Tyre shine... Dangerous stuff?

[TdM]

Had my car valeted, they did a great job but put shine on the tyre wall and first inch or two of the tread. Onto a busy roundabout on a steady throttle *in traffic* maybe doing 25-30mph and I'm into what I'm sure looked like a very impressive show-off drift.

I am assuming it was down to the tyre shine as conditions are good, I wasn't going quickly, as I say, steady throttle, no crazy weight transfer. I'm not inexperienced when it comes to oversteer so caught it fine but I wasn't expecting it so it got further around than you would appreciate on a busy roundabout!

I think I'm going to add 'no tyre shine' to my request on top of 'no air freshener'. First time the car has done something really unexpected!

[exeterjeep]

Also give bikes a bit of an issue?

https://www.kawasakimotorcycle.org/threads/never-use-tire-shine.150895/

[Bravo73]

Personally, I’d be very surprised if that amount of tyre shine would have such an effect on traction. 

I suspect that it was maybe more a case of cold, summer tyres on a cold, greasy road surface. 

[TdM]

Thing is, I've been driving said summer tyres throughout winter sometimes significantly more enthusiastically on significantly colder and more challenging roads and whilst they certainly unstick if provoked it's in predictable circumstances and under reasonable load.

Today isn't that cold, certainly above what I would deem summer the problems, I wasn't putting anywhere near enough load through to upset the tyres in those conditions and it wasn't a weight transition or anything. It was practically diving miss daisy then... Oversteer for days.

[jerzybondov]

Might have also been something on the road surface? Unless they were liberally coating the contact surfaces of the tyre I can’t imagine the tyre shine would make that much odds!

[Dave Eds]

Was it a professional valet or was it your local hand car wash? It's not unknown for the latter to brush on a diesel based solution to make tyres look shiny....

[Greg | ValetPro]

tyre shine should only be used on the walls of the tyre. I use it all the time even before I go on a track day. Never had an issue.  

 

If they applied dressing the the tread of the tyre that could cause an issue but should wear of very quickly as it's not designed to withstand road abrasion they should only be resistant to weather.  

 

 

[TdM]

Thanks Greg. It was only at the start of the drive I had a moment so I'm still suspicious of the shine considering the weird loss of grip.

Suppose it can't be proven what caused it but it was very strange!

[pete]

Diesel is common on roundabouts

[Champale]

That tire shine can DEFINITELY cause some moments like that, no matter the weather.  Even if it is only on the very edge of the tread where it meets the sidewall, it is so incredibly slick.  When I used to use it years ago on my Mitsubishi Evo, the first couple of corners were always pretty exciting!

[dogtag114]

I recommend kicking the habit on a track focused car.  I once put it on very carefully and waited a full day before driving.

The following day, it still spun to the outer driving area of the tire.  I scrubbed it all off before track day.

 

[TdM]

Resurrecting this one to report further experimentation. I usually tell the valet guys not to use tyre shine on my car. I used a new company recently, due to moving area. Forgot to tell them not to shine the tyres. First enthusiastic roundabout post clean, front feels looser than usual and then rear steps out under power much more easily than usual. 

No matter what anyone says, tyre shine is definitely detrimental to grip, at least if you are pushing on and therefore relying more on the outside of the contact patch. 

Admittedly, it makes it quite good fun, but I'll be going back to asking valet companies not to shine the tyres.

[Gjk]

Personally, never had that problem. I am careful not to get it on the tread though. I think car wash places just brush it on.

[drdoom]

Long past my years of being attracted to such nonsense. Tyres should look like tyres, not some greasy thing just extracted from a baker's oven.

[drdoom]

Sincere apology to any who took offense, however minor, at my comment. Just yielded to an impulse to kick the hornets' nest in a midsummer mood of self indulgence.

Cheers 

[C8RKH]

2 hours ago, drdoom said:

not some greasy thing just extracted from a baker's oven

Personally, I think it makes the tyres look like a used condom, all that shiny rubber.

[Gjk]

Each to there own!

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Back in the 80s I used to use black shoe polish on my Imp tyres. Never use tyre shine now. Just attracts dirt and messes up the sponge next time I wash the car.

[rallyesax]

Tyre shine stuff also take away the 'velvet' effect that you can find on the Sidewall of some Michelin tyres.

As it reflects the light instead of absorbing it. So it looks all shiny and boring 😜

On car shows like Goodwood or Paris, etc... We keep an eye on this as some Car Makers are really aware of this and some not.

Just a cosmetic thing here but hey.

[TdM]

And that velvet finish feels sooo nice. Please never stop doing that

[Phaeton91]

I wash my own car though and have stayed away from drive through car handwashes since in my opinion they ruined the decals on my Renault Trophy.  I don’t trust the chemicals they use, nor the rags, and the way they use the pressure jet lance just makes me wince.

It does mean that my car is not always shiny but I don’t have a single swirl mark on an all black car.

As for tyre shine - I must say I do like it - I think it accentuates the wheels and red calipers on an all black car with black wheels, and usually use it when I’ve also treated the black plastic and rubber parts with auto glum gel.  

It’s like many things a matter of personal taste.  I use the “tyre foam” spray and have done for years with no problem.  I also used to use black boot polish in the 80s, but that was for my school shoes and dubbin on my football boots.  Ah the memories!

[Escape]

Another vote for doing the washing yourself. Besides not really trusting anyone else, I find it also strengthens the bond between man and machine, and you're more likely to spot little things before they become an actual problem.

[Cdm2018]

I always wash my car and have added a light coating on the tyre face testament is that I have only used a quarter of the 200ml container in 4 years   

[Dan E]

I have said this before, never use a hand car wash, all that grit in the things they clean it with makes me shudder, they also, in our local one,  use patio cleaner to clean the wheels, I know this as i took a hire van in for a wash after we had ruined it on site and actually watched them pouring it into the sprayer. 

[Escape]

I'm sure there are some out there that use the proper products and care, but they seem hard to find. And in the end it's still a business so the less time and money they spend on a car, the more profit they can make. They seem very popular though, I pass 2 such places between my girlfriend's and the Workshop, always busy. But so is the mechanised car wash around the corner, people just don't want to spend the time to wash their cars themselves. Which I can understand up to a point, as many will have or at least think they have better things to do pass their time (possible earning more than they spend on the wash).

I prefer to make the effort myself but must admit it doesn't happen often enough. So I'm often driving an unwashed car , especially with all the rain we've been having.