Coker Firestone Whitewalls

[jsilvestri]

Hello, Gang...

At least 5 of us here in the Midwest have Coker Firestone 19" Whitewall tires that we absolutely cannot keep clean. They were all purchased in the 2009 - 2011 timeframe.

They are pure hell to get clean - a true workout. Then, 2 days later they start getting that ugly yellow again....almost a "staining" / leaching more than normal yellowing.

Coker totally disavows any and all knowledge of a manufacturing problem - but we're convinced that there was indeed a problem. Keeping the whitewalls white is almost a full-time job. Before we got these Firestone tires from Coker, we'd do our old tires a few times during the driving season and they were beautiful.

A single tire purchased just this past February (identical tire) from Coker is fine...their bad manufacturing source apparently has been changed....but no acknowledgement of any of this from Coker.

Also, their inner tubes, which I recently found out were re-cycled rubber, LEAK air due to porousness and Bratton's told me that they (Bratton's) will ONLY sell NEW rubber...which I bought and they are fine.

So, Coker has us pulling our hair out over the constant yellowing and need to fill the doggone tubes weekly....as they sink to 18-20 PSI.

Any other experience out there with this??

Thank you,

John S / and Mike / and Marc / and...........

[Special Coupe Frank]

This was a big issue on the AACA forum several years ago....

[Great Lakes Greg]

I got my Firestone wide whites through Snyders two years ago, but same problem. Ugly yellow that soft scrub and a scouring pad barely touches. I'm not real fond of white walls to begin with, (the Mrs. likes them) but this really makes me regret my purchase.

I should add that I do not hold Snyders responsible for this. Fine folks down there, and not personally accountable for supplier issues.

[mccsix]

If Synders is aware of this widespread problem then they most definitely have a responsibility to their customers to not deal with Firestone/Coker or any other supplier till the problem is fixed (not passed on to the next new customer).
My ww tires are marked Firestone and are were in New Zealand, with no yellowing.

[29restorod]

My 16" Coker WW's had cracking and blistering problems. Coker would not do anything. I switched to Diamond Backs,and no more problems. On the HAMB web site there are very few Coker supporters.

[Dusty]

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Try using Westley's bleach white, the yellow at least for me falls off and it seems to help keep it at bay

[The Hot Rod Grille]

Originally Posted by Dusty

Try using Westley's bleach white, the yellow at least for me falls off and it seems to help keep it at bay

Be very careful using Wesley's. It does clean the whitewalls very well, but tends to dry out the rubber which causes the whitewall to check and crack. I ruined a set of BFG whitewalls on my '34 with Wesley's. Put on Firestone's and haven't used Wesley's. Tires are 5 years old and still look like new!

Jim

[Jeff Griffin]

I have the exact same problems with the 6 Coker Firestone Whitewalls and tubes that I purchased in that time frame.

[Richard Wilson]

Remember how the old Sears Allstate Model A size whitewalls would do the same thing. You could bleche them white but before the rinse water dried off they would be turning yellow again. At the time, mid-1980's, I was told that it was the oils used in making the tire rubber and that ALL whitewall tires would have the same problem, more or less, depending on the rubber compound.

[Tom Wesenberg]

I never minded the look of yellowed whitewalls. It gives the tires that natural used look. It's called patina!

[Russ/40]

I didn't think there was anyone left who didn't know about the gum rubber white walls on firestones. They are notorious for needing constant attention. The oils from the black rubber bleeds through the white walls. They rarely check or dry out though. The BFGs will dry out and check because they do not have the bleed through to keep the white walls from drying out.

[V4F]

i use SOS soap pads . work well for me !

[cushman man]

Same with me.Ihave a 1932 roadster and put six 18 in double white very expensive.They stared to turn yellow as soon as i put them own.Very unhappy with the tires.Oh they are firestone.

[Roadster62]

The fronts on Dad's '31 Roadster were put on in 1983, they may have been cleaned 6 times since then, look fine to me. The two rears are still in the wrapper. They are tires, not brain surgery tools. Bob

[Dick Carne]

I purchased a new set of Firestones from Coker in the 2009/2010 time frame for a '29 Town Sedan project I've been working on, and experienced the same problem with terrible "browning". Yet the Firestones on both my roadster and touring that have been on these cars for a number of years seem to stay white with only an annual cleaning.

I discussed the "brown" tires with Coker, and they replaced them free of charge including shipping (they had only a few hundred feet on them from having been rolled around in the garage), but while the new tires are better, they are still prone to darkening within a fairly short period of time. The fellow who striped my car (who also owns a paint and body shop) suggested using lacquer thinner. He tried a small spot on one of the tires and it seemed much improved, but it seems to me that this would also be hard on the rubber. Thoughts?

[Stan/MO.]

I'm with Tom W. on this one. I have a 30 coupe that I don't plan on restoring. I don't care for WW tires...but I think the yellowing of the Firestone tires helps the "patina" of an original rust free car.

[Bob-A]

Dick Carne,

I have use lacquer thinner for years to clean the white hand grips on one of my Harley's. It worked great for a long time, but now the rubber grips are getting old and the thinner does not do such a good job as it use to.
The thinner is getting old also and may have something to do with it. My
'29 roadster has Firestone whitewalls on it and I use Westleys bleach white with a soft brass bristle brush that appears to be working O'K.

Bob-A

[Great Lakes Greg]

I am going to try the Wesleys. At the bottom of this reply, and all my posts, is the quote "If it's broke, you can't break it." I got that saying from my grandfather who was watching me delicately try to disassemble a ruined hay baler part that had split almost in two. The point is, I can have ugly yellow, or brilliant white and cracked white walls. What do I have to lose?

[Russ/40]

Ive had the firestone yellow sidewalls for many years on my '40. When I get in the mood, I use the Wesleys. Works great, wont last but has never dried out the sidewalls.

[sturgis 39]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

I never minded the look of yellowed whitewalls. It gives the tires that natural used look. It's called patina!

I got a wide white wall that was not mounted when I purchased my "A" It is brand new and has blue paint or something on the whitewall. I gave it to a friend and he did not clean off the blue coating. He said something about is friends should know he has at least one new tire.

He bought a 29 roadster in Montana. It was all apart and rusted. He has been working on the car for about a year. He is a real craftsman and is now running the wheels off the thing. We have a step hill in town called Mill Street. It has been the hoodlums proving ground for 50 years. Al made it up mill street in high gear. He was pretty happy.

We both admire the torque of the "A" engine. Al is a machinist by trade. He always talks in thousands on an inch. I always ask how many sixteenths is that?