Had some interest when I mentioned I was doing this in another thread. Here's the shoddily made how-to video with a before and after near the end. This was done with 295/50/15 Mickey Thompson Sportsman ST tires. I see no reason this couldn't be done with any white lettering tire, though.
Yes, people have ground down the sidewall to make whitewalls before. However, I'm not aware of anyone doing it in a controlled way to create narrow whitewalls. Most hotrodders just grind the whole sidewall, leaving a 3+ inch whitewall like you saw in the 40s and 50s. There are also companies like Coker and Diamondback that make whitewall tires, but sizing is very limited, and most of the larger sizes are only available as the ancient, mediocre BF Goodrich Radial T/A. They also cost around 100 more than normal looking tires.
This is time consuming, but it opens up a HUGE number of options for those of us looking to retain the factory whitewall look while upgrading performance. I'll type up a more formal how-to tonight if there is interest.
Oh and as for safety concerns, I took off maybe 1 3rd of the total depth of white rubber from the sidewall, even in the deep outer grooves. I'll find out 100% for sure when they're on the car, but none of the fellow techs at my shop are worried about the sidewall being compromised.
Yes, people have ground down the sidewall to make whitewalls before. However, I'm not aware of anyone doing it in a controlled way to create narrow whitewalls. Most hotrodders just grind the whole sidewall, leaving a 3+ inch whitewall like you saw in the 40s and 50s. There are also companies like Coker and Diamondback that make whitewall tires, but sizing is very limited, and most of the larger sizes are only available as the ancient, mediocre BF Goodrich Radial T/A. They also cost around 100 more than normal looking tires.
This is time consuming, but it opens up a HUGE number of options for those of us looking to retain the factory whitewall look while upgrading performance. I'll type up a more formal how-to tonight if there is interest.
Oh and as for safety concerns, I took off maybe 1 3rd of the total depth of white rubber from the sidewall, even in the deep outer grooves. I'll find out 100% for sure when they're on the car, but none of the fellow techs at my shop are worried about the sidewall being compromised.
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