15 Inch White Wall Studded Snow Tires

Howdy All!

Unable to locate "cost effective" 15-Inch Studded Snow Tires, I set about making some.

After comparing MANY current production Studdable Snow Tires, I decided upon the 225/70R15 Cooper Weather Master ST/2 for Price ($94 each), Availability and, very importantly, an Application Space Clear for Lettering and/or Graphics sufficiently wide to apply a 3/4 to 13/16"-ish Whitewall.





I obtained White Ranger Whitewall Paint, White Flex Seal Aerosol, Reynolds Coatings URECOAT with UVO WHITE Pigment.  

I secured the following cleaners:

Soap & Water
Ammonia
Denatured Alcohol
Acetone
Lacquer Thinner
Toluene
Xylene
Methylene Chloride

Then... I meticulously cleaned sections and applied the various coatings.  I vigorously Tested Each Combination over a period of a couple of weeks... Kicked The Crap Out Of Them, actually!  Steel Wire Brushes, Kicked with Work Boots, Gouged with Screw Drivers, Clawed with Fingernails, Dragged Through the Gravel & Mud.






I had Steel Templates Made:






I made Spreader Blocks to lift the tires sidewall up by spreading the Inner & Outer Beads apart:





And... After ALL of that... Here is the result:





After a little cleaning:






White Flex Seal on a Xylene washed surface. The Pics are of the first Coat.  Second Coat to be applied after 24 hours and YES I will post pics of them mounted on... well... these are going onto one of my 1985 Toronados as the Studded Snows on my 1993 Roadie Wagon are still at 60%.

These are the first Four of a Eight I am making (I have Two Matching 1985 Toronados).  I figure the Materials, Templates, Tires, Studding, Mounting, Stems, Balancing comes to about $132 Per Tire.

And THERE You have Cost Effective, 225/70R15, White Wall, 'Studded', Snow Tires, gentlemen.

What's a snow tire?

Sincerely,

Florida


____

Serious note: Great job. So Flex Seal was what ended up being the most durable? I'm surprised.

RedandBlack wrote:

What's a snow tire?

Sincerely,

Florida


____

Serious note: Great job. So Flex Seal was what ended up being the most durable? I'm surprised.

Thanks!  

Have you seen the latest weather patterns?  Snow in Texas?  More than Colorado?  Snow Tires... Get to know them... Get to love them... Florida is next!

Great job!

But why are you taking 2 matching Toronadoes out on ice covered roads?

[quote="RedandBlack"]What's a tire with tread on it?

Sincerely,

Florida


FTFY

RedandBlack wrote:

What's a snow tire?

Sincerely,

Florida


____

Serious note: Great job. So Flex Seal was what ended up being the most durable? I'm surprised.

Nobody likes you...JS

Really impressed with all the effort. You posting up pics of the installed product?

Have you seen this method? For your entertainment pleasure...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHWTa2tAYIc

buickwagon wrote:

Great job!

But why are you taking 2 matching Toronadoes out on ice covered roads?

They are my Daily Drivers, along with my Wagon.  I do not keep Garage Queens... This is what they were built to do!  Automobiles, Aircraft & Boats do not tend to do well just sitting around... They we made to move.

Besides... A Full Frame V8 with Front Wheel Drive and Studded Snow Tires... Ice? HA! I fart in it's general direction!

Andebe wrote:

Have you seen this method? For your entertainment pleasure...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHWTa2tAYIc

Yes, I have seen this activity and I have done it.  Works on most Raised White Letter (RWL) tires and for Widening Existing Whitewalls, to a certain extent. It tends not to render "crisp" edges and, as you can see in the video with the finished product spinning, they are almost always slightly out-of-round. The texture of the whitewall tends to be a bit rough or 'grainy', too.  I have also machined them down and had the black compound shear away from the white substrate in an unsightly manner. Some RWL tires have a very thin white substrates and it is very easy to cut right through them!

Remember:  There must be a White Substrate to actually 'reveal' for that to work at all... Black Wall Tires tend not to have this substrate.  Additionally, that modification will void any warranty and, since the tire's structure has been modified, may leave one vulnerable to litigation, should an incident occur. You know how litigious people can be, these days... It just gives them an excuse to get into your pockets!

What I have done is to merely "paint" the sidewall. No litigation concerns with that! And the steel templates yield reasonably crisp lines.

Special Note: The Coopers that I used just happen to have a circle of molding tits at the outer & inner edge of my stripe.  I used these as Legend Marks for centering my stripe! Like I said... I did a bit of research before selecting these tires for the project.  

cwripinz wrote:

Ice? HA! I fart in it's general direction!

Thats not the best thing for traction, ice with water on top is extra slippery,

Andebe wrote:

Really impressed with all the effort. You posting up pics of the installed product?

Thanks!

Putting on the second coat today. 24 Hour Cure Time required between coats... 48 hours for Complete Cure.  They get Mounted & Balanced on Friday and I will be posting pics.

phantom 309 wrote:

cwripinz wrote:

Ice? HA! I fart in it's general direction!

Thats not the best thing for traction, ice with water on top is extra slippery,

Well...

Titanium Studs in a softer-compound snow/ice tire do very well on ice, wet ice & oily ice. One still must drive prudently! All these do is allow you to bite into the surface and maintain control.  If one fails to respect the road conditions and operate their vehicle accordingly, bad things will happen, irrespective of the vehicle's capabilities.

I have been driving in harsh conditions in the Rocky Mountains for 40 years.  Studded Snow Tires have taken me through Ice Storms & Blizzards that had Military H1's immobilized and full track vehicles sliding sideways off of the roads. SPIKES WORK.  I have used much more aggressive spikes for Ice Racing on Lake Dillon.. Ice So Slick You CANNOT Walk On It... but I could drive and even compete!

