Technical What’s causing “stringing” on my white wall tires

Hey all,
I have a second set of Coker American Classic biasply looking radials on my TBird. The first set did the same, the second is also doing “stringing” (not sure if that’s the right term).
Has anyone seen similar ? It’s on all 4 tires. My wheels were sandblasted and powder coated before the installation. The second set was installed in different shop than the first one.
photo attached

 

Could that be caused by the tire mounting machine as it rubs against the tire during mounting?
Were those "strings" present before you mounted the tires on the rims?

 

Could be bad QC at the factory. I got 5 tires from them, evry one was too oval to balance. I had to take the best two and get them trued for the front to drive above 35. I'd email them pics and see what they say

 

Are the "strings" dry and unattached or are they gummy/sticky like something dripped?
My wildass guess is it's uncured, white rubber oozing out....... but I know less than nothing about tire-making processes so I can't really say what is possible.
I've got to say it is a tire defect and a nuisance so I would definitely contact the manufacturer to see what they have to say about it.

 

It looks the fabric reenforcement in the whitewall. Without it the whitewall surface will streach and crack. It looks like the white rubber has not completly filled the mould so the strands have come exposed. Carefully trim them back to the sidewall. You may be able to reseal the surface with a tiny amount of superglue at the very edge.

However.. if its a sign the whitewall panel is starting to delaminate from the tire, thats a bigger problem

 

If those were my tires, they would be headed back to Coker for new tires, or a full refund. That looks horrible!

 

I've had a couple of sets of these tires and never experienced anything like that.

Have you gotten in contact with Coker and sent them a photo of the problem. HRP

 

Thanks for all the comments - here are some responses to the questions

- strings are dry and were not present before they were mounted, or right after. I need to drive a bit before the stringing started.
i have used two different tire shops, so I don’t think it’s the machine either

I’m wondering if the tire is moving against the rim ?

I’ve been talking with Coker and they have been good about it. I got a replacement set, but they are doing the same thing.

 

I worked in a Firestone tire shop for 15 years starting in 1970, I have never seen anything like that in any whitewall tire we ever sold. Just sayin!

 

Are you running the tires at the recommended inflation? Also are you running tubes? From the appearance of the "Strings" it looks like the rim is slipping in the tire and causing the rubber to roll up and stick out the side.

 

Could both tire shops be using the same machine to mount the tires?, My initial thought is it appears that the machine may have come in contact with he edge of the whitewall. HRP

 

I’ve heard of getting a “sidewalls” haircut (actually white sidewalls at my age), but this is taking it way beyond!

 

I have heard of manscaping but never tirescaping. I would return for a refund and get them from Diamond Back.

 

It's simple, the tires are Coker and Coker tires are junk. If I knew how to post pictures I could show you a set of Coker that were literally worn out at 13,000 miles, plus a tennis ball sized bubble on the whitewall on the drivers side front. When I showed the Coker people pictures of my tires at Hershey I was told that "Coker are for show cars, not drivers" and there was nothing they could do for me. Stick with name brands like B.F. Goodrich or Diamond Back's, both make excellent wide whites. I replaced the junk with Goodrich tires over 40,000 miles ago with zero signs of wear so far. I would be very surprised if Coker makes good for your tires.

 

Looks like low air pressure to me.

 

Razor blade/xacto knife time….trim it off and move on..

 

That may be okay for today. But what about tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that etc? They're faulty now and who knows where the end of this piece of string is? The guy paid 100% money, he should expect and recieve a 100% product.

 

As an observation Coker advertises a lot to sell products. It’s possible they believe their own hype. For everyone who loves them and had no problem it appears there is more that don’t. Even if you get satisfaction like a friend did for a set of 16” for his 40’s style 32, the tires that went back were probably sold to another customer. Unfortunately today it’s the buyer beware for the most part.

 

What is tire size and rim size? Are rims original?

 

Diamond backs are radials, they don't offer bis ply whitewalls. HRP

 

How old are they... possibly looks like geriatric pubic hair... something I know NOTHING about...

 

I know nothing about whitewalls, but it seems to me that the white maybe is put on and bonded to the tire after it’s made? If not, what’s pictured is parts of the sidewall coming out.
If it’s bonded on, I wander if some kind of clear adhesive would stop it?
If it’s part of the sidewall, I’d be leery about using them for anything other that rollers.

 

No one has ever seen this happen yet the OP has had two full sets of tires do this? To me that says he or the installers are doing something to damage the tires.

 

By any chance, are you using Rogaine to clean your whitewalls?



OK, I'll go back in my corner now.....

 

Having mounted & dismounted tires I've noticed on rare occasion the sealing rim edge showing evidence of wear, in the form of a wavering pattern of the metal testimony that the tire or at least the bead or sidewall was flexing & moving enough to actually create the wear, probably normal but of an extreme nature. perhaps more so with a radial versus a bias ply I'm not sure, always thought it was a result of running low air pressure or an overload condition or even more so an out of balance, tie rod shimmy etc.

 

It sure look to me like these “hairs” are between the tire bead and the wheel, which means they were sticking out of the tire before they were mounted.

So ether the customer, the tire shop, or both knew their was an issue and mounted them anyway or as @K13 says the tires are being damaged in the mounting process.

 

Looking closely at the one example photo that we have, I think I see that the "whitewall" ends a fraction of an inch before the wheel rim. So where the white abuts the black is exposed and a 1/4" out from the rim. And all the "strings" are coming from that white to black joint, not from under the rim or any other place. Normally both rubber types should be fully vulcanized and fused solidly together.
And all the "strings" appear to be the same thickness, like actual strings, but no one has told us if they are rubber only, or rubber-coated string. I'd like to know if one of those boogers is pulled apart, is there an actual fiber string in it or does it stretch or come apart like an old rubber band?
If they were in my driveway, I'd pull 'em or cut 'em off as best I can and see what else happens or doesn't happen after driving some more.
As I said earlier, I don't know diddly about tire production, but I'm beginning to assume that the whitewall is first made separately with its own warp and welf fiber reinforcement, then is sort of inlayed into the black tire. Perhaps that fiber/string reinforcement is out of position and too close to the edge of the finished white hoop and once fused onto the black tire there is a gap for the "strings" to come out and flap around.

 

a build up of wheel ants?