The only car modification I've never seen / heard of

[Doppel]

I like OP's question and so far the responses are not living up to it except for one or two. I'm surprised it's not been done. I cannot imagine it would be illegal and I bet a lot of people would like it.

 

[arrfep]

I've had colored bicycle tires too. Years ago I had blue BMX tires and a buddy had white ones. I've also seen quite a few other colors for BMX bikes. Currently I have some cross-country semi-slicks on my mountain bike where the semi-slick center portion is red.

Ya, plenty bike tires are colored, road especially. Then ya got these:

http://www.sweetskinz.com/

I'm guessing (completely unfounded guess) that in order to color tire rubber, you have to use a lower durometer, which would compromise tire life. Maybe?

 

[Meghan54]

Probably because tires use carbon black for its tensile and abrasion wear properties and since carbon black is used, tires are black.

There is an increasing use of silica-based fillers, which until very recently, couldn't match carbon black's abrasion resistance in tires. But technology has just about allowed silica to match carbon black's properties, so we may indeed see tires of other colors begin to show up. But I wouldn't count on it due to cost and how pervasive carbon black's use is.


I find it amusing that some here have never heard of nor seen whitewall tires. Did none of you see the movie Cars?

 

[hanoverphist]

I like OP's question and so far the responses are not living up to it except for one or two. I'm surprised it's not been done. I cannot imagine it would be illegal and I bet a lot of people would like it.

while i think it would be cool to match (or intentionally not match) your tire color to your paint job, the roads are a dirty place. how pissed would a lot of people be when they drive 30 miles and see their tires are mostly black from road grime? id think that would be the main deterrent to getting colored tires.

 

[arcenite]

while i think it would be cool to match (or intentionally not match) your tire color to your paint job, the roads are a dirty place. how pissed would a lot of people be when they drive 30 miles and see their tires are mostly black from road grime? id think that would be the main deterrent to getting colored tires.

 

[1prophet]

http://www.bridgestonetrucktires.com/publications/02v7iss1/ra7.asp

What is “carbon black” and why so much of it?

Carbon black is very finely powdered, very pure carbon, a bit like the soot that forms on the inside of an oil lamp.

It’s very important in tire rubber. To begin with, it’s a filler, making up about 30 percent of the tire, which is a lot when you consider how light carbon black is.

What does a “filler” do?

It adds enormous strength. One way to think of rubber is to compare it to the concrete in a modern building.

Often, we embed steel bars in the concrete, adding strength. Rubber reinforced with carbon black is much more abrasion-resistant than rubber alone, is stronger, wears more slowly, and is easier to process.

Carbon black also helps protect rubber against ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun.

Why is that important?

You might say that like our skin, tires can get a sort of “sunburn,” which can cause rubber molecules to break down and become brittle. That can make tires wear faster and cause surface cracks.

Carbon black tends to shield rubber molecules from UV light, like a sunscreen.

 

[exdeath]

If wheels and unpainted body kits are any indication, I can see ricers with mismatched color tires.... one red tire and three black... still saving for the rest.

Ah hell just paint the other three to match D:

 

[PlasmaBomb]

This seems to have been covered...

but since I put them on bbzzdd...

Learn to google Hal9000...