Does anyone have any/know where I could get some real white walls?

[WANT '71 280SEL]

I didn't see anything on tire rack. I would want to get real ones. Do you guys think it would look alright with the color of red? I am speaking about the potential 230S.
Thanks
David

A number of the "vintage" tire manufacturers now offer radials in a selection of widths...remember, there were ww's ranging from the "gangsta" wides to one-inchers and 3-inchers at various times.

I'd look on the Coker Tire website, also in Hemmings Motor News...and since Mercedes offered many cars sold in the US with whitewalls as original equipment, finding an ad for your car showing the correct width ww might be prudent.

Good luck!

[norbtx]

I've seen them at Coker but they are super expensive! I think that 4 tires will be more than the $500 you're paying for the 230. But they look cool.

What size tire?

[MikeTangas]

The Yokohama Avid Tourings I bought for the 4.5 have white walls. A nice 3/4 or 1 inch white wall, looks classy with the original hub caps.

[WANT '71 280SEL]

I'm not sure the exact size, but I know they're 13". I looked at coker, and all I can say is that I hope they're not all $500-$600. It is just white paint on the side of a tire!
Thanks
David

[hill]

It is just white paint on the side of a tire!
Thanks


White walls actually are white rubber that is formed with the tire.
Besides scarcity it costs more money to make them.

[ptmar]

Or you can try to install 3/4" portawalls for $50.00 or less per set of 4

there was a top-level tire shop in Minneapolis which had an attachment for their tire-truing lathe by means of which they could convert blackwalls to whitewalls by machining a shallow groove in the sidewall of a new tire and vulcanizing in a white rubber strip. I had a set (Semperits) done for my father-in-law when he wanted to switch his Buick Special to radial tires but couldn't get whitewalls in the proper size, and they gave no unusual trouble at all. I assume that a lot of shops in other cities had the same machines in those days, so check around for a shop that advertises tire-truing.

the annual Hershey antique auto show in October. Not all of them are Coker (believe Lester and some other companies make them also). These tires are a niche market, produced in lower volume, so the cost will be higher than what you pay at tires r' us.

Radial tires are appropriate for any car built after 1949, but the judging standards of the Classic Car Club of America allows "any safety related" improvement on cars to be judged...this includes radials, seat belts, etc. I'd want radials on any older car I owned.

[Douglas Broome]

What was the original tire size as specified in the manual?

to do some rough approximation from what it says in the owner's manual to what's available on the market.

[Douglas Broome]

I have been doing this recently because I wanted radials for my ponton. I may have some help for the issue but I don't want to burden the thread with too much information. I would rather tailor it to the specific original size.

[fintail]

I think Continental made repro 13" wide whitewall radials that were shown on the MB Classic site a few years ago. I am sure they cost a pretty penny though.

I have $35 Les Schwab tires on mine...they are not a wide white (I want wide whites too), but they look decent had have a less agressive tread pattern than many I have seen.

[Ed Richardson]

MB Classic discontinued the wide white wall radials about a year ago. So I went to Diamond Back Classic. They buy a good quality US made tire and vulcanize a wide white wall to it. I spoke to several owners at car shows that used them, there wre no dissatified folks.
They are expensive, but I could not be happier. Excellent ride, handling and good looking.
Call 1-888-922-1642, or,
www.widewhitewallradials.com
Ed