Can Adam's Tire & Rubber Cleaner compete against the......

[BretFraz]

Greatest Car Detailing Product in History?!?

 

Hi everyone!   I was rummaging thru my collection of car detailing products today, and came across something that brought up a lot of fond memories.   Like many of you, I love to try new detailing products.  I am especially fond of wheel & tire cleaners and dressings.   Don't know why.  I guess I have always liked the challenge of detailing dirty wheels and tires.  Over my 30+ years of detailing, I've tried all types of products.  Only a few stand out, but maybe the most impressive product I've ever used is Eagle One Tire Cleaner.   Wheel and tire care products were something Eagle One made their name on.  For many years they offered the industry's best line of wheel & tire care products.   For me, their tire cleaner was the best product they offered.   It's just one of those products that over-delivers and outperforms everything on the market.  Simply put, it is the best car care product of its kind I've ever used.

 

Anyway, today I'm looking thru my stash and find a well-hidden bottle of my all time favorite car care product.    I've been preserving it like a bottle of fine wine.   Since this product was discontinued many, many years ago, I know it's the last bottle of tire cleaner I'll ever have of theirs.   I really like Adam's Tire and Rubber Cleaner.   I started thinking, "I wonder how Adam's tire cleaner compares to a detailing relic from the 80's?"   Well, let's find out!

 

 

My old and trusty '98 Dodge Ram is in the driveway, needing a little TLC.   The perfect test subject!  I start off by a quick wheel cleaning with Adam's Wheel Cleaner.   I love the simple spray-on-and-spray-off process.   Nothing fancy here.  I just wanted to do a quick cleaning.

 

 

 

Once rinsed off, I decided to split the tire in half.   The Eagle One Tire Cleaner will be applied to the left half of the tire, and Adam's Tire and Rubber Cleaner to the right.

 

 

Now, to be fair, I am using a brand new bottle of Eagle One.   Never opened, never used.  My Adam's has been used, but it's fresh.   How fresh is the Eagle One?    

 

 

1999?   Well, I guess that's when the last version of the stuff was created.   I think the code on the bottle means 2007, but I'm not sure.  Regardless, I've had this stuff on hand for at least 10 years!

 

I sprayed the Eagle One first, then the Adam's.  I let them sit for about a minute.   Then, I used a stiff bristled tire brush to scrub the sidewall.

 

First pic is both products sprayed onto the tire.  If you visually divide the tire in half vertically, the left side is Eagle One, the right side Adam's.

 

 

 

Next pic is the tire scrubbed with a tire brush.

 

 

 

Then rinsed thoroughly with a pressure washer.

 

 

 

The results!!

 

 

 

 

Rinsed and dried with my Metro Vac & Blo.

 

 

 

So, what do you think?    Looks to me like the Eagle One slightly outperformed Adam's.   The left side of the tire is nice and black, with less brown residue.   Both did a great job on a tire that I haven't detailed in, well.... a long time.   So, to be fair, why not hit them again and get the tire really clean.

 

Round #2

 

 

 

What was the verdict of Round #2?   You'll have to wait until tomorrow.    It started getting dark and I didn't think the pics would come out well.   I will post a pic tomorrow morning and let you decide who the winner is.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 27, 2017 by BretFraz

[Nathan]

Interesting, I wonder if using Adams tire brush would make a difference because it is designed to work with their product?

[csikx]

Interesting, I wonder if using Adams tire brush would make a difference because it is designed to work with their product?

 I hope that isn't the excuse and doubt it would be.  I love all of Adam's products... but I can't tell a difference with any of my tire cleaners.

[Rich]

Sounds to me that since the Eagle 1 is no longer available that Adam's would be a no brainer to replace it since it gave nearly identical results. 

[PHOKUS]

Interesting comparison!

 

I, too, have been a fan of Eagle One Tire Cleaner. I also used to subscribe to the viewpoint that the only thing that mattered was results. How does it look the moment after I used it? I now know that there are definitely other considerations to be reviewed. How and where is the product manufactured? How does the surface it's used on react to the product? Will it shorten or compromise the lifespan of the object it's used on?

 

Eagle One tire cleaner was a very harsh chemical. I used Eagle One exclusively because it actually cleaned. However, I would bet dollars to doughnuts that it shortened the lifespan of my tires. After a year of using Eagle One on my new Gatorbacks (hello, '90's !!), the sidewalls were cracking. Luckily, the tires were ready for replacement anyway since the tread was gone. Those findings are far from conclusive. But it follows that after using a harsh chemical on high-end tires for a year the rubber would begin to break down.

 

My point isn't to trash Eagle One, but to submit other criteria for consideration of what makes a product good or bad. I feel that Adam's does their best to strike a balance between highly effective products and surface preservation.

 

I love a clean tire. But at what cost?

