Coker Bias redline color fade
 

I am sure this has happened before. I have a set of Coker Reline bias tires on my 64 GTO and redlines are now pink and couple are white. I have seen this before.
I was told by Coker tire tech that I need to clean it with simple green and drive the car for about 100 or so miles and redline color will come back. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I did what I was told and obviously that didn't fix it. These tire are about 2 years old. Has anyone experience this and did Coker Tires warranty it.
Thank you

They should warranty that. But as I have always said, Coker tires are great for driving on and off of a trailer. I have never been a fan.

I agree Sir
I bought it for period correct reasons. I don't like the way the car drives. I did what they asked me to do and I am calling them next week and demand on credit my my purchase towards on maybe getting BFG radials. Originally I had BFGs on it and raised white letters were on the inside. As the tech stated that driving the car the red will reappear magically was not a good solution
Thank you

Let us know the outcome please. It could help others deciding whether to go with Coker or not.

Maybe if you drove it 100 miles in reverse the stripes would turn green??

Sounds like they used red dye instead of red rubber to achieve the red. Now the red dye is fading and going away and you will soon have whitewalls..

Thank you I will let you know on the outcome

I laughed when he told me I need to drive it to get the color back, but he was serious. I've a mechanic since 1977 and couldn't believe what I was hearing. I am going to call Coker Tire this week and send him new photos. I will post the outcome
Thank you

Yes you are correct on the red dye

100% agree with you there. The set of reproduction Firestones I put on my Chevelle were not even all the same diameter, difference from one tire to another was almost an inch in diameter. Played hell with my posi when I had those two different sizes on either side of the rear. Coker did nothing to help me with the issues. My only solution to get some use out of the tires was to find two that were the closest in diameter and put those two on the rear.

These issues are why I bought Diamond Back tires for my several muscle cars. Red lines and WSW. Never had a problem and you get a modern tire that's on thousands if not millions of cars.

By the way, BFG has had a "browning" problem with their white letters. The Corvette site posted the BFG customer satisfaction bulletin. Customers will need to wet sand the white to get the brown out. I tried it. It works but needs to be repeated from time to time, like several times during the summer. Not a big deal when you are washing the car.

Try using a Tub O Towels sheet. That stuff works pretty good-

What steered me away from Diamond Back is that they are a "remolded" tire. Remolded tires can run hotter... and they don't look right.. I would be worried about the remolded part delaminating. I have never had a set... I dunno...

I have not had this problem with Diamondback redline radials. Even after 20 years, the red color was still vibrant on 2 sets. Those are long gone. One set lost chunks on the inner sidewall. The other went on a car that is only driven very seldomly for short distances (not me, different owner)
i'm now on my 4th 5th and 6th set of diamondbacks. The beauty of it, is that you can choose your favorite tire, or just use the one they have in stock.

Never heard the term "remolded" in reference to Diamond Backs. But I have had many sets over the years. Never overheated, never turned pink or whitewalls brown. That's my experience.

Nah if he kicks it sideways at 115 they turn to Goodyear blue lines. ;-)

Sounds like a job for the paint Fairy to come and take care of, ever tried to get paint off a tire that got on by mistake..

This is disheartening though since they (Coker) are about the only game in town aren’t they?

Count me as another Diamondback fan. Have had multiple sets of redlines and wide whitewalls from them with excellent luck.

I don't need to buy redlines anymore as I went to 17's and still run my poverty caps on black 17" Wheel Vintique rims with the redline painted on....

I have Diamonbacks on my two '64 GTO's. They are BF Goodrich radial redlines.

The ride & handllng is top notch, so much better than bias ply originals. The redlines on one set are bright red as they were when new--10 years ago. The redlines on the other set have gotten dull. I have not found a solution to restoring the brighter red.

I've tried SOS pads, Mop n' Glo, and other suggestions I've heard.

ANy ideas on a solution?

Sharpie
 

Way back in the day, 1980’s we would use a 3/8’’ Red Sharpie and just go around the Red line one time and the fade was gone.

Type S Red Tire Marker
 

I have had 1 set of Coker Red Line tires. Loved the look but they were horrible tires. Drastically out of round and required a huge amount of weight to balance. I called and talked to them. Got the usual song and dance story like I was some kind of moron. There was probably some slim chance I could received a partial refund after jumping through lots of hoops. I expected better for $1000.00 for 4 small tires. I ended up having to have about 50% of the tread shaved off with a tire truing machine to make them round. Also using a combination of hammer-on and stick-on weights to get a good balance and still get the trim rings on. Overall, a miserable experience. Done with Coker. They are fine if you don't drive the car.

Everything used to be so much simpler in the good old 20th century ...

Sorry I haven't posted any updates regarding the redline tires issue that I've been dealing with since November 2024. Coker tire first representative told me to drive it for 100 miles and the redline color will come back. The second rep told me they were too old, and I didn't take care of them and asked for a receipt that I had lost and said how do they know I didn't buy it used and I'm trying to warranty them. I sent them their warranty policy nowhere it states that I have to be the original owner or the age of the tires it just states they will prorate it with tread depth. The third rep was more arrogant than the last two and he told me maybe I purchased it from Summit or Jegs and said if I can find a receipt that he will replace them. After more digging couple of months later I found the receipt from Summit and a charge on my credit card statement I called him back, and at this time he told me I had to go through Summit Racing. I made one phone call and Summit Racing took care of it. Coker tire is the manufacture, and they should stand behind their product and nowhere in their policy states that I have to go through the dealer. I admit that I couldn't remember where I purchased the tires from originally. Coker tire customer reps are terrible, and the last person was making stupid comments. Summit Racing customer service is above and beyond. The moral of the story is if you're absolutely going to buy vintage/classic tires don't buy it from Coker buy is from Summit

I will try exchanging them with Diamondback. Thank you