White Letter Car Tires This became a standard for racing tires so that manufacturers could boldly advertise their product while adding competitive flair. White letter car tires were instantly attractive to early hot rodders as an easy way to show off their customized ride and demonstrate its ability to perform.
If tires are made with white letters, they are meant to be OUT. White letters on the inside looks like you couldn't buy what you wanted, and "settled" for what you could get.
When the first automobile was invented, it's tyres were made from natural rubber. Chemicals were then added to make them tougher and more durable. A white substance, zinc oxide, was added to increase traction and it also gave the tyre a white appearance.
Also, the cost to manufacture raised white letter tires is significantly higher than standard tires and more likely to result in defects during production. This means even if you can locate a raised letter tire in your size, with the brand and performance you desire, it will not come cheap!
Because of the low production costs, the majority of the “premium brands” are outsourcing their manufacturing in China and other Asian regions. However, this does not mean that their tyres are Chinese – instead, the materials are all premium but only manufactured in Asia.
Just as your load index number corresponds to a particular load, your speed rating letter corresponds to a particular speed capability based on a standardized laboratory test. For example, a tire with speed rating “S” is rated for up to 112 mph, while a tire rated “R” is up to 106 mph.
Remember, white rubber is just ornamental and has nothing to do with strength or performance. The advantage to adding it after the tire is made is that you can put a whitewall or color stripe on any tire you want, including 17″, 18″ and 20″ tires — and with much tighter quality control.
In the early days of cars, tires were white. Since natural rubber was not ideal for tires, they were fortified with zinc oxide, another white material. The superior carbon black later replaced zinc oxide as a means to strengthen tires, but, at the time, it was quite expensive.
White Wall Tires on Modern Cars
Yes, it is possible to have whitewall tires on modern vehicles. However, most brands do not produce fully white wall tires anymore. Yet, there are a couple of manufacturers still dealing with bias-ply, whitewall tires. However, most vehicles need radial models.
The Yellow Dot
When tyres are made, they are almost never perfectly balanced, and most manufacturers will place a yellow dot on the section of the tyre where there is least weight. When fitting a tyre, you should line up this yellow dot with the valve stem as this is the heaviest point of the wheel.
Here is what's really going on with these dots: Because it's nearly impossible to manufacture a perfectly balanced, perfectly round tire, manufacturers identify any irregularities with these dots of paint. The dots then help service technicians correctly install and balance the tire.
By: Discount Tire
White letter tires were born out of early tire production history: white walls and molded lettering. Though not as common today, there are still many lines of tires sporting this distinctive style, often designated in their model number as RWL (Raised White Lettering).
“The stabilizing chemical, carbon black makes the tires black. It prevents damage from UV light, draws heat away from parts of the car that tend to get hot when driving, and makes the tires durable.”
Coloured Tires Don't Last As Long
Despite being a neat concept, coloured tires simply are just not as durable. For example, cars that are not treated with carbon black are good for about 5,000 miles before needing to be replaced. Tires made with carbon black can be driven for 50,000 miles or more.
Before being sent to buyers, new whitewall tyres were wrapped in paper both to keep the white sidewall clean, and to keep the black tyres from getting smudged.
Tire manufacturers discovered that adding carbon black, polyester, metal and other synthetic rubber compounds to natural latex helps tires perform better and last longer. Without carbon black, tires wouldn't last 5,000 miles, according to Jack L.
These tyres were white because the natural colour of rubber is milky white. But then it was discovered that the white rubber tyres were insufficient for the required durability. In 1895, pneumatic rubber tyres became widely used. These tyres were white because the natural colour of rubber is milky white.
Cars themselves come in dozens of hues, but not tires. The rubber that tires are sourced from is a milky white color, but carbon black is added to the rubber as a stabilizing chemical compound and makes the tire black. Carbon black is combined with other polymers to create the tire's tread compound.
Is tire sidewall bulge safe to drive on? The short answer is no. Like real bubbles, a “bubble” that forms on your tire's sidewall could burst at any time. If you drive on a tire with sidewall bulge, you risk possible tire blowout, not to mention wheel and suspension damage.
“R” stands for the construction method of the tire indicating the tire is a radial tire. The following two numbers (16) indicate the diameter of the wheel rim in inches.
T – Up to 118 mph. H – Up to 130 mph. V – Up to 149 mph. W – Up to 168 mph. Y – Up to 186 mph.
What Does LT Mean on a Tire? An “LT” on your sidewall before that long string of numbers and letters denoting your tire size signifies the tire is a "Light Truck-metric" size; it was designed for use on a vehicle that carries heavy cargo loads or tows a large trailer.