To whitewall or not to whitewall - that is the question
Discussion
On a Bentley S1/2/3 I wouldn't dream of putting whitewalls but on a Cloud 1/2/3 I am still undecided. Tyres need replacing and I intend to go for crossplies as I like the look of a substantial sidewall which is lost with modern radial equivalents. The only question is whether I go black or white. Thoughts welcome...
There's no question that you have to use crossply tyres simply because the suspension was designed around them. They do however quickly develop flat spots even after standing that take a decent drive to get the tyres back to round.
As for whitewhall tyres, if you are really serious, just paint the tyres on one side of the car with white emulsion and take a few photos that you can instantly compare with similar photos taken of the opposite side.
If your still not sure go with the whitewalls, if you decide later you don't like them you can always have the tyres taken off and fitted plain side out. Whitewall tyres carry a hefty price premium so you could, for a while, buy two and fit them to one side of the car as long as you can buy a similar plain tyre.
Whether whitewalls work or not is highly dependent on the colour scheme and the height of the whitewall. I think on the example you show they're too tall, tasteless and very USA. With only 50% of the sidewall white however the effect would be very different and altogether more pleasing.
The final factor is that you should be aware of is that real whitewall tyres require quite a lot of cleaning to keep sparkling white and are a real pain if you then want to apply tyre finish to the black area.
Just my thoughts.
As for whitewhall tyres, if you are really serious, just paint the tyres on one side of the car with white emulsion and take a few photos that you can instantly compare with similar photos taken of the opposite side.
If your still not sure go with the whitewalls, if you decide later you don't like them you can always have the tyres taken off and fitted plain side out. Whitewall tyres carry a hefty price premium so you could, for a while, buy two and fit them to one side of the car as long as you can buy a similar plain tyre.
Whether whitewalls work or not is highly dependent on the colour scheme and the height of the whitewall. I think on the example you show they're too tall, tasteless and very USA. With only 50% of the sidewall white however the effect would be very different and altogether more pleasing.
The final factor is that you should be aware of is that real whitewall tyres require quite a lot of cleaning to keep sparkling white and are a real pain if you then want to apply tyre finish to the black area.
Just my thoughts.
Hi
I think when it comes to tyres for a Silver Cloud we sell 10 times as many radial tyres as we do crossply. i think the other tell tail is i don't remeber ever having a customer taking radials off to fit crossplys but i have lots of people taking crossply off to fit radial, and i don't think they ever change back.
The radials are much cheaper; but i don't think it is just the price. I also have a white wall crossply that is cheaper than the original Avon, but i would suggest the Avon is the crossply to fit.
I think cross ply looks best. They are a little taller, but that rounded side wall of the crossply looks brilliant.
For me if i was just doing local driving to the pub i would keep it the way it was intended on crossplys, because i like driving old cars the way they were built. However the roads we are driving on today are completely different. because these days we spend so much time at cruising speeds that couldn't have been maintained in the day, fitting radial tyres makes the car more suited to modern roads.
I think when it comes to tyres for a Silver Cloud we sell 10 times as many radial tyres as we do crossply. i think the other tell tail is i don't remeber ever having a customer taking radials off to fit crossplys but i have lots of people taking crossply off to fit radial, and i don't think they ever change back.
The radials are much cheaper; but i don't think it is just the price. I also have a white wall crossply that is cheaper than the original Avon, but i would suggest the Avon is the crossply to fit.
I think cross ply looks best. They are a little taller, but that rounded side wall of the crossply looks brilliant.
For me if i was just doing local driving to the pub i would keep it the way it was intended on crossplys, because i like driving old cars the way they were built. However the roads we are driving on today are completely different. because these days we spend so much time at cruising speeds that couldn't have been maintained in the day, fitting radial tyres makes the car more suited to modern roads.
I do want to replace the gold mascot - maybe Gulzar would do me a deal lol! and as you've noticed, it's got whitewalls 
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