Tire Protectant - Shine?

[Nick1994]

I've heard Armor All type products aren't good for tires as far as making then crack, or promoting cracking. My car's tires are now 3 months old (Pirelli Cinturato P7 +) and I'm wondering if there's something I can put something on there to resist cracking? The car is in the sun about half the day and we get some extreme heat. Also the 70' Beetle has a new set of General Altimax RT43s and its in the sun 100% of the time, those tires will dry rot out before the tread wears out regardless but what can I use to help? Neither set have had any tire shine on them yet, and I don't really care about the shine, yeah it looks good but shine isn't a necessity to me when the cars get detailed.

 

[CharBaby]

Lots of information(comments) about tire shine products causing sidewall cracking. WELL, I have my reservations about this so, here goes!

I use a variety of tire shine products on my tires. All of my tires experience sidewall cracking to some degree. BUT, so do the tires of family/friends that don't use any product on their tires!

Also, the inside sidewalls of my tires that see no sun or shine product, experience the same amount of sidewall cracking as the outer sidewall!

So, use your own judgement and decision!

 

[01rangerxl]

To actually protect the rubber, the best thing is probably a protectant along the lines of 303 Protectant or Mother's VLR. The problem is, these products are not really meant to hold up on a tire, so any rain will probably wash it right off, though in Phoenix, maybe that's not a big issue.

You'll probably also need to apply multiple coats, allowing them to soak in between applications. I would use a foam applicator to get good coverage. It won't be spray and go like regular tire shine products. And it will cost more since 303 and VLR are going to cost double or triple what tire shine will for the same amount of product.

 

[redhat]

I have used many over the years but have come across two I prefer.

1. 303 Aerospace Protectant
2. Chemical Guys Silk Shine

 

[Hokiefyd]

I've owned tires that I religiously shined with a tire shine, and they often didn't crack. That, or I didn't own them long enough for the cracking to occur. I've also owned, very recently, a set of tires that did crack despite me rarely using a tire shine (and the product I did use bore the tire manufacturer's name on the bottle).

I've come to the conclusion that it generally doesn't matter.

 

[Nate1979]

I wonder if the often stated that tire products cause cracking is an old wives tale.

 

[dishdude]

I agree it doesn't matter. The best you can do is try and park in a garage or at least in the shade as much as possible.

 

[NMBurb02]

I recently began pondering the same thing due to ozone/UV cracking on the tires on the GP. I will be getting new tires this week and will begin using 303 Aerospace Protectant on both of my vehicles.

 

[cutlassvillager]

Another vote for 303. I agree it doesn't hold up that well against the rain, but I love the look the best and feel better that it's probably not as harsh on my tires. Plus, there's no point in still having shiny tires after the car is all dirty from the rain.

 

[19jacobob93]

Paint them with Maxlife

If it works to prevent rubber seals drying out and cracking it will work on tires right?!

 

[CharBaby]

The '80 Firebird in my signature is always garaged and only driven on nice summer days!

I use the same tire shine product(s) on the Firebird's tires that I use on my other vehicles in my signature.

I have had tires on this car(BTW she's on her 3rd set) for 10 years and 20 years. Latest set has been on for 5 yrs.

None of the tires on the Firebird experience any tire cracking over the years. So in essence, I blame the SUN more than any shine product for cracking the sidewalls of tires, as my other vehicle are never garaged.

Here's another thing to consider. Two of the care in my signature(Mazda3 & Altima) also have winter tires/on separate wheels. These winter tires have little to no cracking.

The winter tires on the Mazda are only 2 winters old and have none!

The winter tires on the Altima are 7 winters old and have few!

Blame the sun and whatever else you want to blame base on this^^^

CB

 

[Bamaro]

Originally Posted By: NMBurb02
I recently began pondering the same thing due to ozone/UV cracking on the tires on the GP. I will be getting new tires this week and will begin using 303 Aerospace Protectant on both of my vehicles.

303 is good for UV protection but I dont believe it provides any ozone protection.

 

[CharBaby]

Originally Posted By: Bamaro
Originally Posted By: NMBurb02
I recently began pondering the same thing due to ozone/UV cracking on the tires on the GP. I will be getting new tires this week and will begin using 303 Aerospace Protectant on both of my vehicles.

303 is good for UV protection but I dont believe it provides any ozone protection.


Well, I think that 303 provides some sort of UV protection(as do others) but, it just wears/washes away before too long, making it kind'a useless!

 

[Bear]

not knocking other products but if you research Armor All you'll find out it got a bad rap that really wasn't warranted. I've been using it since it came out and never had problems. #1 - I didn't over apply it. #2 - I did use sun shields.
Not sure when auto glass started being treated to reduce the ill effects of the sun's rays but that was and is a major factor in damaging rubber and other materials.

 

[CharBaby]

I started using Armor All in the 1970's though, I don't know exactly what year it hit the market.

Most of the glass on my late 60's, early 70's cars had some sort of mild tint in the glass, especially at the top of the windshield. I just don't know how much nor to what extent the tint went into the glass(how far down in the glass).

I have never had any interior dash cracking in my area of the country and my car are always outside. Maybe some sun fading but, not cracking on the interior.

 

[Lapham3]

I've never had any tire checks or cracks and some tires are on old and older cars with tires that some folks wouldn't use anymore based on DOM. Quite a spread of manufacturers-and also made in various countries including China, Chile and Romania (I know, it's a world economy now!)That said, they are always garaged.

 

[CharBaby]

Originally Posted By: Lapham3
I've never had any tire checks or cracks and some tires are on old and older cars with tires that some folks wouldn't use anymore based on DOM. Quite a spread of manufacturers-and also made in various countries including China, Chile and Romania (I know, it's a world economy now!)That said, they are always garaged.


Yeah, keeping out of the sun as much as possible is important! Also, those who change tires more often will not experience tire cracking as often as those of us(myself

) who keep our tires longer! I personally keep my tires in excess of 6 yrs these days. But, I do start to notice mild sidewall cracking in about the 3rd yr.

 

[Bamaro]

The beef with most of the common tire shine products is the silicon and other ingredients which work counter to what the tire manufacturers put into the tires to address oxidation. Tires have a type of wax built into them to counter oxidation caused dry rot. The wax is made to migrate slowly to the surface during use and the chemicals in the shines strip away this protection.

 

[Errtt]

I've gotten lazy & don't care for the wet shine look, so I use a spray called "No Touch". I don't spray it on the tire, I spray it on a rag then wipe it on. After setting, no glaring wet look, just clean and black. But I think its more for cleaning so I don't know what it does regards to cracking.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I've been using Meguiar's "Natural Shine" (once called "Clean, Shine & Protect") on my tires for a number of years. Water-based, goes on with a spongy applicator, doesn't dry to an oily look, lasts a while if I don't drive through rain, decently priced at Walmart. Never had tires crack. I'm out of it right now, and I had an Amazon gift card, so I picked up a bottle of the famous 303 Aerospace Protectant. It seems to work exactly the same.