Edited February 27, 2017 by PHOKUS

[Ls1transam]

Interesting comparison. Looks like Eagle One slightly edged it out. Something I have noticed using Adam's tire cleaner. If you clean a dirty tire. The second time I spray and scrub seems to make a huge difference over the first. It's like the first time it just removes everything on top. Then going right back over it, it deep cleans the tire.

[chops1sc]

It all comes down to how dirty the tire is. I don't think there is a cleaner out there that will get a dirty tire fully clean on the first go. No matter how much cleaner the tire may be with an other brand, you will have to make a second pass to get it 100% clean.

 

I also feel comparing brands should be done on a well-maintained vehicle; say one that is cleaned once a week. This way you already know what works every time and any difference be it better or worse will show up easier.

 

I'm all for trying different brands, but deep down I just want consistency. Bouncing around with different combinations will not yield consistent results. Example: I detailed my aunt's truck this weekend and this truck has been to Alaska and back with maybe 2 washes since it was bought last year. I decided to use Meguiar's Super Degreaser on the tires instead of "wasting" my Adam's Tire & Rubber cleaner on such a dirty tire. I only did one pass but I knew it wasn't even close to being 100% clean. Would they have been cleaner with Adam's? Most likely yes, but I still would have had to make a second or third pass.

 

It always depends on how dirty the tires are....

[BretFraz]

Sounds to me that since the Eagle 1 is no longer available that Adam's would be a no brainer to replace it since it gave nearly identical results. 

 

No doubt.   It's kind of a moot point since one product is discontinued and another works just as well.   But, a fun test to see if a current product can perform as well as a "retro 80's" product.   Thanks for the comment.

[BretFraz]

Interesting comparison!

 

I, too, have been a fan of Eagle One Tire Cleaner. I also used to subscribe to the viewpoint that the only thing that mattered was results. How does it look the moment after I used it? I now know that there are definitely other considerations to be reviewed. How and where is the product manufactured? How does the surface it's used on react to the product? Will it shorten or compromise the lifespan of the object it's used on?

 

Eagle One tire cleaner was a very harsh chemical. I used Eagle One exclusively because it actually cleaned. However, I would bet dollars to doughnuts that it shortened the lifespan of my tires. After a year of using Eagle One on my new Gatorbacks (hello, '90's !!), the sidewalls were cracking. Luckily, the tires were ready for replacement anyway since the tread was gone. Those findings are far from conclusive. But it follows that after using a harsh chemical on high-end tires for a year the rubber would begin to break down.

 

My point isn't to trash Eagle One, but to submit other criteria for consideration of what makes a product good or bad. I feel that Adam's does their best to strike a balance between highly effective products and surface preservation.

 

I love a clean tire. But at what cost?

Thanks for the comments.   I appreciate your perspective on this.

 

Not to turn this into more than it is, but a couple thoughts from me:

 

1.  Certainly, the chemical composition is important.   Car care products have changed dramatically over the past 20-30 years.  Technology and gov't mandates have had a big impact.   I know I've used detailing products that had aggressive acids (hydrofluoric, oxalic, etc) and aggressive solvents (benzene, MEK) in them.  At least for consumer products, those products are mostly gone from the market.

 

2.  I understand why you might think E1 tire cleaner could have dried your Gatorback sidewalls, but I honestly can't imagine that happening.   It's a product that's on your tire maybe a couple of minutes, then rinsed off.   An old school tire dressing could affect sidewalls (and many of them did).   A dressing would sit on your tire for days/weeks at a time.   Many of them had silicones and/or solvents that would react adversely with rubber.

 

Ultimately, we all want our car care products to perform to our expectations and demands.   No reason to spend good money on a poor performing product.   Chemical technology has progressed to a point where risks are minimized, or at least risks are lower than in years past.  

 

There are still many aggressive products on the market.  My local grocery store sells Mean Green, Simple Green, Purple Power, and others.  I have LA's Awesome cleaner at home; $1 at Big Lots.  And there are plenty of "hot" alkaline (high pH) APC's on the market.  

 

 I can easily find a cheaper product that will clean tires.  I'm happy that Adam's has a dedicated product that can perform as well as it does, and provides the results I expect.  I will keep using it and recommending it to others.

[Cork]

I used a lot of that back in the day. I remember buying 10 bottles at a time when it was on sale.

[joelilton23]

I just received my bottle of T&RC, can't wait to try it out this afternoon when I wash the daily! 

[bjoeaull]

sadly when I was younger I don't even remember cleaning my tires....just slap on a new coat of tire shine and away I went! lol

[BrianT]

sadly when I was younger I don't even remember cleaning my tires....just slap on a new coat of tire shine and away I went! lol

Same here!

[falcaineer]

I used a lot of that back in the day. I remember buying 10 bottles at a time when it was on sale.

 

Do you mean the E1 Wheel Cleaner...or PBR?! Many remember doing the latter in college.