Hi all,

Our 2005 F150 sits outside year round and with only 15,000 miles on the original tires, they are starting to crack. I sent this photo to my friend at the TireRack who sent it to the TireRack warranty department. Here's what they said:

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Sidewall treatment products like Armor All can do more harm than good, despite their claims of the opposite. While they shine up the tire, they remove the important surface layer of oils (the brown stains on your application rag) that are in the tire to prevent the rubber from drying out (and cracking). The remaining wet surface attracts dust, which mixes with the Armor All to create a fine abrasive compound that slowly works at the surface of the rubber as it flexes with each revolution. The best way to protect your tires is to clean them with soapy water, just like you wash the car and wheels.

I have not found a product that keeps the tires nice and shiny, while not stripping away any of the vital oils.

Michelin (who owns BFGoodrich) has begun to package products they claim do not effect the tire negatively.
http://www.michelinman.com/care/tire...urce=careindex

But so far Tire Rack has not decided to offer them for sale.
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so we need to use organic oils like peanut oil or something?

my GS-D3's have been on my car since 2004, about 20k miles.
no cracks. ive used Meg endurance and intense shine. i rarely
wash the tires, but when i do, i use car shampoo on a boar's hair
brush.

one of my previous cars had RE110's...they cracked like that pict too
within 2 yrs. the only difference was i use to take that car to auto
washes all the time to keep salt and crap off during the winter time.

perhaps the detergents they use (blue coral was it?) is what's causing
the cracking.

 

I'll confess, I used Westly's Bleach White on the tires when we first got the truck. The dealership had coated the tires with tire shine and the raised white letters were brown.

Probably should have used something else. That stuff works great, but it's pretty toxic!

 

^^ yah, as we never use harsh chemicals on weather stripping probably
best not to use strong detergents on tires either.

you know how cars that are auto-washed often have white/faded
plastic trims, etc. especially by the wipers and around windows.

i think harsh chemicals + UV plays a big role in fade and cracking
tires..something with the chemical reaction when it gets hit by
UV maybe?