I recently purchased a 2009 Scion XD with Dunlop tires. The car currently has been driven a total of 750 miles. When I parked my car in my garage, which has a concrete floor that is clean and new enough to not have stains on it, the Dunlop tires left very clear black tread marks in the four spots where the tires were in contact with the concrete overnight. The black tread marks have not come off with scrubbing. I had driven the car in a light rain, and it was damp when parked in the garage. It was 45 degrees outside, and the garage was a similar temperature.
I have never experienced anything like this with other new tires. I am worried about two things: the stain on the floor and that the tires are of substandard quality and will have wear/safety issues.
Thank you,
Sparkle
You most likely drove the car through some oily debris in a parking lot, or possibly you drove on some freshly-laid asphalt paving. Both of those scenarios would cause exactly what you observed.
“The Road” is quite possibly the filthiest place there is. Add a little water and a rich slurry of filth results…THAT’s what stained your garage floor, not the tires…
A fresh concrete surface is easily stained and difficult to clean. You can have the surface sealed with a special coating which will make cleaning a snap…
Agree; OP’s tires are not likely made of licorice. On my street they just patched up the holes with asphalt, and I have streaks on my concrete driveway.
“the Dunlop tires left very clear black tread marks in the four spots where the tires were in contact with the concrete overnight.”
checking the OP comments…spots are just where tires were …no mention of streaks…that’s what makes question so interesting…
In my home garage, one can clearly see where my car is normally parked, even if it is not in the garage.
How is this possible?
Because there is a dark mark in the exact place where each of my tires rests when the car is parked in the garage!
While it took at least a few months for these marks to appear after the house was built, I never assumed that my tires were defective. Rather, I simply assumed that the roads on which I drive are not surgically clean, are composed of asphalt, and do receive oil drips from passing cars. Add it all together and you wind up with marks where the tires normally rest on the concrete.
new garage floor…spots appeared over a few months = water stained. this is normal wear and tear for an unsealed garage floor which is what most of us have…
Everyone should be aware that certain types of rubber will absorb petrochemicals - and the types of rubber used in tire treads is one of them.
That means that tires will absorb oil from newly paved road surfaces - and then deposit it on places that have less concentration of this substance - like concrete floors. You can drive onto those surfaces and leave such a faint trail you can’t really see it. But allow the tire to sit for hours in one spot and those substances will leach out of the tire onto the floor.
I think that’s what’s going on here!
Not everything in (car) life turns out the same as the fifty years that went before. The rule is that you will have one surprise after another. I hope the mystery of the tire marks goes away, but even if it doesn’t, it may be the “new normal”. How’s that for neutrally useless information?
There are not any streaks; just “clear as a bell” stand-still tread marks where the four tires make contact with the garage floor when parked overnight. There are now two sets of marks from the two times I put the car in the garage. Today is sunny and dry, and earlier today, I rinsed down the tires at the car wash with fresh, clean water just to be sure some type of solvent/debris/etc. wasn’t on the tires. I then let the tires dry completely, and wiped them with a clean white rag - it comes away as black as if I’d just dipped it into a jar of shoe polish paste. This is true of both the treads and the sidewalls. Honestly. I know the tires are not made of licorice - I am smart, practical and I’ve changed a few tires in my day - and never have I seen something like this. I really do hope you will take my question seriously. I am less worried about my garage floor and most interested in tire manufacturing quality and safety.
Sparkle here, with further explanation/information…
There are not any streaks; just “clear as a bell” stand-still tread marks where the four tires make contact with the garage floor when parked overnight. There are now two sets of marks from the two times I put the car in the garage. Today is sunny and dry, and earlier today, I rinsed down the tires at the car wash with fresh, clean water just to be sure some type of solvent/debris/etc. wasn’t on the tires. I then let the tires dry completely, and wiped them with a clean white rag - it comes away as black as if I’d just dipped it into a jar of shoe polish paste. This is true of both the treads and the sidewalls. Honestly. I know the tires are not made of licorice - I am smart, practical and I’ve changed a few tires in my day - and never have I seen something like this. I really do hope you will take my question seriously. I am less worried about my garage floor and most interested in tire manufacturing quality and safety.
I really think that you are “over-thinking” this situation.
Re-read all of the responses, and hopefully you will realize that most of us have experienced this phenomenon with every brand of tire that is on the market. Pay special attention to the response from CapriRacer, who is our resident tire expert.
Your tires are not defective, and this is not a problem.
I’m curious as to what type of coating or sealant may have been put on your concrete floor.
I doubt very much that it is a defective tire problem. It is more likely that it is a reaction to chemicals that are interacting with your tires and the concrete floor.
Ok, I am open to accepting that I am overthinking this situation. In the unlikely event that I find out otherwise at some point down the road (literally and metaphorically), I will circle back and let you know.
Thanks much for the responses.
Sparkle
I have two friends, one has a big truck and one has an SUV. Neither do any off-roading. Anytime they visit they leave the markings on out driveway, so it might be true that some tires or cars are more prone to this. The house is new to us and not sure if they did any sealing or now. We are looking into cleaning these areas and sealing the cement, but then inside the garage is a mess as far as oil and grease and water markings, so have to fix that first.