MTFCA Forum

Just saw a interesting DuPont TV ad on TCM
about why tire sidewalls would crack( like our T tires were doing). This ad was on the old tv show “ Dupont Show of the Month “ in 1958. The DUpont ad said that ozone will cause tire sidewalls to crack and break. This a natural process. DuPont developed neoprene to add to tires to stop the cracks.

Could it have been someone was cutting cost when making our tires by not putting neoprene ? Dan

Dan, you are now a professional carpenter, You keep hitting nails dead on the head!

Hank

Or, rather than cutting costs, is it to shorten the life span of tyres to sell more? With today's virtual monopoly on production of tyres for a model T, cost cutting is meaningless when there is no competition in the market place. But if they can sell more of an inferior product, that will do nicely thank you.

Excuse my cynicism, but making a quality tyre is not an impossible task.

Allan from down under.

Allan, you for sure hit the nail on the head! Around here there are a lot of antique tractor guys that run tires that can be 50+ years old and work just fine. And it isn't just tires, almost anything made from rubber doesn't last like it used to. I remember rubber windshield wiper blades lasting for two or three years on cars setting outside all of the time here, now we're lucky to get several months use out of them, even when they're garaged. And isn't it strange that those old whitewalls stayed white until they were worn out, and then some? I just bought some new white lettered tires for my pickup, so far, I haven't seen any of them turn brown around here for several years. Dave

Try not to store / park rubber items around electric motors that run a lot. Electric motors put off ozone gas. When I was in high school, I pumped gas at a service station that also sold tires. They stored the new tires in a small room that had a HUGE air compressor in it. We even called the room "the air compressor room" The owner had so many returns on one brand of tire that he switched brands. The new supplier told him the the air compressor was the problem and he installed an overhead tire rack in one of the service bays. That old huge air compressor got a lot of use and ran a lot because of use and many leaks.