Does Armor All cause tires to crack?
 

My tires are almost 3 years old in very good condition. But the tire sidewalls begin to show cracks. Is that a result of Armor All? Or other tire dressing products? Or cause my tires are of a cheap brand?

Re: Does Armor All cause tires to crack? (GoLowDrew)
 

I heard black magic will cause tires to crack after a period of time. Don't have this problem b/c go through tires pretty fast

Re: Does Armor All cause tires to crack? (GoLowDrew)
 

Armor All and Black Magic have made my tires look brown and feel dry if I didn't reapply.

Re: Does Armor All cause tires to crack? (Dozed)
 

Exactly, any reason on why it makes it look "brown?" Could it be brake dust instead?

Re: Does Armor All cause tires to crack? (GoLowDrew)
 

I think it's just bad for the rubber...probably a reaction between the formula and sun rays (I dunno).

If I use Meguiar's tire gel and don't reapply even after two months, it still stays black (though not shiny).

Re: Does Armor All cause tires to crack? (Dozed)
 

Sorry to go off topic on ya, but you have tires that lasted 3 years?.....I would have gone through 6-8 sets in that time......

Re: Does Armor All cause tires to crack? (GoLowDrew)
 

I think tyres go brown more due to a reaction between the rubber/silica with the elements than with any products used....

Personally I use a megiurs product that is a cream and comes with an applicator, does end up looking too bad, however I know there is a shinier version, but I dont want to stand out like dogs balls...

Re: Does Armor All cause tires to crack? (Dozed)
 

I just put on Meguiar's Endurance High Gloss, hopefully it wont turn brown like Dozed said.

Re: Does Armor All cause tires to crack? (Mt3c)
 

i use formula 2001 and spray it on and never had a problem with browning, and it last at least a week. figure that.

Re: Does Armor All cause tires to crack? (95accordlx)
 

i wash my car every week, and each time i apply the glossy stuff,,after a while it turns brown, and when i see it i take a hard brissle brush and scrub the tires...and then its back to black.

Re: Does Armor All cause tires to crack? (9gsr9)
 

there was a thread a long time ago I think...

the brown is a residue left from oils within the tire's composition that are slowly leaked to the outside.
they are more apparent after washing the car as the soap draws out more of these oils and removes the pretty slick looking silicone we wipe on to keep them black.
its a natural process for the tires to turn brown over time, it is similar to outgassing of vinyl products.

best way to keep them from turning brown is to not saturate them with concentrated soap when you wash the car, and reapply a good quality silicone tire dressing to them.

I think McGuires has a super-long lasting tire dressing.

hope that helps.

Re: Does Armor All cause tires to crack? (owen_the_soyboy)
 

Actually, the brown residue you guys see is the effect of antioxidant chemicals compounded into the tires which migrates to the surface of the tires over time, however, those products like armorall seem to accelerate the migration process. Armorall products, i'm not sure what the main ingredient is , but it leaches out these antioxidants from the tires. Antioxidants basically "protect" the carbon double bonds in tires from being attacked and essentially "cleaved" by the effects of the ozone layer. This cleaving process leads to "cracking". Hope this helps.

I'm not sure what the best "tire" dressing is, I'll ask around at work. I'm sure we've done this testing b4.

Re: Does Armor All cause tires to crack? (GoLowDrew)
 

i read about this once but can't remember exactly but the tires turn brown because of blooming or something like that the chemicals draw out the crap from inside the rubber or something, can't really remember but if you go to the meguiars or another car detail site they should tell you

Re: Does Armor All cause tires to crack? (DreamSpeed)
 

I've read that Armor-All is notorious for causing rubber and plastics to break down. Formula 2001 is not, apparently. So the article claimed, which was actually in a motorcycle magazine. Moving along, I use tire cleaner from the local auto parts store. I think Blue Coral makes one too, it's a spray on treatment and it's a pretty potent cleaner. It tends to make your skin sting if you touch it, so do not do this. You spray it on, and almost instantly, you can see the brown liquid start to flow off your tire as it pulls the tire-browning off. I then wipe it off with a paper towel which will soon become saturated with brown tire goop. After repeating this procedure probably 4 times per tire, the paper towel will no longer pull brown off the tire, and the tire will look nice and black like now. At this point, I use Meguiar's tire gel. Seems to keep them looking nice.