White marks on tyre sidewalls

Andy Jenkins

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Dec 31, 2003, 2:13:16 AM12/31/03

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About 1 month ago I bought 4 new Avon 215x45z17 ZZ3s.

Since fitting I've noticed strange white marks on the sidewall of the tyre
- only noticable when the weather is cold (like this morning). The marks
are at steady intervals, almost forming what appears to be a clock face,
with the white marks at 12, 1, 2, 3 o'clock etc etc.

I can't say I've ever noticed these marks before on other tyres fitted to
the car (including Pirelli and Goodyear) - so I'm left with either a
manufacturing defect, or some form of side effect as a result of the
manufacturing thats perfectly normal.

Any ideas ?

DervMan

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Dec 31, 2003, 2:44:18 AM12/31/03

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"Andy Jenkins" <andy_n...@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
news:rkbjnue6vz99$.1nj75qwwe5ebm$.dlg@40tude.net...

Do the marks match the wheels? It could be the centripetal forces throwing
road grime off the rim spokes.

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The DervMan
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Andy Jenkins

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Dec 31, 2003, 2:44:21 AM12/31/03

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On Wed, 31 Dec 2003 07:13:16 +0000, Andy Jenkins wrote:

> About 1 month ago I bought 4 new Avon 215x45z17 ZZ3s.
>
> Since fitting I've noticed strange white marks on the sidewall of the tyre
> - only noticable when the weather is cold (like this morning). The marks
> are at steady intervals, almost forming what appears to be a clock face,
> with the white marks at 12, 1, 2, 3 o'clock etc etc.

Maybe I also need to add here that the white marks stretch from the rim to
the shoulder of the tyre.

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Regards
Andy Jenkins

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Justin Case

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Dec 31, 2003, 9:47:45 AM12/31/03

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It's the goo that the fitters use to ease the tyres over the rim when
fitting them (sort of an automobile KY jelly and as such, takes a bit of
time to go away. Give 'em a good clean and it'll disappear (providing you
are sure it is not all over the sidewall in which case it could be the salt
and stuff off the winter roads,
Cheers and Happy New Year to all,
Justin

ps I got Avons about a year ago and they didn't feel quite as good as the
previous Continental energy's but after a couple of weeks getting used to
the feel of them, they are far superior to the others particularly regarding
gripping when accelerating on the wet from rest. Good tyres and worn very
well too so far........

"Andy Jenkins" <andy_n...@btopenworld.com> wrote in message

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Pete Smith

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Dec 31, 2003, 10:11:44 AM12/31/03

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In article <rkbjnue6vz99$.1nj75qwwe5ebm$.d...@40tude.net>,
andy_n...@btopenworld.com says...

Well, I've just looked at my car, and I have exactly the same thing. I've
got 12 or 16 spoke trims, and each trim has an associated "white dribble"
going from the spoke to the tread of the tyre.

It's actually salt from the road.

Pete.

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Andy Jenkins

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Jan 2, 2004, 2:44:46 AM1/2/04

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Thanks for all the responses guys .. I've been a bit tipsy to form any
kinda decent response until now, but I've checked, and indeed the white
marks do line up with the alloy 'spikes' - confirming the theory thats its
the salt or grim or some such.

Thanks for the help ... appriciated.

R. Murphy

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Jan 2, 2004, 5:46:52 AM1/2/04

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i.e. getting sprayed with salty water which shows up as white streaks when
dry. Also can happen when you park - watr drains down to the bottom of the
tyre ...

"DervMan" <der...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
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