The Question
Ben asks:
What’s with the pink and yellow line painted on the tread of new tires?
The Answer
Ben, I wish I had something interesting to report here. But this answer is lame.
The pink and/or yellow line on new tires is applied to show you that, since testing in the factory, the tire hasn’t been driven on. The point is, they aren’t trying to pawn you off with a used tire but making you pay for a new one.
I’m disappointed. I was hoping that there was perhaps a code buried in the color, or that tires were marked with quality grades, or that there was NO EXPLANATION whatsoever, and I’d have the chance to write about aliens marking new tires in the night. Or that the line never really fades, just our perception of it.
But it was not to be.
I had always wondered why new whitewalls and raised white letters had that blue film over them. I guess it’s as simple as that. Or maybe that film helps prevent the white from getting dirty before the tire is sold?