Whitewall Inserts "Portawalls"

[ssj335]

https://longisland.craigslist.org/pts/d/4-white-wall-inserts-14/6610202246.html

Has anyone had any experience with white wall "inserts"? Are these just crap? Or can they actually look good?

Would like some thick white walls but budget is an issue.

[jopizz]

They are junk. Stay away from them. Just my opinion.

John

[jopizz]

Also they were designed for bias ply tires, not radials. There's a big difference in the sidewall.

John

[ssj335]

Thanks John for this warning. I guess that settles it.

Any good sources for finding whitewall tires? At a good rate? Or pretty much they are expensive and you have to bite the bullet if you want some.

[jopizz]

If you don't mind thin whitewalls how about these.

https://www.amazon.com/Hankook-Optimo-H724-All-Season-Tire/dp/B004QL6ASA/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1533322475&sr=1-2&keywords=whitewall+tires

If you want wide whitewalls you will have to pay the price.

John

[bird 60]

I agree with John. They were designed for Bias Ply Tires. When I bought my Squarebird 11 years ago, the tires on it were Blackwall Radials. They looked new, but I wanted Whitewalls. I decided to get the Portawalls because of that reason (looked new). The Tire shop spend a lot of time to get them to fit, but no go. I bit the bullet & spend over a thousand $s to get what I have on my Bird now, Coker 225/ 75-14, 2 1/2" Whitewalls. They look good & handle well. I had someone lined up to sell my Blackwalls that came off my Bird. Unfortunately the shed that they were stored in caught fire. I was insured so everything turned out O.K.

Chris......From OZ.

[Dakota Boy]

https://dbtires.com/classic-car-tires/

All my friends with wide whites swear by these. Their cars are drivers, so most have given up on bias plys, even though the bias ply tires have that really "correct" look.

[YellowRose]

Whitewall Inserts "Portawalls"

I have seen that a good number of owners on here say that Diamond Back tires are the way to go these days. I went through their listing that Greg posted for ya. I did not see a 14" tire category listed, so I went through each type of tire shown. For those of you who have 14" rims, these are the tires they have listed as being 14". Diamond Back 1, 2, 3, MX, SS. So that should save you a lot of looking. There seem to be a good number of 15" and up to choose from. Also a good number of tire sizes to choose from.

[JohnG]

(as on another thread) I bought Diamondback Classics radials with wide white wall 14 years ago and am taking them off this winter due to the age. The vulcanized white walls are starting to come off but mainly I cannot make a case they are still safe.

That said, they have been flawless in all respects. Whether they are made the same now, I have no idea.

Their catalog is at: https://dbtires.com/tire-catalog/
and offers alot of options. If I stick with 14", roughly I am looking at $1000 or more plus shipping plus mounting/balancing .

I intend to inquire if they still vulcanize the whitewall on, or just how they do it.

John (G)

[Tbird1044]

Diamondback Tires

John:
I looked at DB site and found this: https://dbtires.com/classic-car-tire...aking-process/

It appears they still take an existing tire and vulcanize the whitewall to the tire. If you got 14 years, that sounds like a good run to me.
Nyles

(as on another thread) I bought Diamondback Classics radials with wide white wall 14 years ago and am taking them off this winter due to the age. The vulcanized white walls are starting to come off but mainly I cannot make a case they are still safe.

That said, they have been flawless in all respects. Whether they are made the same now, I have no idea.

Their catalog is at: https://dbtires.com/tire-catalog/
and offers alot of options. If I stick with 14", roughly I am looking at $1000 or more plus shipping plus mounting/balancing .

I intend to inquire if they still vulcanize the whitewall on, or just how they do it.

John (G)

[JohnG]

I agree . . . what more could I ask for?

The white was easy to clean - - I could scrub it with a ScotchBrite pad or something similar and it remained white ( I have read threads in Classicbirds on Yahoo telling of other brands turning brown or yellow). I never did polish them so they had a dull white look perhaps.

When you get them, you look at the tire and it kind of strikes you that the white is not an integral part of the tire, but the difference is quite subtle and never matters. Mind you, I got them in 2004 and did not know a darned thing about whitewall tires, just that I was trying to replicate the original factory appearance.

The Classicbirds group have mixed things to say about Coker, so it would appear I will stay with DB.

[RustyNCa]

https://longisland.craigslist.org/pt...610202246.html

Has anyone had any experience with white wall "inserts"? Are these just crap? Or can they actually look good?

Would like some thick white walls but budget is an issue.

I have a set of them that were in the trunk of one of my TBirds still in the packaging?

Regarding Diamond Back Tires, I had them on our 65 Special. They drove great, looked good, made the white wall size and spacing from the wheel to order, I had good luck with them.

[DKheld]

Take in to consideration in this pic that the DB tire is 10+ years old and the CC is about 2 years old.


I don't have a depth gauge but the Daytons with 10K+/- miles on them appear to have more tread depth than the CC's with about 3K miles.


I'll admit the CC's do have a little better finish to the edge of the WW.


Both about 2 7/8's



Turns out the Diamond Back tire I'm taking pic's of is 18 years old - - (date code 4300). I thought they were a little newer when I replaced them. Still had most of the little nibs on the edges of the tires. Wish I had not seen the "free shipping" from Summit on the Cokers and had re-purchased Diamond Back ...although... DB makes their WW walls from tires they purchase and modify so no guarantee that I would have received Dayton tires. I'd have to call or email and ask - they may still be buying from the same supplier.


Thought it might be of interest...

Eric