Tires turning blue from mud.

[leeaspell]

Just wondering why the mud in some parts of the province make your tires turn blue when it dries on there. Seems like some areas make it happen more than others. They grey mud up around Virginia hills really makes it happen, as well as a few areas in the Fox Creek/Edson area. Guessing its something in the mud reating with rubber

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[Xbolt7mm]

Originally Posted by leeaspell

Just wondering why the mud in some parts of the province make your tires turn blue when it dries on there. Seems like some areas make it happen more than others. They grey mud up around Virginia hills really makes it happen, as well as a few areas in the Fox Creek/Edson area. Guessing its something in the mud reating with rubber

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Was told once, tires turn blue just before it rains

[curtz]

I's it possibly from blue clay, just a guess.

[tbiddy]

I’ve been told it’s from the heavy metals in the soil. Usually iron.

[dale7637]

I have always seen it in areas with really heavy clay based mud. Not sure exactly why though.
Swan hills and Zama were the 2 worst places I ever saw it happen.

[Cement Bench]

the Viagra is leeching out, tires must have been purchased new

[pikeman06]

X2 on the turn blue a day or two before a good rain or weather event.

[warriorboy10]

Spray em with Simple Green and give em a scrub they’ll go back to black.

[bloopbloob]

It has to do with the minerals in the soil (usually clay soil) reacting with the rubber, and pulling the oil in the rubber to the surface, making them look blue. Usually only happens with newer tires, where you notice. Equipment tires are more prone, as they usually have very different rubber compounds from a truck tire, and are softer rubber, making it happen much more frequently

[270person]

North and east of Edson area is really bad for this. Not to mention mud slicker than owl snot that can fill your wheel wells and is a bugger to wash off.

[Jamie]

North and a bit west of Valleyview does the same thing

[^v^Tinda wolf^v^]

I can always tell what area a guy quads in the most by what color the engine block and tires are dyed. I do believe it has to do with what alkaline is in the mud. i guess putting on over 5000klms in the bush has tought me a couple things lol

[Redneck Tommy]

It’s the chemicals in the rubber they also get blue after hot cold cycles most noticeable on race tracks doing short laps cooling down then warming the tires up again.

[bessiedog]

It’s calked blue gumbo. Clay like.

[Talking moose]

Someone’s probably right.

[Talking moose]

Mine are blue right now.

[Talking moose]

Kinda curious.

[270person]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

Mine are blue right now.

Your tires or.....?

[Talking moose]

Originally Posted by 270person

Your tires or.....?

Omg..... I need to read more thorough. Didn’t realize it was a tire thread. My bad.

[hayseed]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

Omg..... I need to read more thorough. Didn’t realize it was a tire thread. My bad.

Lol!!!

[270person]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

Omg..... I need to read more thorough. Didn’t realize it was a tire thread. My bad.

Hehe. Yer one damn silly moose.

[Red Bullets]

If you really want to know... I could be wrong but I think I can explain the heavy clay we encounter in the back country.

There will usually be more clay to deal with in boreal forests because topsoils do not develop well.

The boreal forest usually has gray luvisol soils which have a thin layer of top soil covered by leafy matter that leaches out and decomposes with snowmelt and rains. The nutrients and minerals from both the leafy matter and the shallow topsoil leach out and combine to create the clay below. Because leafy matter is recurrent yearly it creates more certain elements when it leaches out. Depending on the forest canopy the soils can be more acidic too. Decomposing evergreen matter creates more acidity in the soil and clays. The more acidic clays and soils might affect certain rubbers in tires, but not sure about that. Acidic gray clay reacting with black rubber might create a blueish tinge.

Where does the top soil come from you ask?
The Swan "Hills" has a high point that has tertiary gravels on top and glacial till which grind during freeze/heat of the seasons. With snowmelt and rains the ground rock and organic matter leaches downhill adding the silt and sands and orgainics in the top layer of the 'soil' in the forest.

True actual blue clay is called hardpan and usually subterranean having a gravel overburden on it. It is almost impenetrable with hand tools and is associated with good gold being in the gravels under the hardpan.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by tbiddy

I’ve been told it’s from the heavy metals in the soil. Usually iron.

Going with this as our area has lots of iron in the ground water so periodically the tires turn blue ish Color when caked in mud and let it set on the tires for a while and it dries.....no biggie!

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

Mine are blue right now.

And caked in mud