Some protectant manufactures say their protectant or tire dressing prolongs tire life by protecting the tire and preventing cracks.

However, some tire manufactures and Tire Rack seem to have different opinion.



". . . . the excessive use of tire cleaners/dressings that inadvertently remove some of the tire's anti-oxidants and anti-ozone protection during every cleaning procedure. . . . " Rubber Cracking, Tire Rack

". . . Here are some tips for storing tires that will not be used continuously.. . . DO NOT APPLY ANY TIRE DRESSINGS. Tire compounds are formulated to resist ozone cracking or weather checking. . . . . . . " Storing Tires, Tire Rack


"DO NOT APPLY TIRE DRESSING OR HARSH CHEMICAL CLEANERS

Falken tire sidewalls are specially compounded to resist ozone and wheather cracking. Use of some dressings or cleaners may degrade rubber and remove inherent ozone resistance, resulting in premature cracking or discoloration. Use a mild soap solution to clean sidewalls and white lettering, and rinse with plain water. " Falken

__________________
1992 300D 2.5 turbo diesel. 319 k miles.
124.128 chassis, 602.962 engine, 722.418 tranny.

I couldn't imagine my SL500 without glossy black coated tires.

Most tires get replaced every couple of years anyway - would a dressing really break them down that quickly?

Ken Silver
--------------
~1993 SL500, glistening triple black, xenons, AMG facelift to 2002 style.
~1999 SLK 230 Kompressor, silver/black leather, CD, immaculate
~1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara. black & silver
~1991 Jaguar Daimler, shiny grey/grey leather, best in country!
~ex 350SL, 230E, 280E, MX5 and a lot of other makes not nearly as nice.

__________________
http://www.kensilver.com/newSLsig.jpg

constant cleaning with mild soap and the best of care makes the tires a whitish color and to me when cleaning a car, the icing on the cake when done is the tire dressing. Without its no way for me!

__________________
99 C43
98 S420
99 C230K
01 C240

Maybe it's OK to rub your tire with vitamin E or suntan lotion. Sounds like a marketing opportunity to me. I can see it now.... "MercedesShop tire dressing with vitamin E and aloe, will not degrade rubber or deplete anti-oxidant"....

__________________
1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

I have used 303 for years on my tires every time I wash the car and have never had a problem. 303 keeps them looking like new.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

You kids crack me up with your tire chapstick.

Coming from the motorcycle world we know tire dressing to be the devil's seed. That slick, rubber eating stuff has resulted in more than a few motorcyclists eating asphalt when their egos got ahead of physics.

Anyway, not everything people do to their cars is meant to maximize its safety or longevity (hence, the entire performance modification industry). I don't mind if you do those things, just realize the effect it has on the vehicle.

Personally I think uber-shiny tires look odd, I like the nice matte sheen of a clean tire and wheel best.

peace,
sam

__________________
"That f***in' biodiesel is makin' me hungry."

1982 300TD Astral Silver w/ 250k (BIO BNZ)
2001 Aprilia SR50 Corsa Red w/ 5.5k (>100 MPG)

Sam,

I thought so too until a short while back when someone on a forum talked about how matt tires teamed with a glossy black body looked incomplete. As an experiment I changed to glossy dressing, and to me it makes a huge difference in the overall sparkle.

But on light colors, I agree, shiny tires look crass.

Ken Silver
--------------

I dislike shiny tires as well but 303 does not put a shine on your tires, it makes them black.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Meguair's makes a rubber conditioner, and I believe it is rebadged as a MB product in the parts dept. I use it and it looks great, and I haven't seen anything else marketed as a "rubber conditioner" make rubber look this good. It's not ultra shiny, instead it gives a deep black new-rubber color with mild gloss. I think there is a difference between using armor-all and a quality conditioner on anything, rubber or other.

Meguiers Endurance is the only tire dressing I know of that is not detrimantal to tires ... and it comes in shiny or matte formulas

__________________

Please, call me to place orders or for more info
use my name for on-line orders

Years ago, prior to tire dressings, we would use a strong solution of sugar diluted in water to achieve the glossy black look. Yes, it does work and does not harm the tire.

Yes, but what about the bees?

Wouldn't that attrack dogs and small animals?

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

ya know......brake fluid makes tires black and shiny too.

Phidauex:

On a motorcycle I would NEVER use any tire dressing on the sidewalls either. That is because of the way bikers naturally bank their bikes into corners, which places a significant amount of the sidewall in contact with the pavement. Under those circumstances, I would never want anything even remotely "slick" on the sidewalls. I can just imagine some of that "greasy stuff" some use on car sidewalls used on a motorcycle! The first banked turn, and down we'd go!

But cars can't be banked into corners like bikes, so the sidewall should not come into contact with the road. Any car owner who sees evidence that his sidewalls have road contact on turns either is running WAY too little pressure in his tires, or simply owns a much lower speed rated tire for they type of driving he does. Because unlike motocycle tires, car tires are not meant to have their sidewalls come into road contact.

I have owned cars for 45 years, and have used many types of tire dressing. I now use 303. I have never had sidewall failure or cracking during tread life (I'm not a high mileage driver) on any tires with any dressing. Oh, I did have a road hazzard sidewall puncture once, but that was a road hazzard problem.

If I may say so, I think that some of those who blame sidewall cracking on tire dressing are covering up for poor tires. For example, my son-in-law has an '03 Ford Expedition with OEM Continental tires and is getting sidewall cracks. If he even uses dressing, he does not use it much. Tire Racks own user ratings indicate that sidewall cracking is almost a universal problem with his particular tires, and they are therefore poorly user rated on Tire Rack's website. Now, that can't ALL be due to dressing, can it?!

Thanks,
Richard