Dressing a brand new tire
- Thread starter stang5
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Tires arrive at the dealer as 'cured' as they need to be. Giving them additional time exposed to the elements before adding protection is not needed. Wash them and put on the dressing of your choice.
The break-in (usually first few hundred miles) is used so that lubricants applied at the factory (to prevent the tire from sticking to the mold) can wear off. During that time, you should not push the tire to its limits as it will not be at its full potential due to those lubricants still being present. I'm guessing that if you apply that dressing, you are effectively preventing those substances from escaping like they should.
More on tire break-in:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=5
More on tire break-in:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=5
dont bother with dressings. they dont do any good and often will harm the rubber.
Its true, to a point. Like QuattroPete mentions, there are mold release componds that should be worn off. Another is wax-bloom. When tires are manufactured there are waxy compounds added to the mix to keep elements such as ozone from attacking the rubber. Each time the tires are used, they heat up and cause the wax to migrate to the surface of the sidewalls. After a few heat cycles, the bloom will stabilize. If you put a dressing on before everything settles down, you could get a blotchy result. Happened to me on 2 new rear tires and I couldn't for the life of me figure it out. Read about this in a detailing forum and after a couple applications of tire specific cleaners, the tires "accepted" dressing much more uniformily.
Allow me to expand on what Shortyb said.
Some tire dressings will attack the wax and expose the rubber to the elements and cause a new tire to more rapidly be affaected by the elements - which is probably where this "rule" came from.
If you are going to use one pick a tire dressing that has antioxidants. Also never use one that can cause black marks on your finger if you rub the sidewall after treatment.
Some tire dressings will attack the wax and expose the rubber to the elements and cause a new tire to more rapidly be affaected by the elements - which is probably where this "rule" came from.
If you are going to use one pick a tire dressing that has antioxidants. Also never use one that can cause black marks on your finger if you rub the sidewall after treatment.
After several years of using various dressings, I came to the same conclusion. I got very mad when recently my tire shop dressed up my brand new tires right after they mounted them for me, without even asking.
I've used the whole range of products and finally settled on just plain old Armor All. Yes, I know what people say about it but I have never had a tire failure related to sidewall dressing. Now, this doesn't mean I won't have one tomorrow but to date, no issues so far. If applied correctly, it doesn't spin off and gives the tire a low gloss, clean look. If you apply it and it rains, the tires look like garbage but if it has a chance to sit, it lasts for a while.
I usually don't apply any to brand new tires and will only wash them to clean them up for a few weeks anyway. Then, it's Armor All.
I usually don't apply any to brand new tires and will only wash them to clean them up for a few weeks anyway. Then, it's Armor All.
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