I just bought this tire, supposedly new, and I noticed this white stuff coming out of it. Any idea what it is?
Also, don’t new tires have those thin “tire whiskers” that show you the tire is new? This tire didn’t have any.
Thanks!
That is tire mounting lubricant that was applied before mounting the tire to the wheel. The excess splattered during the spin balance, it is not an active leak.
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See if it washes off.
If it does, it could be the tire lube they used when mounting the tire, and splattered when the bead popped when filling the tire with air.
Tester
And all new tires don’t have the “whiskers”
@Nevada_545 @Tester Thanks! Strange, though, that it sprayed out (which would have been from the spin balance) but then it seems to be leaking out at the bottom – like it’s something that happened after I parked my car in that position. Either way, I guess it’s not something to worry about.
Well, they likely just used a lot of lube. If you’ve ever tried to mount a tire you’d relate to why more is better than too little. And it’s not just to make it easier (as a machine largely does that anyway), but it also protects the tire as there’s a lot of friction involved.
It would also spray out like that just from driving, btw. The balancers just create centrifugal forces that emulate tire speed while driving.
But if you remain worried, you should be checking your tire pressures regularly anyway. (Say at least once a week). Measure it in the morning (cold pressure checks in the morning before driving are best). Then measure it in a couple of days. If you’ve already lost some pressure spray anything soapy / bubbly around the the rim and look for foaming. If you get any, take it back and tell them you think the bead is leaking. (It does happen in new installs). But if the beads were leaking enough to make that mess, you’d likely have gone flat on the way home.
Tire bead lubricant is water soluble, it can be rinsed off with a garden hose or in a car wash.
Thanks, guys. Good to know it’s nothing to worry about. Appreciate it!