Wide white tire inserts?

[JimC]

Hey guys,

I'm looking at putting new tires on the '63, and I really love the look of wide whites. The problem is that Coker Tire (who seems to be the most reasonable) is still charging prices that I'm not sure I'm prepared to pay for what amounts to a daily driver.

So about these inserts (here's an example I found on ebay), are they any good? Are they a waste of money? Anyone used them?

I'm trying to figure out what keeps them from flapping up from the tire where the white and black meet.

Thoughts are appreciated. A set of "modern" tires with these would amount to half what I'm being quoted from Coker, which means more money for other challenges.

[JimC]

Oh, for the record, I have aftermarket 14" rims on the '63, so yes, those would fit.

[2R5]

Not to sure they'd be good with a radial tire , they were made for bias ply tires.

[StudeRich]

The "Porta Walls" rubber fake wide whitewalls were barely OK with Bias Ply tires, but with Radials they grind a grove in the thin 2 ply. sidewall everytime your wheel rotates because of the sidewall flexing.

The other issue is they like tubes better than tubeless, because they can leak with the whitewall in between the Wheel Rim and tire bead.

Not a good idea nowdays. The best option is this super Valcanizing rubber White Tire Paint, I bought some on the Internet (sorry I don't have the website info) to make some raised white letter tires out of my Goodyears.

Anyway this set you found is OLD Stock Atlas from a Chevron/Standard Station back when they had Repair Garages, pretty OLD!

[RadioRoy]

These used to be called "porta walls" by some companies. The problems are they are not actually attached to the tire except at the bead. Since radials are fatter than bias ply tires, these whitewalls will stick out, they will flap in the wind, and if you tag a curb while parking, it will rip them up and off. They make the tires harder to balance as well as keep in balance.

You might want to look into diamond back tires, which from my understanding, are modern tires with a whitewall vulcanized on top of the tire. They see to be less pricey and are rumored to perform better than Coker tires.

I tried some of the whitewall paint some 35 years ago. It looked good at first, but soon developed tiny cracks that looked terrible. It also was impossible to remove when I wanted to go back to the narrow whitewall. Best to try one tire first and see how well you like it. Maybe the newer paints are better.

[swvalcon]

Ii REMEMBER THOSE FROM BACK WHEN i WAS 16 AND HAD A 56 CHEV BELAIR. I'AM NOW 62 SO IT WAS A COUPLE YEARS AGO. iF YOU DROVE TO FAST THEY WOULD FLAPP IN THE WIND AND AFTER ENOUGH OF IT THEY WOULD TEAR OFF. But WHAT WAS A 16 YR OLD TO DO IF HE WANTED WHITE WALLS.

[JimC]

Yeah, you guys are confirming my thoughts. I've thought of the tire paint option too, but I've heard it yellows pretty badly with time. I looked at diamond back, but their prices are pretty close to coker. I guess more research is needed.

What is a good white wall solution for a fairly decent driver? I'm open to suggestions.

[Corvanti]

i'd go with "whitewall paint". but the tires have to be cleaner than clean before applying!!!

with radials, you'd probably be touching up the the paint every couple of weeks, due to flex, but probably wouldn't be much more time than i spent on the 40 keeping the whitewalls "purdy"...

[63 R2 Hawk]

There used to be places that would make wide whitewalls out of narrow ww tires by spinning the mounted tire against a blade. The white rubber is a complete layer underneath the black wall and can be skived off so you can make any width whitewall tire you want out of a narrow white tire. I haven't seen anybody doing this for years now, but there used to be several places nearby when I lived in California. Forget the "Portawalls", they will eventually fling off from centrifugal force. I used to see them littering the sides of busy highways back in the 50s.

[mbstude]

I tried whitewall paint on a '57 wagon. I did all the right prep work, cleaning, applying, etc as what was recommended. It looked great sitting in the garage.

After curing for a couple of weeks, I took the car around my curvy neighborhood. Within 3 miles of hard turns, the paint was cracked and flaking off.

Don't waste your time or money. I tried it and found out that if you want whitewalls, cough of the cash and just buy them.

[GTHawk]

I have coker, alstate/Sears, and Diamond Back. The latter is far superior to any I have seen. They add the white wall after the tire is manufactured and when doing so they place a barrier between the black tire and the white insert thus there is no bleed through as you see in all other radial. Once the bleed starts you will never see bright whites again. They are slightly more expensive but I would not buy anything else. Also they come very well balanced.

[55s]

Matthew,

Did you apply the flexible stuff (whitewall paint) from a person in Iceland? I bought some a few years ago, and I have not had the time to try it. It does not really harden.

Paul

[JimC]

It sounds like diamondback tires is probably the best bet to get the tire I want. I looked at their site, and I really like what they have to offer. It's just a pity that there's not a solution out there that's middle of the road. It seems like it's either you get the right thing for a premium price, or you waste your money for anything else at all. There's really not a mid priced, mid quality product it seems. I'd imagine that if there were, a lot more drivers would have wide whites.

[Sam Ensley]

I have a friend who just removed some old Coker tires from his pick-up. They were, I believe, 7:10 or 750-14's. They are about 3" whitewalls with most of the tread left. He lives in Florida on the Atlantic coast below Daytona. PM me, if you are interested, and I will put you in touch with him.

[Pat Dilling]

I have had both Coker and Diamondback. In my opinion and experience Diamondback is the better choice. I had several warranty issues with Coker, they honored their warranty without question, but having to have tires mounted and balanced again was a real pain. I have had excellent service with Diamondback and they have a good variety of tires.

Pat