Whitewall tire

Whitewall tires are tires that have a stripe of white rubber on the outer sidewalls. The original whitewalls featured an entirely white sidewall. Modern whitewall tires often have a thin white stripe, or white raised lettering identifying the tire manufacturer and tire model. Such tires were made with a full strip of white rubber under the black. The raised white letters were revealed by buffing the cured tire sidewall. The black covering strip was made of Neoprene (polychloroprene) to avoid staining.

Classic vehicles have usually been optioned with wide whitewalls - it was popular during the pre and post-war era, only to resurface in the 1970s as a limosine trademark and within the pimpmobile culture. Although wide whitewalls are rare on modern automobiles, they are still manufactured by specialty outlets and/or classic car restoration companies such as Coker Tire and Vogue Tyre Company. Some companies manufacture wide whitewall inserts - the Portawall inserts are usually sold through VW Beetle restoration companies.

Whitewalls were popular on classic cars, lowrider and Cadillacs. Modern trends toward more minimal styling, and large rims favoring low-profile tires leave little room for a whitewall.