[teqtommy]

Currently running Yokohama A504 on the stock wheel, stock size 225/60R14 99H. Somehow they’re still soft, plenty of tread but I found a master key stuck straight into a tread block... Anyway, I’m not sure what the best replacement would be...the standard BFG Radial T/A is S-rated, overpriced, ratings are just ok. Cooper Cobra seems like a better fit: less $$, T-rated, higher marks in all categories but ice, which is irrelevant. And what about white letters? Yes? No? Current Yokos are black-wall. Thoughts? Any input appreciated.

 

[AJ]

Teq, I'd go with the best rated tire all around if its a stock original Supra why not white letters??

 

[Speedrye]

My current tires expired in 1996, haha... I do have a new set of 225/60-14 BFGs in the basement ready to go though. I went that route since I wanted to keep the stock size. I didn't see anything in the correct size with Cooper, hence my decision. I'm going black letter since I don't care for white letters, but also because that's how they came originally.

 

[pdupler]

Teq, I'd go with the best rated tire all around if its a stock original Supra why not white letters??

That would be a personal preference thing, but aren't they only white letters on one side? Can't you have them mounted blackwall out?

Some years ago, I was watching one of those muscle car auctions on TV and it struck me that at least nine out of ten cars across the block had BF Goodrich T/As. I think its partly because there's not much else available in 14 and 15 inch diameters, but also because if you're going to have white letters, its the better looking tire. And as to speed ratings, when are you ever going to go 112mph + for long enough to overheat a tire or even at all.

I've bought a bunch of T/A radials over the years. The only bad thing is some batches have suffered from "blooming" where they get a brown discoloration over time (a very short time). Its something to do with a chemical additive that's supposed to protect the tires from UV damage. Sometimes they get a little too much in the mix I think. Its a pain to clean them. Bleche Wite used to work, but when it was bought out by Black Magic, they changed the formula and its totally useless now, a waste of money. The only thing I've found that works is Goof Off, which is rather expensive for cleaning tires and probably isn't all that good for the rubber. I suggest if you like the Coopers, researching whether they suffer from "blooming" and if they don't, I'd maybe live with the slightly wider tires over cleaning the T/As. But I've got some Toyo's on another car that bloom really bad and some Goodyears that do it a little bit too so its not a unique fault of the Goodrich factory. And its only some batches. I have some T/A's that are fine.

BTW, if anyone has found a cleaner to replace the old Bleche Wite formula, I'd be most appreciative if you'd pass it along.

 

[RedP85]

T/A have a black side, like OE.

I'm sure you liked the A504, I went true a few sets of them. Very good tires.
The T/A are nowhere near as good, but as stated, what else is available in 225/60?

 

[Speedrye]

BTW, if anyone has found a cleaner to replace the old Bleche Wite formula, I'd be most appreciative if you'd pass it along.

Good to know since I've got a few old bottles hanging around. I've had really good luck using Magic Erasers to make various rubber parts look like new, but I haven't tried it on tires yet.

 

[pdupler]

Good to know since I've got a few old bottles hanging around.

Is there any clue on the label as to what the "active ingredient" was? You wouldn't happen to know a chemist who could analyze it would you? I'd sure like to know...

 

[Speedrye]

Is there any clue on the label as to what the "active ingredient" was? You wouldn't happen to know a chemist who could analyze it would you? I'd sure like to know...

I've got two bottles of the good stuff and one new and improved. All bottles show sodium metasilicate while only the old bottles show sodium orthosilicate, so I'm guessing the latter is what made the old stuff better.

 

[pdupler]

Thanks. Now that I know the chemical names, I can do a little research. Maybe find another product with with the same stuff. I had read tho some years ago on another forum that someone believed they had simply reduced the amount of active ingredient and that may be more relevant.

 

[ray85p]

Us OG's grew up using some really nasty shit for lots of things. Yeah, they might have worked great. But in many cases, it wouldn't take that much exposure to them before really bad shit would start to happen to someone. And certainly regular exposure over a few years or more was very likely to. So the likely change was to a much less toxic and consequently somewhat less effective active ingredient was required by the EPA, etc. You still might be able to source some of the older stuff from some third world country that's willing to ship it here describing it as if it wasn't what it really is though.

