Tire Tread always looks dirty

[mb911]

On my main two cars, my tire tread always looks dirty. Like dirt is stuck to the tread, always.

On my older cars with cheaper tires, the tread usually looks pretty good, and almost all cars I see on the road have fairly black or dark looking tread. Unlike mine, which again looks like it was rolled in dirt.

Is it just that some tires attract the dirt more to the tread?

Anyway to clean this up? If I scrub them, they just look all grayed out, and then get dirt back on them as soon as I go for a drive.

Again, not talking about the side-walls, obviously you can keep that looking black, but anything to do with the tread?

Thanks.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Tire Tread always looks dirty

Anyway to clean this up? If I scrub them, they just look all grayed out, and then get dirt back on them as soon as I go for a drive.

If these are daily drivers then there's not much you can do or even want to do as anytime you drive these cars the face of the tread on the tires is going to wear. It's possible some rubber formulas look different than others as they wear but still there's not much you can do or probably even should do.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Tire Tread always looks dirty

If your newer car has a high performance tire on it the rubber composition is going to be different than a high mileage tire, and they're going to pick up more dust and debris than a less sticky, higher mileage tire.

Go to a race track, even just a local track with club racers so you can get up close, and see what happens when they drive their slick tired cars off the track and into the paddock area: the tires will pick up EVERYTHING, including stones the size of peas, chunks of rubber, etc. If you were to touch the surface of the tire while still warm they would actually feel sticky. Do the same to a tire designed to last 60,000 miles and the rubber composition is so hard nothing sticks to them, but they wear very well.

As for keeping any tire clean on the tread surface, while it's great to see you being so particular about your vehicle's appearance, this is something you're just going to have to let slide - preferably sideways around a sweeping turn. But do that on the track, please.

[mb911]

Re: Tire Tread always looks dirty

Thanks all.

I think the problem bugs me as when the car is black, a dirty colored tire tread really stands out.

I'll have to live with it. Thanks again though. I was scared I didn't know a great secret since most cars on the road I see no problem with the tread.

[Megafast13]

Re: Tire Tread always looks dirty

Not much you can do about the surface that is constantly touching the filthy road and ground

High Performance Tires tend to stick more and have more tread to have rocks and grime get stuck in the tread. You don't want to use any dressing or chemical that could ever cause a threat to the control/safety of you and your vehicle.

[G Force]

Re: Tire Tread always looks dirty

[quote=Michael Stoops;286115]If your newer car has a high performance tire on it the rubber composition is going to be different than a high mileage tire, and they're going to pick up more dust and debris than a less sticky, higher mileage tire.


most tires with Treadwear 400 have good grip and stay clean




http://www.pneus-online.co.uk/utqg-advice.html

[roushstage2]

Re: Tire Tread always looks dirty

The ones with 180 treadwear don't, lol!

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Tire Tread always looks dirty

I have a hard time keeping the dirt off the area between the tread lugs...

[Jeepster04]

Re: Tire Tread always looks dirty

My tires must be cheap, they look good all the time.

Although Ive been temped to scrub the entire tire and spray hyper dressing on the back and the tread. Oh how I wish it was summer..

[SVT Lightning]

Re: Tire Tread always looks dirty

Just curious as to what type tires you have. I have Goodyear F-1's which is an extremely soft compound. They pick up everything.....but I don't worry about something I have no control over. They stick to the road, and that's what's important!

[mb911]

Re: Tire Tread always looks dirty

Just curious as to what type tires you have. I have Goodyear F-1's which is an extremely soft compound. They pick up everything.....but I don't worry about something I have no control over. They stick to the road, and that's what's important!

They're Continentals. They aren't a particularly soft compound or anything. One car has 400 treadwear, and they look just as dirty/dusty. The newer car, the SLK, has 280 treadwear.

Again, I think it looks worst when the car is black.

I'm just happy to know I wasn't doing anything wrong.

[roushstage2]

Re: Tire Tread always looks dirty

They are Continentals, that's the problem. Those tires are junk.

[mb911]

Re: Tire Tread always looks dirty

They are Continentals, that's the problem. Those tires are junk.

I strongly disagree. Mercedes-Benz uses continentals, being a German company, on many cars. I have had good success with them. They are about $250 each, maybe some of their tires aren't so good.

[roushstage2]

Re: Tire Tread always looks dirty

Must be then. It is good to hear not everyone has problems with them. I'm assuming you have their max/high performance tire?

[Kevin Brown]

Re: Tire Tread always looks dirty

It is not uncommon to see two or three shades of 'black' in the makeup of a tire, since the sidewalls are not always the same type of rubber as the tread areas.
That being said... you can definitely clean the tread areas just as you would the sidewalls.
It makes all the difference in the world.

You can clean them with All Purpose Cleaner, All Purpose Cleaner Plus, or Super Degreaser.



Use the appropriate dilution ratios. Most times, you can simply mist them with the solution and then rinse. Of course, a brush or pressure washer helps things along dramatically.

If you clean the tires often, a strong mixture of car wash soap and water will work just fine, too (5:1 water/soap solution).



Once you've washed the sidewalls, wheels, fenderwells, and rest of the car and PRIOR to drying...
Mist ONLY the tread areas with a 50/50 mix of Hyper Dressing and water (you can even dilute that down more).



Use enough dressing to make the tire tread look dark and clean, but do not mix too strong, as it may make the tires slip a little when the car is initially driven! Allow the dressing to dry (basically the water/carrier evaporates).

If you are worried about overspraying the car with dressing, follow up with a fine mist of water across the wheels, brake areas, and fenders (making sure not to mist water onto the tread or fenderwells).

The brakes are the most important because you do not want silicone to contaminate the rotors. If you're careful with the application, you can usually just dry the car without having to re-rinse the fenders.

The water and towels will remove the oversprayed dressing from the paint, windows, and other trim pieces.
You can also use a product like Last Touch to remove any remaining overspray or smudges.



Sometimes when I am in an area that I cannot spray dressing, I will apply it with a sponge. It's quite a bit slower, but works just fine.

Then, dress the sidewalls with your favorite tire dressing at normal dilution (if any), and voila!
I've done this to virtually every car I've ever washed and it works great. I do fenderwells and undercarraiges the same way.

On most cars, I even climb under or reach to dress the backsides of the tires.