Titanium Studded Snow/Ice Tires are the next best thing to X-Pattern Tire Chains... I just do not have to stop to install & remove them and I am not speed-limited by the hardware.  Additionally, I do keep a set of X-Pattern Tire Chains in ALL of my vehicles.  I have had to deploy chains 4 Times... Not because they were mandatory, but, because I felt it was prudent.

Titanium Studded Snow/Ice Tires are recognized by the Colorado Department of Transportation as equivalent to chains and are allowed to proceed when the Chain Law is in effect on Colorado's Highways.

Nice job.

cwripinz wrote:

[ Studded Snow Tires have taken me through Ice Storms & Blizzards that had Military H1's immobilized and full track vehicles sliding sideways off of the roads.

There seems to be a misconception in many minds that tracks are for traction. They're not. Tracks are for flotation -- reducing the pressure on and compaction of the surface being driven over. Smooth steel on hard ice is not a recipe for traction.

I also use studded snow tires and carry chains in the trunk. Very rarely do I ever need the chains.

buickwagon wrote:

cwripinz wrote:

[ Studded Snow Tires have taken me through Ice Storms & Blizzards that had Military H1's immobilized and full track vehicles sliding sideways off of the roads.

There seems to be a misconception in many minds that tracks are for traction. They're not. Tracks are for flotation -- reducing the pressure on and compaction of the surface being driven over. Smooth steel on hard ice is not a recipe for traction.

Exactamundo! Steel Track, Steel Track with Track Pads and Rubber Track all tend to have problems on Ice... Especially with a lateral slope! Many operators have learned this lesson the hard (aka: expensive) way.

OK!  Here they are!  



You can see my Roadie in the background of the following pic:



There is a small amount of over-spray that I will remove after a week or so of curing. The Xylene cuts right through it.

I will post more/better pics of Both Toronados with Whitewall Studded Snow Tires on them after the cure & cleanup.

The upshot of this whole thing is that now we all have a much wider selection of tires in 15" available to us that actually LOOK right.  

The Coopers are Made in USA and are a well respected Snow Tire.  They have a full line of products available and do have Touring & All Season Tires available for those Florida-types that run their tires until you can see the air in them!

I am certain that this could be accomplished with numerous other manufacturers' products, as well.

I am considering adding High-Conspicuity Glass Beads To a Clear Top Coat... The Whitewalls would then reflect light like highway striping or highway signage... just a passing thought...

I don't see any snow

1993 Roady-man wrote:

I don't see any snow

Chuckle, chuckle! Well, we do shovel that stuff up and let the sun melt the ice, periodically.  If you really wanna see some, look closely at the ground behind the driver's side wheel... and, if you look next to the telephone pole in the passenger side shot, that white stuff ain't clouds.

P.s. My 1993 Roady wears Skirts... Why do you let yours run around 'naked'? Bwahahahaha!

LoL that poor rowdy rusted out and got put out to pasture a few years ago.

What are these "snow tires" you speak of??



Pretty Car!

-Texas Mike

We have a bit of snow here,..

Whats cold war remarketing?   Got any decent used nukes for sale?

phantom 309 wrote:

We have a bit of snow here,..

Whats cold war remarketing?   Got any decent used nukes for sale?

You say you got snow there?  Where is there?

CWRI: Licensed Military Vehicle & Armor Dealer.  Pinzgauer 710, 712, 716, 718, Unimog 401 through 437, Hagglunds BV-206, Tatra 813 & 815 Kolos...

With any of these, snow is not so much of a problem.

P.S.:  Not so much in the line of nukes... Did manage to bring in a couple of Live SCUD Missile Systems. They should suffice...

Freezing drizzle overnight and fluffy pancake snow falling all day, today, in the Mile High City..

I had forgotten what a pleasure it is to drive my 1985 Toronado on Ice-Slickened & Snowy Roads.

I have Studded Snow Tires and Disc Brakes at all 4 corners.

It stops... It goes... It corners... It is absolutely lovely!

I just have to watch out for the fools not fortunate enough to be in such a wonderfully capable vehicle... Sliding through intersections... unable to get going again once they gave stopped... Bouncing off curbs while unable to steer...

*heavy sigh*

81X11 wrote:

What are these "snow tires" you speak of??

-Texas Mike

Hmmmm... Ah... Texas...  I will translate into "Texan"! Knobby Mud Tires... and these have Metal Cleats so they can REALLY Dig In for Extra Traction... Yaaa-Hooo!!!! 

81X11 wrote:

Pretty Car!

-Texas Mike

Thanks, Mike!

cwripinz wrote:

Freezing drizzle overnight and fluffy pancake snow falling all day, today, in the Mile High City..

I had forgotten what a pleasure it is to drive my 1985 Toronado on Ice-Slickened & Snowy Roads.

I have Studded Snow Tires and Disc Brakes at all 4 corners.

It stops... It goes... It corners... It is absolutely lovely!

I just have to watch out for the fools not fortunate enough to be in such a wonderfully capable vehicle... Sliding through intersections... unable to get going again once they gave stopped... Bouncing off curbs while unable to steer...

*heavy sigh*

Up here is grand valley ontario,.

A couple of scuds would be overkill to bring down those monstrous windmills we have been stuck with,. Something along the lines of an rpg would suffice.

I went up through the rabbit ears pass one time with an excavator on,. Had an overnite experience in steamboat springs, nice country,..

phantom 309 wrote:

I went up through the rabbit ears pass one time with an excavator on,. Had an overnite experience in steamboat springs, nice country,..

You will be saddened to hear that one of the "ears" on the Rabbit Ears Rock Formation collapsed late last year...  

But it is still very nice country.