I wanted to know if anyone out there knew the actual chemistry of the blueing. All I hear is that it is the oils coming to the surface of the tire, Ive also heard its the silica....which one is it and does anyone know what is actually happening that can back up their thoughts?
after consulting the handbook... The reason that blueing occurs is becuase the blue food coloring, in combination with many other food colorings, is used to make tires that faded black/grey. Blue just happens to the be best tasting food coloring and thus, rises to the top after being cooked... i have no idea.
my thoughts exactly...LOL just wondering. I know there is a lot of knowledgable people with a lot of experience, just here to learn. Thanks
Well I read somewhere, can't remember where, from a guy who worked for one of the tire factories. He said the blueing is from the oils, or some such thing ,in the tires that is coming to the surface. He said when it stops getting blue is when the tire is getting worn out. I wouldn't bet my life on that being the correct answer but......maybe that's what it is.
The tire blues because you take off the sealant that keeps the tires fresh when you ride. Then as the tire is heat cycled the oils do come to the top as the tire cools off...tire guru from Michelin told me this
i don't think either of them sound correct. i'm sure oils are not coming to the surface....on a tire.....come on... i also don't think it's the coating...otherwise all used tires would be blue....all over the used surface. i'm reasonably confident it has to do with the rate at which it cooled. blue means it reached a certain temp...and then cooled quicker than a certain rate. so street tires on squidly bikes don't get blue because they never really got up to temp. and track riders/racers that use tire warmers don't get blue because they cooled them down slower. so...i don't know the chemistry...but assume it's similar to the reason steel turns blue when heated then cooled. i associate a blued tire as a tire that has lost a decent amount of it's pliability...just seems a little harder. kindof like heat-treated steel. sorry. no chemical answer...but a bunch of b.s. to ponder.
I don't think that's it either...I've seen my tires that cooled at teh same rate they always do start to get blue after a long period of non-use. For example, the tires I had on my R6 at Putnam a few weeks ago were the same ones I ran at Tally...and they started the blue thing after maybe 6 weeks of sitting in the garage.
My uncle has some Formula V traction treatment that put oils/softness back into your tires. I took a set of 1 year old BLUE tires, treated them for 4 days and they work as if they were brand new tires:up: I use this treatment on all of my take offs and it works great. PM me for details.
