White Letters or Blackwalls?
Here's an age-old question: white letters or blackwalls? Does it depend on the vehicle? Does it depend on the wheel? Let us know what you think and why. Whoever has the best-reasoned response and links to their ride page will get a CarDomain swag pack. Me? I like blackwalls. Tim (below) likes white letters. So does Jen. Which do you prefer?
Sigfus
May 19, 2008 3:29:26 PM
"White is Right on High Pro - Black Rules on Low Pro"
My cars have the following set up:
Lincoln Continental 1962 Narrow white wall with original wheels
Ford Mustang 1966 Black sidewall on 16 inch American Racing
Jaguar XKE 1971 Narrow white wall with original wheels
MGB 1973 Narrow white wall with original wire wheels
Corvette 1982 White letters with original aluminum wheels
Ford Explorer 2004 Black sidewall on 20 inch Centerline's
Mini 2005 Black sidewall on 17 inch Aluminum wheels
Mercedes Benz ML500 Black sidewall on 20 inch Lorinser's
Greetings from Iceland
bill
May 19, 2008 11:45:24 AM
i have owned all kinds of sweet rides and the only thing is black walls are alot easer to keep looking good and what ever happened to the size on most white letters they used to have 50 or 60 or 70 on the tire in the white letters there is a few still that do that but there hard to find. i put black walls on my 72 dodge truck just because of the back trouble i have its not as hard to keep them shinning
jaeson
May 19, 2008 11:42:14 AM
depends on the tire, depends on the wheel, depends on the car...i have seen many great looking cars of different generations with both black wall and raised white lettering and if raised white letters or solid black walls add to the character of the car then go for it.
Anthony
May 19, 2008 11:21:03 AM
It depends on the car. Like on a classic muscle car they look great but on a deawoo they make it look fisher Price. It just depends on the wheels and the ride
Tony
May 19, 2008 9:00:01 AM
it just depends on the wheels and the car i have an 87 monte carlo ss and when it had stocks i preffered the white letters on the tires but mostly any old school hot rod you need to have the white letters it just makes it look complete!!!
Jim
May 19, 2008 8:43:37 AM
I think it depends on the car and era the car is from. White letters are like red strip tires and very low profile blackwall tires. They help define a period in car evolution.
I can't imagine a 70 "Cuda without white letters or a 66 GTO without redwalls, but a new Evo needs black short sidewalls.
But int the end, it really depends on what you think looks good on your car.
Ryan
May 18, 2008 10:23:54 PM
Personally, I think that the white letters looks better on old school cars or lowered trucks. On newer cars and lifted trucks, I think that black side walls looks better. On lifted trucks I think it makes the tires look bigger with the black walls and also a lot cleaner if you happen to scrape the lettering at all.
Dustered
May 18, 2008 9:20:00 PM
To me it is a matter of preference of the owner of the car. That is what it is all about. Some like the raised white letter old school look, others may prefer the smooth all black look that is common on most of the imports. The older classics tend to look better with the raised white letters, and I believe that is because that is the way most people remember them. All of the advertisments for the cars when they were new showed them with raised white letters.
Taylor
May 18, 2008 8:58:46 PM
ok so on muscle cars white letters look good but on new cars they look better with the all black sleek look
Taylor
May 18, 2008 8:58:35 PM
ok so on muscle cars white letters look good but on new cars they look better with the all black sleek look
mike
May 18, 2008 6:47:42 PM
On old cars, with a vintage style wheel it looks good. New school wheels or 20s + blackwalls. Lifted trucks with a 16 or 17 and alot of sidewall it might look ok, but not on lowered trucks. So I guess it's a mix between wheel and car or truck.
Caleb
May 18, 2008 6:47:02 PM
I think the choice is mostly determined by your tire profile, for instance if you have a 69 Chevelle with stock wheels on it it will look great with white letter tires, but if you put a set of 18's on it it needs black walls. I think that should make my point well enough
Dan Maldonado
May 18, 2008 5:38:12 PM
Muscle cars, and a few late 80's muscle car type vehicles look great with raised white letters tires. Also trucks can have raised white letters especially if they are older, but new trucks can get away with that look too. It's either or for newer trucks depending on your accessories and wheel choice. Any car that is not a muscle car will do well with black walls. I think that's been the rule of thumb with most people.
