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All,

I had purchased new Firestone Whitewall tires from Universal Tire Company last year. Installed them last summer and they look great. See Tire_Summer picture attached.

Had some issues with steering shake which I did not before new tire. Took the tire to a truck shop and they are way out of balance. Summer/Fall went fast so I did not have time to get them balanced.

Over the winter I check up on Old Bessie and notice that the Whites have turned yellow on the edges. See Tire_Winter pictures.

I wrote to Universal Tire Company and mention in my email the issues I had with the out of balance and the yellowing of the white. Gary from Universal wrote back and had some comment back. Instead of emailing back and forth I called him directly.

I explained to him that I had not used and type of tire cleaner, shiny stuff etc. Gary's response was it is a manufacture flaw of when they installed the whites. Gary stated they stand behind their products and are shipping me out 4 new tires free of charge. I will just need to ship back the other ones.

It's great to have service like Universal Tire Company and a very nice gentlemen like Gary to talk to.

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I've never had a warranty issue with tires but I have had several very satisfactory dealings with Universal Tire - they're a class act.

Always good to know this sort of thing. More of us should take the time to recognize the good guys (or gals!!!!~)

I don't know manufacturers recommendation for cleaning whitewalls, but Diamondbacks specifically say NOT to use Bleche-white or any type of bleach. My daughter recommended Mr. Clean and it turned out she was correct. It cleans and restores the bright white finish.
mrclean.com/en_US/magic-eraser-select-a-size.do

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I've been using Bleche-Wite for decades to clean not only white-wall, white-stripe, and white-letter, but even black-wall tires. I've been using tire dressings, as well, for almost as long. No problems on either account.

To the best of my knowledge, Bleche-Wite contains NO BLEACH.

Yet, I silently chuckled whenever I saw vehicles with faint orange specks in the white areas of their tires, which is a dead giveaway that owner had used Brillo pads or equivalent (or anything with steel wool) to clean their tires.

It's not unusual for white "rubber" to go off-color over time. That's why products are made specifically for cleaning tires, and Bleche-Wite isn't the only such cleaner available for public consumption. Packard even recommended the use of tire cleaners.

If a tire discolors as a result of using a product that's intended for cleaning or dressing tires, and that product hasn't been "recalled" for causing such problem, I can only conclude that the affected tire is made of substandard materials.

7. NOTE: Do not allow product to contact magnesium or aluminum wheels, painted or glass surfaces, eyewear, fabric and non-rubber items. Permanent damage can occur. USE ONLY AS PER LABEL DIRECTIONS.

With warnings like this for Bleche-White, I think I'll stick with Mr. Clean.

What quick service I have received from Universal Tire. When we got home from work on Friday four tires were sitting on our front stoop.

My twin and younger brother came over on Saturday and help me dismount the other tires. My nicely paint rims got a few chips here and there I knew that was going to happen because them snap rings are not the easiest to get off and on.
A little sanding and touch up will be needed.

Before mounting the new tires we took the rims over to a tire/truck repair shop. They put them on a machine and four out of the six had noticeable out of roundness to them. The two that did not we marked to use for the fronts. The worst ones we used for the side mounts.

I still will need to take tires back to shop and see how they balance out with the new tires.

Can these rims with wooden spokes be straighten?

If new ones are in order in the future I think them chrome wire spoke rims would look good on the car.
Is anyone making the chromed spoke ones for the '31?

Thanks all for you input.

Is anyone making the chromed spoke ones for the '31?

Not that I'm aware of but I believe Don Sommer (American Arrow) has offered them in polished stainless steel.

Dave,

Thanks. I will have to take a look at his site

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Yes, though it might not be simple depending upon construction.

BTW, be careful when first inflating your newly mounted tires. Those snap rings can break free with a tremendous amount of energy, resulting in truly horrific injuries. Tire should be elevated above your head (or you ducking below it) and nobody should be near by. Truck places inflate these sorts of tires in reinforced cages.

Cheers,

Tom