 

[Speedrye]

Us OG's grew up using some really nasty shit for lots of things. Yeah, they might have worked great. But in many cases, it wouldn't take that much exposure to them before really bad shit would start to happen to someone. And certainly regular exposure over a few years or more was very likely to. So the likely change was to a much less toxic and consequently somewhat less effective active ingredient was required by the EPA, etc. You still might be able to source some of the older stuff from some third world country that's willing to ship it here describing it as if it wasn't what it really is though.

But how do you tell if it's working now?? Back in the day, if it was burning your lungs, you knew it was working! More seriously though, it might just be profit-driven changes once the original Westley's was bought out by Black Magic. Both ingredients seems pretty bad for your skin, eyes, balls, etc.

 

[pdupler]

No doubt we use some nasty stuff in the process of automobile restoration. Heck, just some housecleaning stuff could put you in the hospital. Ever get a whiff of ammonia? OMG! But back in the day, we didn't know things were bad for us or for the environment. We didn't know about lead-based paints, volatile organic compounds, tobacco, etc. Now there's at least more of a general awareness of the dangers of chemicals. The feds often tend to go too far tho, taking an effective product away from everybody because they are slightly dangerous when it would make more sense to just put some reasonable regulations in place to ensure that the users are educated about safe handling procedures. If some Fed scientist thinks I need to wear a respirator to clean my tires, fine. I'd rather do that than drive around with orange tires.

 

[Flyin' Hawaiian]

BTW, if anyone has found a cleaner to replace the old Bleche Wite formula, I'd be most appreciative if you'd pass it along.

Hot Rims All Wheel and Tire Cleaner by Meguiar's cleans that brown stuff pretty well for me. I got it bad with my older Bridgestone Dueler a/t3 revos on my 4runner, but seems to not be a problem on the latest version of Duelers.

I spray the wheel and tire down, let it sit for a minute or two, then scrub with a brush. Brown stuff starts dripping off the tire within seconds, but I let her go for a while. I usually follow up with a quick wipe of Black Magic Tire Wet to make it a bit shiny. Wiping that stuff off after spraying on keeps it from looking like I painted it with 10 coats of clearcoat!!!

 

[sweatere]

What brand of tires did the OP replace it with?

 

[gamble]

Both ingredients seems pretty bad for your skin, eyes, balls, etc.

Umm balls is already sort of etcetera, what is in the etc that you have been using car chemicals on?

 

[pdupler]

Sodium Metasilicate is some very interesting stuff. Its in just about everything, from dishwashing detergent to concrete. More uses than Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. Fixes your leaky headgasket too. Most infamously though it was the ingredient used to permanently seize engines in the Cash for Clunkers program. However, after seeing this video

I bet its in there to keep some other chemical from eating your aluminum wheels. Sodium orthosilicate seems to have far fewer uses so its not clear why Westley's chose to add it. But it may be the key to why the original formula worked and the new formula is useless, who knows.

 

[Speedrye]

Umm balls is already sort of etcetera, what is in the etc that you have been using car chemicals on?

I was thinking of all the reproductive harm from many chemicals, but I still don't qualify my balls in the "etc" category. I'm pretty attached to them in fact, haha.

 

[pdupler]

I had read a long time ago that the brown/orange bloom on tires was caused by one of the chemicals they add to tire rubber to prevent dry rot. But I never knew what that chemical was. Now I just read a report that links one of those chemicals, known as 6PPD, to sudden deaths of Salmon. Apparently, little bits of tire get worn off onto the road surface, the 6PPD leaches quickly out of the rubber crumbs, reacts with something in the atmosphere to become extremely toxic and then washes off the roads and into the rivers where it is extremely toxic to Salmon. Researchers figured it out after investigating massive fish kills in the Pacific Northwest.

Now armed with the chemical name, I found reference on Eastman Kodak's own website (they are one manufacturer) linking 6PPD to the "blooming" phenomena that we curse every time we wash our cars. There are other alternative anti-ozonants that tire manufacturers can use that don't cause blooming and other PPDs that still do but don't leach out as quickly. So maybe if the stuff is killing fish, they'll quit using it and we won't have orange/brown tires anymore.