www.roddang.com

A lot of good ’skull sweat’ has gone into the rubber under your car and when it comes to complexity, most people probably wouldn’t put tires very high on the list. After all, they look pretty simple, don’t they?

True, but this apparent simplicity is deceptive. A modern tire is actually a very complex piece of equipment, consisting of many different components. You can’t see many of these but without them your tires simply wouldn’t work.

Let’s take a look at how the most common type of tire, radials, are constructed.

The first step is assembling raw materials. Raw rubber and various chemicals are an obvious starting point, but modern tire manufacturing uses a lot of things you wouldn’t expect to find, such as pigments, wire, and special fabrics.

Tire manufacturers today use many kinds of rubber, both natural and synthetic. Some counts place the different kinds of rubber used in radial tire construction as high as 30. No matter what kind of rubber is used, the manufacturer will add other materials to get the compound they want. These can include antioxidants, oils, carbon black and numerous other additives depending on the type of tire being made and the manufacturer.

Once the raw materials are assembled, they are mixed together in Banbury machines. These are extremely impressive pieces of machinery that look sort of like God’s blender, assuming God wanted his smoothies subjected to intense heat and pressure.

After the Banbury machines have had their way with the rubber compound, it is repeatedly milled by putting it through rollers again and again. After the rubber is milled, it is ready to be formed into sidewalls, treads and other parts. But before they are put to use, the interior of the tire is assembled on a tire building machine.

The first part of the interior is called a bead or bead bundle. This is a hoop shaped length of rubber coated steel cable. The bead fits against the wheel rim and gives the tire the strength to stay seated on the wheel rim.

Next, a double layer of rubber (a synthetic in this case) is added that seals in air. It is this “inner liner” that allows modern tires to be tubeless.

Two layers of rubber coated fabric, the cords, are placed over the inner liner. Synthetic fabrics are commonly used as cords, including polyester, rayon, and nylon. The most common fabric in use today for this purpose is polyester.

The machine then shapes the radials into something very close to their final dimension. This is done to make sure all the parts are in the right position. Next, steel belts are added. These help to hold the tread on the road surface and make the tire more puncture resistant.

The last part to be added is the tread. Rollers press all the parts firmly together, and what we are left with is a tire that looks pretty close to what will go on our car.

However, this “green tire” is not ready yet. For one thing, it needs to be cured. For another, it is as bald as a cue ball.

At this point another reject from God’s Kitchen comes into play. The curing press, which looks similar to a giant waffle iron, gives the final shape to the tire, imprints a tread pattern and vulcanizes the rubber.

Although the tire is now fully constructed, it must still go through one more stage in the manufacturing process, that of inspection. Tire manufacturers use both human inspectors and special machines for different parts of the inspection. Some tires are even X-Rayed to check for internal flaws. Others are randomly selected from the production run to be ripped apart and/or tested to destruction in order to look at every aspect of the tire that could affect safety or performance.

Although they look simple on the outside, a modern automobile tire is truly a masterpiece of engineering. Now that you know how they are made, chances are you will never take your tires for granted again.

The Goodyear Guy is the friendly face of Goodyear Canada…And now he blogs, not just any old blog mind you, nope - this one’s a doozy. So if the ‘behind-the-scenes’ secrets of Goodyear Canada and their favourite spokeperson appeal to your curiosity check it out! Save $100 on your next set of Goodyear tires? Grab your digital rebate coupon today.

Share This

Driving through snow is not on anyone’s list of fun things to do. It becomes even less enjoyable when you feel your tires quit on a particularly slippery patch.

When it comes to ensuring safe winter driving, you have two choices. Either you buy snow tires, or you go with all-season radials. Which one is the correct option depends entirely on the environment you drive in.

The difference between snow tires and all-season radials seems small at first glance, but it is crucial. The treads on a snow tire have treads that are widely spaced. Snow tires are specifically designed so these larger spaces allow the tire to dig into and grip the snow better than a regular tire or an all-season radial would. This is a good choice to go with if you live in an area that experiences regular heavy snowfall.

Since 2001, true snow tires have been manufactured with a special symbol. If you see a stylized picture of a mountain within a snowflake inside it, then you can rest easy knowing that the tire was designed to cope with harsh winter conditions. Snow tires also carry a mud and snow designation, abbreviated to M/S, M+S, or M&S. All-season radials also carry this designation.

The treads on all-season radials are spaced closer together than the ones on snow tires. Although they can’t possibly match the snow traction of a tire specifically designed for winter conditions, they do provide a quieter ride.

It should be noted that heavier cars (and cars with front-wheel or all-wheel drive) usually handle snow better than lighter cars. If this description matches your vehicle and you live in an area that doesn’t get a whole of snow, then all-season radials may be the way to go.

No matter what kind of tire you choose, two things are vitally important. First, make sure all four tires are of the same type. This will provide optimum traction and vehicle handling. Second, exercise caution when driving. This will help you stay safe regardless of the weather.

The Goodyear Guy is the friendly face of Goodyear Canada And now he blogs, not just any old blog mind you, nope - this one’s a doozy. So if the ‘behind-the-scenes’ secrets of Goodyear Canada and their favourite spokeperson appeal to your curiosity check it out! Save $100 on your next set of Goodyear tires? Grab your digital rebate coupon today.

Share This

When you are driving around in your car, four things greatly impact your safety, your tires. And, unless you are lucky enough to live in the tropics, it’s pretty likely that the seasons change where you’re driving, bringing with them a shift in driving conditions. By purchasing a good set of all season tires you can avoid accidents and even save your own life! Good all season tires kept in good repair will keep your car hugging those curves and stopping on a dime, so it is of utmost importance that you acquire a set and maintain them properly.

To maintain your tires properly, you need to do more than simply replace them as their treads begin to wear down. Tire maintenance requires more than this of you, but nothing that is too strenuous once you understand what needs to be done. You have to rotate your all season tires as often as needed, so that the tires do not wear unevenly and maintain enough traction to ensure a sage ride. You should also drive in a way that does not damage your tires. That means, don’t drive too quickly on dirt or gravel roads, try not to run into curbs and sidewalks, and not taking turns too quickly. Turning too quickly is one of the things that wear out all season tires more than anything else, except perhaps skidding to a stop by applying the brakes too abruptly.

It is also necessary that you take your car into the shop for tire related maintenance. I can commiserate with care enthusiasts who would love to do everything themselves, who love to fiddle with this or that piece of their engine, change their own oil. Before getting started as a mechanic, I was just such an automobile do-it-yourselfer, and never went to a garage for anything that I didn’t think was completely necessary.

Tire installation though is not something that you should attempt to do yourself. It takes an expert to properly change tires. This is because of the precision adjustments that are involved. In order for tires to work properly, they all must be installed in a secure fashion. This means that they are all balanced, and you cannot ensure this without having specialized equipment.

Even though you might think, “sure, my car’s all season tires aren’t balanced, but it will still drive”, you shouldn’t drive around with unbalanced all season tires because that will make your car much less safe. Also, your tires will wear unevenly and have a much shorter lifespan, because more wear will be concentrated on less area. This, in the end, will cost you more money than it would just to have a professional install your all season tires.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about this as well as vintage wheels at http://www.vintagewheelsplus.com.

Share This