a standard BF Goodrich Radial Mud Terrain tire and carve grooves, notches and scoop out chunks.

You guys are laughing but your mistaken... as long as the top face of the carcass is not compromised, the strength integrity is maintained. The race crews even had the BF Goodrich technicians helping them out. They explained to me that it is really no big deal. They were cutting the lug not the carcass.

My 4x4 truck put several thousand off-road miles on a set of used ones that I bought from one of the race teams after their race was over. Man, talk about good traction!!!

Just this past weekend, I cut additional edges and scoops into the rear tire of my wife's trail bike. It's rear tire was terrible in sand. It should perform much better now.

The tool the Pro-Rally people used was a stiff hot wire that ran from a 12 volt transformer. The tecnician I spoke with said he had made it to match his specifications (basically the type of cuts he usually made in the tire). He had several tools he made up: one for grooves, one for scoops, one for large anglular notches.

Peter

 

[glennmac]

Thank you, Pks. Your check is in the mail.

All seriousness aside, we have now established that there are tools for tire carving and that it is done at least in racing and pulling contests. Therefore, I stand on my original (and admittedly ignorant) assertion: With the right tool, and preferably some experience, it would be easy to carve an R4 tread into an ag-like tread.

You of course would have to be motivated. Hillbilly?