Last updated on November 1st, 2023 at 07:07 am
Nowadays what you drive with your car is a radial tire but it was never the same. There have been many changes and advancements made just to reach this level.
It was never the same, in around 1700-1800 people drove their vehicles on wooden and steel tires. On the wooden wheel, the round steel was installed, which was so harsh on pavements.
After a few years, the Dunlop came up with the method of utilizing rubber in a tire instead of steel belts. For around 100 years the supremacy of rubber held the tire market. However, only rubber on steel wheels was not as much supportive.
So around 1940-50s Michelin came up with the method of radial tire construction, in which with rubber, there is an involvement of steel belts, fabrics, and other materials which makes it more stable, responsive, and less fuel-consumptive improvement.
And till now the pneumatic rubber tire is the best option around, and also other types of construction are already perished.
It took around 200 years to reach this invention where car ties are supportive of different pavements, roads, and other types of conditions. no wonder this invention is so popular and still among the best. manufacturers with their continuous innovation and advancement will surely change the tires in a few years and we might be able to see tires with no air pressure at all.
Table of Contents
Introduction
First tire for car
The first tire for any purpose was made back in 1800 for use on carts and wagons. It was made with leather, then replaced with iron and steel. On wooden cart wheels, this tire requires much more energy to pull compared to today’s tires. This generation of tire kept going for more than 100 years before rubber tire was introduced.
First radial tire
At first, Dunlop introduced rubber tires made just by combining rubber and fabric. It was a great innovation at the time, but the requirement of modern vehicles require faster-built, more responsive, and fuel-efficient tires. These tires require high force to move.
That’s when Michelin came up with the radial tire, this tire is equipped with advanced rubber, tread, fabric, steel belts, and sulfur for creating proper low rolling resistance tires.
How tires made today
The process of making the radial tie is quite complicated, different layers were designed separately by different methods. The tie plies, steel cords, body plies, treads, and rubber are all designed on different machinery along with fluents, chemicals, and many more.
Nowadays manufacturing a proper tire requires machinery and experience, just like Goodyear and Michelin tires have. The complete process of making tires is sometimes difficult to understand and hard to implement if you are planning to do so.
Types Of Tires
Passenger car tires
These are everyday use tires with every vehicle you see on the road. Passenger car tires are made by the radial body, understanding the needs of divers, they are more balanced, durable, and less fuel-consuming tires. They come in a variety of different types including:
All-season tires are one of the most popular nowadays with passenger cars due to their durable and versatile performance.
Summer tire is another type of tire that is used for mostly fast tracks and summer season city and highway rides. They are less durable and more expensive sometimes than all-season touring tires.
Touring tires are designed to deliver low rolling resistance and more durable rides compared to performance tires. On the other hand performance tires are made for achieving high-quality handling and response.
Winter tires just like their name are made for snow and winter terrain rides, and just like that, mud terrain tires are made for extreme mud terrain situations.
All-terrain tires are the ones that can be driven in different weather, and road conditions, they are durable, expensive, and reliable in different weather and road situations.
Recreational vehicles and light truck tires
RV and LT tires are also a type of passenger car tires, the difference in manufacturing and quality is not quite different just a size difference mostly. RV tires are made with a focus on heavy-weight lifting ability and light truck tires as well. Because both of these vehicles are keen to carry heavy weight, the tire made for them also attains a high load index for carrying a heavy load and delivering proper performance.
Heavy-duty commercial tires
Tires made for commercial purposes have many more plies than normal tires, they can carry much more load than ordinary tires, and also have high diameters, The process of manufacturing is also the same, but these tires are more reliable when it comes to punctures and other flats. Also, they deliver strong performance in difficult conditions.
Aircraft, Boats, Motorbike, Bicycle
The aircraft and boat tires are different than normal tires, even though the internal design and structure are quite similar, the external part is different. The tread design of aircraft tire usually doesn’t have any sipes or grooves, just like fast track tires. As the speed of aircraft tires is higher than ordinary tires, they require a slick design to handle the pressure of an aircraft.
Motorcycle and bicycle tires are also the same in tread design and internal structure because both passenger cars and motorbikes have the same purpose to deliver proper traction and grip in unreliable conditions. The main difference is only in load weights, speed, diameters, and other small factors.
Construction Of Tire
Tube and Tubeless Tires
Usually, normal modern tires are tubeless and can be driven if there is a flat because unlike tube tires, which deflate as quickly as the puncture appears. Tubeless tires are more reliable, durable, and puncture-resistant compared to tube tires. However the benefit of a tube tire is there, you can easily replace the tube of a tire at cheap rates compared to the non-replaceable rubber of a tubeless tire after many punctures.
Parts of Tires
The tire tread is the most important component of the tire which describes the performance of the tire. It consists of different designs, patterns, sipes, grooves, and notches. There are thousands of different designs and patterned tires utilized for different purposes. The tread of the tire is the main determinant and most focused part when manufacturing tires.
Tire shoulders are right after tread and the second important component of a tire, both tread, and shoulder designed in harmony to deliver the preferred performance. Just like tread, shoulders also consist of sipes, notches, and different patterns.
Sidewalls just like its name, are on the sides of the tire, they also use to measure the width of a tire. Tire sidewalls do not equip these sipes and notches, however, it is also important and makes the tire resistant to difficult conditions when designed properly.
A tire bead is a component of a tire that sits on the wheel of the tire, It does not always have an impact on tire performance but it is equally important when it comes to reliability and safety of a ride.
Uses Of Tires
Automotive
The most common and massive use of tires for automobile purposes is to move cars, bikes, planes, and boats. The tire is among the top 10 consumer goods items in the world due to the high volume of usage with autos.
This is why tires were designed in the first place to move goods or people from one place to another. In today’s age after so much innovation and advancement, no substitute of tire has been found to move vehicles and other automotive devices.
Rubber Extraction
After tires get worn or are not able to drive, manufacturers use these tires to extract rubber or sometimes retread it to recycle it. It is a far better option than wasting rubber by burning it which not only affects human health but also impacts ozone layers and our earth.
Miscellaneous Uses
The usage of tires is common with wheelchairs, mowing machines, and other plastic tires with machinery to move them from one place to another. Another common use of tires is for weight lifting and exercising in the gym. With that, old tires are also utilized for construction and designing or for playing.
The amount of tires sold in a year is increasing with time, so the more effective way we find utilizing the old tire is better.
Conclusion
The tire has been through many experiments and research since it has reached a standard that can be used with any vehicle and achieve safe travel. The radial tire is the only and most effective method of manufacturing tires nowadays, and it has been for the past 100 years. The more usage of tires also increases the amount of old worn tires, which is why utilizing old tires in an effective way to reduce disturbance in the future is also our responsibility.
