2020 Retread Summer Tyre Test

Dry BrakingContinental Premium Contact 6: 35.5 MKing-Meiler HPZ: 42.5 M
Dry HandlingContinental Premium Contact 6: 52.6 sKing-Meiler HPZ: 55 s
Subj. Dry HandlingContinental Premium Contact 6: 7.4 PointsKing-Meiler HPZ: 4.5 Points
Wet BrakingContinental Premium Contact 6: 51.8 MKing-Meiler HPZ: 76.1 M
Wet HandlingContinental Premium Contact 6: 86.7 sKing-Meiler HPZ: 100.5 s
Straight AquaDebica Presto HP: 82.3 Km/HKing-Meiler HPZ: 71.1 Km/H
Subj. ComfortContinental Premium Contact 6: 7.5 PointsKing-Meiler HPZ: 6 Points
NoiseDebica Presto HP: 63.3 dBKing-Meiler HPZ: 64.7 dB
PriceKing-Meiler HPZ: 129.72 Continental Premium Contact 6: 228.76
Here at Tyre Reviews, we receive many different questions about tyres, but one question that comes up more than most asks if modern retreaded tyres, sometimes called "retread" or "remoulds", any good?

While we've not been able to test ourselves, tests from many years ago indicate that retreaded tyres don't perform as well as even a budget tyre. Car tyres typically aren't designed to be retreaded (commercial bus and lorry tyres are), so the retreading process can leave you with not only poor performance, but a product that could be classified as unsafe.

Naturally in the past few years there have been improvements in the car retreading process, and one brand in particular, King Meiler, has established a name for itself as "the" retreading brand.

To find out whether a modern retread can match a premium, or even a budget tyre, the Polish magazine "Motor" have tested the King Meiler HPZ against the premium Continental PremiumContact 6, and a much cheaper Debica Presto HP.

The results speak for themselves.

Dry

It's been a while since we've seen such huge differences in the dry between a premium tyre and a brand like Debica, which indicates that this version of the Presto HP certainly isn't the grippiest tyre on test, so for the retreaded tyre to be so far behind in both dry braking and dry handling, indicates a serious lack of grip!

Wet

Wet was a similar story to dry, except with larger margins. While the Debica stopped the car a pretty sizable 6.3 meters after the premium Continental, the King Meiler took a HUGE extra 24.3 meters to stop the car, again from 100 km/h.  This means, where the car on the Debica stops, the car fitted with the King-Meiler tyres will still be doing more than 48 km/h!

The retread tyre also performed poorly in straight aquaplaning.

Environment

With the retreaded tyre both noiser, and less comfortable than the premium and budget tyres, its only positive quality was price. However, with the longevity of the tyre untested, is a 100 euro saving really worth all the negative qualities?

Results

1st: Continental Premium Contact 6

Continental Premium Contact 6
  • 195/65 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking1st35.5 M100%
Dry Handling1st52.6 s100%
Subj. Dry Handling1st7.4 Points100%
Wet Braking1st51.8 M100%
Wet Handling1st86.7 s100%
Straight Aqua2nd82.1 Km/H82.3 Km/H-0.2 Km/H99.76%
Subj. Comfort1st7.5 Points100%
Noise2nd64.4 dB63.3 dB+1.1 dB98.29%
Price3rd228.76 129.72 +99.04 56.71%
Excellent handling and short braking distances in all conditions.
Relatively poor aquaplaning resistance, increased noise level.

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2nd: Debica Presto HP

Debica Presto HP
  • 195/65 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking2nd39.2 M35.5 M+3.7 M90.56%
Dry Handling2nd53.3 s52.6 s+0.7 s98.69%
Subj. Dry Handling2nd5.4 Points7.4 Points-2 Points72.97%
Wet Braking2nd58.1 M51.8 M+6.3 M89.16%
Wet Handling2nd92 s86.7 s+5.3 s94.24%
Straight Aqua1st82.3 Km/H100%
Subj. Comfort2nd6.5 Points7.5 Points-1 Points86.67%
Noise1st63.3 dB100%
Price2nd175.28 129.72 +45.56 74.01%
Good aquaplaning resistance with low noise.
Average braking performance.

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3rd: King Meiler HPZ

King-Meiler HPZ
  • 195/65 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking3rd42.5 M35.5 M+7 M83.53%
Dry Handling3rd55 s52.6 s+2.4 s95.64%
Subj. Dry Handling3rd4.5 Points7.4 Points-2.9 Points60.81%
Wet Braking3rd76.1 M51.8 M+24.3 M68.07%
Wet Handling3rd100.5 s86.7 s+13.8 s86.27%
Straight Aqua3rd71.1 Km/H82.3 Km/H-11.2 Km/H86.39%
Subj. Comfort3rd6 Points7.5 Points-1.5 Points80%
Noise3rd64.7 dB63.3 dB+1.4 dB97.84%
Price1st129.72 100%
Low price, acceptable braking performance and handling on dry surfaces
Poor handling and dangerously long braking distances on wet surfaces, weak aquaplaning resistance, high noise level.

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