Hi PPL
I want to get some of these whitewall inserts for a car fitted with crossplys, I have heard that they cut into the sidewalls. I want to put them on a car that is on club rego, so it will not be driven everyday. Dose anyone here use them and what sort of damage do they do?
Rob...

i have a couple of mates who use them on their club rego cars. they have had no problems really. except i think one of em had a discolouration once, but he replaced it and is more careful. you can not hit them with armoral or other cleaning stuff.
i think they only cut in if you do a lot of high speed/driving, so being on vintage you should be ok.

frenzix, are you thinking of atlas inserts or brian the whitewall groover who grinds your wheel and then inserts a latex rim. i have used brian heaps as mine have been daily drivers. but again these can discoulour and crack up. i used to get him to re do them b4 a big show.

They're fine. Espesh if you're not driving every day. On crossplys they should sit really nicely too. They sit better on a higher profile tyre. The suppliers recommend some lubricant from time to time between the tyre and whitewall but I haven't found it necessary. I've got them on 135's on the beetle and they don't even touch the wall of the tyre. Go for it. You can get various whitewall widths too Rob. I know down here you can get 1 7/8" and 2.25" at least.
Say hi to Bob for me.
Cheers mate.

They're fine. Espesh if you're not driving every day. On crossplys they should sit really nicely too. They sit better on a higher profile tyre. The suppliers recommend some lubricant from time to time between the tyre and whitewall but I haven't found it necessary. I've got them on 135's on the beetle and they don't even touch the wall of the tyre. Go for it. You can get various whitewall widths too Rob. I know down here you can get 1 7/8" and 2.25" at least.
Say hi to Bob for me.
Cheers mate.

Just be careful if you have used any tyre black etc. It bleeds through the trim! Clean the tyre with acetone first to be safe

Dan

im just wondering wat u use to blacken ur tyres while u hav the whitewalls on, ur usual foam spray ok? i dont paint my tyres black anway, i use the spray foam.
also, if im driving with them everyday, is this going to be bad, will i damage my tyres?

i found that the 'brian engraved' whitewalls were good, but had a limited life for daily use ( a year at most on my split). they go off. as for atlas's i didnt use mine, i passed them off to a friend ,as according to all my info they werent good for daily use.

OK they sound good!
Think I will get some!
Rob...

I'm getting them done this saturday...the guy who does them says he doesn't cut into the side wall, rather he rughs them up to allow a sticky and heated surface to stick the insert to. About the a millimetre he reckons. For around $20 a tyre, it's a damn site cheaper than the $325 for a set of full whitewall Cokers.

Make that $325 EACH!

i have a set on my daily notch and they are biting in to the tyres

I have a set on my bug, put them on myself, easy job, I'm running Nankangs, 145 front and 165 rears, they are biting in and leaving a groove around the entire side wall of the tire, no more than mil deep. I drive the car every day in city traffic to and from work and everywhere else.

I was warned when i put them on that I shoudl let the new tires do at least 1000km before I put them on, this will let the oils bleed out of the tire and let them settle down, I didn't do that, I just slapped them straight on , and they did stain, I have some brown blotches bleeding through them , I will just go over them with some white paint to white them back up.

I was also told to spray Silicone spraty on the sidewall of the tire between the tire and the insert to let them slide on each other rather than rubbing and wearing .. i did this the other night and seems to work well .

Benny.