Tried the "make a wide whitewall " with the grinder

theres an idea..but instead of using the grinder , maybe a sander would be better..maybe a more smooth finish?

 

There's a tire shop here that's been in biz since the 30's. It's in what has become the hood' and I've always bought tires there as they are the cheapest in town and fast. Was picking up 2 for the wifey's beater and noticed a truck with new raised white letters in one of the bays. Grabbed a bite across the street and came back to check n my stuff and noticed the truck now had some nice wide whites. I asked the dude what model they were and he responded "we grind the WWW in the back for $25 a pop. Been doing it since we opened". I went in the back and sure enough, an old guy hand a machine made from an old mounting machine with a grinder that rolled across the tire wall while rotating. Pretty cool setup and I would think after doing it for 70+ years without a lawsuit, well, I'm just sayin'.

 

I was thinking a wheel hub and steering knuckle attached to a fixture to hold a grinder would work, that way you could get a clean edge and wouldn't have to remove the tire from the wheel.

 

Lions,and Tigers, and Bears,,,,Oh My ! C'mon ,man, grow some stones ! I did it on some paper thin pepboys 4 fer $100 crapo specials, ran them on my work beater for a year and a half, winter and two summers, no problem except the tires would puncture from a piece of gravel in the drive way, and i got tired of patching them and finally threw them out but no problem from the sidewalls.

 

I had Russ Meeks cut a set of radial t/a' years ago in Portland.turned out kool

 

Bugman says he's completely worn out 3 sets already and hasn't had one fail.

Model A frames aren't made to take Hemi engines and roofs aren't made to be cut down in height. I'm not the least bit worried.

 

70 plus years, sounds traditional to me.

 

They've been shaving tires for decades. Nothing new and nothing dangerous as long as your just removing the cosmetic layer of outside rubber.

 

Here's the ones I did for practice.... look good from 10 feet.

 

Yeah but when you put a Hemi in you STRENGTHEN the chassis. When you chop the top its welded together and if your smart, steeled out for safety. Notice none of them involve removing structural material?

 

what we have here...is a falure to communicate

 

How is 1/32 of an inch of black rubber structure? The structure is under the layer of white. If you burn through the white part, then you are correct. But taking off the thin black layer covering the white is no different than removing the paint off a car. Do you feel unsafe in a bare metal car?

 

I'm pretty sure sidewalls on tires require as much strength as possible. All I know is that one of mine went flat within a week or so of having them on the car.

 

Don't post unless you "KNOW" what the fuck you're talking about!
Removing the black rubber over the white is the equivelant of stripping paint! It has no "structural integrity"...

 

When you are taking a hand grinder to a side wall thats around a quarter inch thick to begin with, it's dumb !!! There's nothing you can say thats going to change that. Call GoodYear and tell them that you have and open shoe grinder in your hand and that you just wanna remove the black. I guarantee they are going to laugh then hang up.

I worked as a mechanical engineer for Jere Stahl.
I worked as a design engineer for Winters.
I helped engineer the NBC tents that the military uses.

I think I "KNOW" more than you.

 

A white stripe built into the tire weather rwl or white wall is no stronger than a blackwall tire built without the stripe, so how does opening up the full white stripe going to make the tire any weaker.

BTW kids, don't grind tires wearing shorts, those little rubber boogers suck on the legs. Don't ask how I know.

 

Thanks bro. Sounds like YOU know what the fuck your talking about

 

I'm no engineer , but I did stay at a holiday inn express last night.

I've only been in the tire/service business for 18 years. I guess they should make all tires with the white stripe since thats what really helps hold the tire together.

 

You're an engineer big deal.
So am I.
I'm a Nuclear Engineer and a Board Certified Stationary Engineer in Maryland.
But what does that have to do with tires?
Most tire sidewalls are a lot thicker than 1/4".
My tires have so little removed that you can barely catch a finger on it (probably about 1/32").
My cousin used to design and repair weld on tire molds, for a company in Texas, that contracted to Firestone, Goodyear and BF Goodrich.
I think he definitely knows what the fuck he's talking about.
The thin black layer covering the white is cosmetic.
It's only designed to be thick enough to cover the unwanted parts of the white or letters, nothing more.
If it's done right you're not hurting anything.
Most of the guys, that have problems with this, are overloading skinny tires on heavy cars anyway.
It that case it doesn't matter if you grind em or not they're gonna fail faster.
Like I said 10k miles on mine and still look like new.
I worry more about catching a nail or some retard on a cell phone hitting me than I do about these tires.
And I have had a blowout, due to a chunk of metal falling off a truck in front of me, and I did just fine.

 

Are you a mechanical engineer??? I didn't think so. You are a guy that sits behind a table and pushes buttons. And I don't care what your cousin, the maintenance guy, thinks.

Listen, I don't care !! Grind your side walls. Grind the tread off and make slicks. I don't care what you do. Hell, I will lend you my grinder. I still think you are dumb. And no amount of hillbilly logic you guys spout is going to change that.

 

so designing tents means you know everything about tires?

 

another yellowpages engineer..I deal with these dudes all the time..
let him go on thinking he knows W T F hes talking about..and just do whats been done for so many years on so many tires and sit back and Know everythings going to be ok. you cant argue with some one like this ..they will just reduce you to their level..

let me clue you..the title Engineer doesnt give you all the knowledge to go spoting off at whats been proven over time to not make on dam bit of difference..were not talking the space shuttle here..and if i remember correctly those Engineers couldnt get that right either.

 

Could you explain to us feeble minded peasants the significance of structure the white stripe adds to the tire that i've asked once already. Since thats all thats being grinded on anyway. Not the sidewall.

 

No it makes him think he always knows everything about everything because he..." worked as an Engineer" there for he is superior to all of us that have done this with out any probelms and we are just a bunch of shmucks for thinking we have any knowledge that he didnt read in a fucking engineering book.

because you know ..that if an Engineer didnt write it down..in a book..its not what should be done.

 

You have a 1/4 inch sidewall and grind 1/32 off. On average what percentage did you weaken the side wall? Simple math old timer. Whether you weaken the tire to the point of failure or not you have weakened it. And I realize I am not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I will defend my opinion because it's based in science and logic.

 

good lord. who gives a fuck. If your broke grind some whitewalls.If your not, buy some whitewalls. LETS LET THIS ONE DIE

 

Ok i just got off the phone with a Tire Engineer....you know what the structural part of a Tire is?
Its the cording and the weave, we know these to be called "belts"

side wall belting is the stuctual member of the side wall on a tire

the rubber..is to keep the air inside the tire and provide a tred surface.(for traction and wear) on the portion of the tire that meets the road..
there straight from a guy that makes the dam things..are you happy?

have you ever seen the lady that cant park a car next to a curb..she eventually wears off the rubber on the side wall..she could wear this down to the point where the threads show..once those threads are worn or broken..than you have a structural issue..Nuff said.

 

My wife makes her own WWW's, she uses the curb. I just have to rotate them side to side to keep things even. I wouldn't get too nervous unless you get into the cords.

 

as you said ..Its your Opinion..not fact!

 

...Mine were ground with a machine and are perfectly even, smooth and uniform.

$150 for a full set of 1 1/2" shaved whitewalls to the door.

Where'd you get 'em? They look damn good to me.