TreadWright MT Guard Dog Tire Review

Recycled tires are used in many industries, supporting airplanes and heavy equipment all over the world, but giving new life to a set of tires can be for everyone, including off roaders.

Treadwright clams its tires are 70% recycled and made in America using approximately 6 gallons of oil per tire versus the 18 gallons of oil for the average new tire.They use only premium rubber and tire casings, 93 percent of which are from premier brands like Goodyear, Michelin, Firestone, Cooper, Toyo or Nitto.

Learn More About TreadWright's Process Here

You might wonder how many times can you reuse a tire... well, Treadwright only does this once although the airline industry can reuse a tire up to 4 times and the commercial trucking industry is allowed 8-10 times. What does this all mean to you? A sweet set of tires at a great price for your vehicle. Oh, and did we mention that a portion of your money will go directly into helping save the environment thanks to TreadWright? Sounds like a good deal to us.

Over the years I have used and abused many tires on and off-road. When I came across a tire company with tires that are made in the USA and use recycled materials, I was curious, to say the least. How would these tires hold up on the trail?

On Trail

I tend to favor a very aggressive, wide open tread pattern. But for this review, I choose a somewhat middle of the road tread pattern called the Guard dog in a 285/70-17 D rated 8-ply. We purchased 5 for $159.99/each and with free shipping, that's quite a deal. There were a few other tire options that caught my eye such as the Claw and Claw 2. Both are much more aggressive looking mud terrains. They also offer an all-terrain that mimics the well known BFG All-terrain for an off-road tires at a much lower cost.

Upon first glance at the new tires when they showed up in the driveway, they looked like a good quality tire. The tread depth was deeper than I had expected, which was a good thing in my opinion. More traction in the softer terrains is always a good thing in my book. Upon measuring this tire it comes out to a 33-inch tread height overall. With a tread depth of 19/32".

When balancing the Guard Dogs, we used 1.25, 8.25, 4.75, 6.75, 9.25 ounces on our tires. The first drive was kind of silent and awkward for me due to the fact that I'm used to something a bit noisier. It has been awhile since I drove on a tire that was as quiet as the Guard Dogs. On that note, on-road handling is great. There are no vibrations in the steering wheel from the tire nobs or the mud terrain tread pattern and driving on the highway is comfortable and smooth.

Now to the fun stuff. Off-road, they were no different, with good traction all around. They had a little more traction than I expected in fact. I did notice while driving in fresh snow that the tires packed up a little easier than I would have like them to but that is just one of the trade-off for having a smooth, quiet running tire. A little wheel spin would clean out the tires and get them to grip up again. The Guard Dogs have a tread pattern for keeping you on top of your terrain and not so much of a digger like some more aggressive mud terrains.

After hitting a few of the local trails and gaining some confidence in the Guard Dogs, I ventured out over to Wheeler Crest. This is a trail in California's Eastern Sierras. My goal was to see how they would do on a trail I had not been on before. After airing down to 15 PSI at the head of the trail, it was all fun and games. I tried the harder lines when possible and the Guard Dogs hooked up every time being very predictable when it came to traction on all surfaces.

The one thing I was apprehensive about with these tires was the side walls since there is minimal sidewall protection. But so far, it hasn't been an issue with approximately 5,000 miles on these tires. Also worth noting is that the tread wear has gone from a fresh 19/32" down to 17/32". It is worth mentioning here that TreadWright does not officially recommend airing down its tires, though we haven't had an issue with our set.

The Verdict

You may have a difficult time with the limited selection of tire sizes, but TreadWright is constantly working to increase its coverage. So the next time you are looking a set of tires, I wouldn't hesitate to give TreadWright Tires a try. With the low prices and free shipping, they are hard to beat.

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