Regrooving 225/70R Yokohama TY303 tires

[JohnMcIntyre]

After 5 years and 120k+ miles on my 1-ton 2nd Gen Dually since brand new, my six Yokohama TY303 tires are ready for regrooving.



However, I have not yet been able to find out the maximum, recommended limit that can be re-grooved from the top of the wear-bar-indicator now showing in the bottom of the tire tread patterns.



Obviously, I don't want to cut into any of the steel bands, so if anyone has suggestions, knowledge and/or experience of what the maximum depth in millimeters should be set to cut and re-groove these tread patterns, I'd be very grateful!



Cheers!!

 

[keimmmo]

Unless the tires are marked on the sidewall "regroovable", you shouldn't go much if any below the bottom of the factory tread lines. On most tires, there is very little rubber between the bottom of the tread and the cords!



Steve Keim

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Well these TY303 tires are supposed to be regrooveable, although the magic word does not appear on any of the sidewalls

Your points noted, but still got to get to the bottom of this and find out what the max number in mm is, that I can cut into the remaining tread depth.....

 

[JayWm]

You might send Yokohama an email as they are likely going to be the only source that can give you a definitive answer. You may find it difficult, if not impossible to get this answer. I work within the truck tire industry and do not know of any fleets that actually regroove the tires. Most retread them or install new tires. I will be interested to see how this turns our for you. Are you planning to groove them yourself or do you plan to have someone do it? If you actually get it done and have someone do it please let me know what they charge you.

 

[JPereira]

I would also be curious of these results. I have R250 19. 5s that have about 60k on them with plenty to go and they state regroovable write on the sidewall.

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Quick answer: 6mm from the top of the wear-bar indicator.



I finally got "the word" from a Japanese engineer with Yokohama , who is based in their European headquarters. The regroove specification is a maximum of 6mm measured fromt the top of the wear bar indicator and this will not interfere with the integrity of the steel bands in the tire itself.



This is not written down anywhere that I could find either. Surprisingly Rixon Tires in Maryland where I bought my tires/rims from originally were not able to provide a definitive answer either.....



Interesting fact - whilst Yokohama advertise that a tire is regroovable, they don't come right out and endorse that fact with a formal recommendation. I guess they don't want to be sued or held liable just in case things ever go pear-shaped.



My 4 rear tires were measured with a tread depth of 5mm, which is well within the annual European vehicle inspection, when they had 150k miles on the odometer. It was at this point I managed to finally get them regrooved to the Yokohama guy's "suggestion" It cost me the equivalent of US$15 per tire from a small (non-franchise) commercial vehicle garage.



I tried several places once I had got "the specification" :-laf but because these tires were not homologated for road use by a European tire authority, none of the mainstream commercial truck dealers who regroove commercial truck tires were prepared to take on the job, again I put this down to product liability legislation (gone mad)



Fast forward to now (September 2008... ... )

I now have almost 160k miles on the odometer, so by my reckoning this brand of tire should give you 200k miles each, so it more than makes up for the hefty up-front initial costs of 7x 19. 5 inch rims and tires.



Interestingly enough, I tried to buy some new TY303 tires from Yokohama in Europe to keep handy in my garage, for when I have to finally renew my tires. Again, because they are homologated for use in North America, Yokohama Europe cannot source them or sell them to me in Europe, so I had to make a private purchase from the USA and get 6 tires shipped over in a packing crate on a ship - thanks to the guys at Rixon Tire once again!! Unfortunately the shipping and import taxes added the best part of another US$1,000 to the price of 6 tires.



Apart from the extended aggravation of regrooving, made slightly more complicated because I'm based in Europe, I would not hesitate to recommend this brand of tire and rim combination! It has served me well through desert, snow, rain and mud conditions in Canada, the USA, most of mainland Europe and Scandinavia. I typically run 65psi most of the time on all tires and am now looking forward to the next 250,000 miles and (relatively) hassle-free tires.

 

[WDaniels]

JohnMcIntyre,

I don't know if you can retread tires there in the UK, but here the retreaders will retread Bridgestone Duelers and TOYO HyperRadial tires because their sidewalls are stiff enough to handle the retread. I've gotten 3 retreads on my TOYO's before they started getting dry rot cracks and they wouldn't do them anymore. I get about 80k or better miles per retread due to the thicker tread pattern and it cost me 80. 00 U. S. or about 45£. Hope this helps you.

WD