Tony
May 18, 2008 1:23:02 PM
I've owned alot of cars import and domestic and I really think a clean tire rim combo with raised white letters really looks great.
However, I haven't seen any that will fit my late model Vette with 19" wheels... wtf
Trey Davis
May 18, 2008 10:31:29 AM
Personally, I prefer black walls. When you have good chrome or aluminum rims, the white lettering throws off the contrast the black walls provide. Even if you have black rims, they still don't look right, because you'd want an all black look. In addition, on my truck, the white lettering is fading so much, it doesn't even look that great anymore.
Mat
May 18, 2008 10:24:56 AM
The raised white letters mainly look good on older muscle cars with the 14 or 15 inch rims. On 17 inch or higher it would look a little off, that and I dont think anyone makes a RWL in bigger sizes (minus truck tires) It makes the car look a little dull with blackwall.
But of course it looks great....unless if it is a ford. Than it would take a few playboy bunnies, lol
michael
May 18, 2008 6:55:15 AM
So deciding on white letters or blackwall. i would have to say the the older muscle cars looks better with white letters it makes the car stand out more and draws your attention to the car. but the new tuners i would have to say look better with blackwall because for them its all about being sleek and having one solid look thats why i would say that white letters wouldnt look as good on a tuner. now trucks are tough because ive seen some truck with that look good and bad so i guess it all depends what type of truck it is. like lifted trucks i think look good with white letters but stock trucks look good with just all black. for trucks its a tossup because of the different style of tire like normal everyday tires dont look bad either way but when you go with a mud terrain tire sometimes there a little meaty on the sidewall as well so in my opinion they wouldnt look as good because then the white lettering is taking away from the look of the tire
Baron Von Natschke
May 18, 2008 5:28:25 AM
White is right! Nothing says bad ass ride like a set of raised white letter tires! Also Beauty is in the eye of the BEERholder!
bigshankdog
May 18, 2008 1:09:50 AM
I think it all depends on the car and rim configuration!
Adrian
May 17, 2008 11:26:19 PM
I think it's more the style of the vehicule.
I've seen both on muscle cars and it draws more attention with white letters.
Tyler Man
May 17, 2008 11:10:11 PM
Lots of people nowadays seem to prefer to have the black lettering facing out or to not have the white at all. I rarely ever see anyone with the white anymore. To what I understand about white, is that if it isn't on a car it is a PITA to keep a bright color and not get dingy or stained, especially on what happens to be the dirtiest part of any car at any given time. Back in the 60s, 70s and 80s car care was easier because paint was made from a different material or was just starting to use clear coat like todays cars come standard with. Plus with fewer things to preoccupy yourself with back in the day people could spend a long time detailing their cars so having something that got dirty often seemed to not be a problem because you would have the time to clean it. Now it seems like nobody has the time to even wash their own car, and having white letters would only seem white when the tires were brand new and still in the store. there are several trucks that look good with white lettering, mainly boxy domestic and imported trucks (up until the new Tundra, that thing is pretty damn ugly) but whatever the case is, it seems to mostly be a matter of personal preference. There will be people that thinks it looks ugly and there will be people that think it is beautiful. Take chrome tail lights for example. they look terrible and are less visible to most people, but most idiots seem to like them and are willing to pay $20 for a pair on eBay. but someone will like them. and who really cares what everyone else thinks?
piston454
May 17, 2008 10:00:37 PM
i think that the white lettering or a white wall on a tire really contrasts with the black of the tire... it helps break up the colour more and catch your eye better... white letters out all the way!
Travis
May 17, 2008 9:28:20 PM
everyone should just roll on blackwall low-profile bravuris barum's
Doyle
May 17, 2008 9:09:28 PM
Definitely depends on the vehicle and the tire itself. I will say this, I'd like to see a lot more white-wall tires being made. I'm not talking about silly letters and such being white, i'm talking about the full band of white around your wheel. It looks classy.
Dominick64
May 17, 2008 8:39:35 PM
white letters look best. Thats why i am putting them on my 64 fairlane and it looks really good(: They look good on any muscle car ever made in my opinion, i mean im 16 and when i see old muscle cars in pics i always see the white letters.