April 11, 2011

I got the blues, and I got ’em good

The Rubicon's Goodyear MT/Rs turned really blue after their last off road outing. My tyre guy says it's due to heat build-up. Used to get it on my BFG Mud Terrains sometimes, but not so colourfully! Since posting this, a couple of off-roading colleagues have been in touch to say they believe it's a reaction between something in the ground and something in the tyre's compound. Not exactly scientific, but quite plausible, as I've done quite hard and heat-producing off-roading on these tyres elsewhere without a sign of the "blue-ing".

UPDATE: A month later, the tyres had almost returned to their original colour.

3 comments:

  1. My money goes on it being a chemical reaction

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  2. On the same trip mine turned blue and have done so in that area previously. They also turn blue from the clay at Stadia IIRC. There is a lot of lime in that clay, it makes for such good insulation you damn near can't put a gas torch through it (not the tyres of course, that was on the exhaust).

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  3. Alan: Yes, I'm noticing the 'insulation' properties you mention. I might need to borrow your gas torch!

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