The tires that you find on your vehicle and the tires that are found across the world may differ in the way that they were produced. We’ve come a long way in the methods that we use for producing tires worldwide. The first practical and inflatable bike tires were created in the 1880’s and the first pneumatic tires for an automobile were produced several years later. It wasn’t until 1911 that pneumatic tires were approved for use on automobiles and designed for optimal wear. Here are some of the specific processes that modern tires begin with.
The Raw Materials
Most modern tires are produced using a blend of natural and synthetic rubber. Combining liquid latex and acids will cause the rubber to solidify. The excess moisture is removed as the rubber is pressed into bales and sent out to tire factories.
Design
Car tires are then made out of the four basic components including the tread, body, beads and sidewalls. Tires are designed based off of specifications for performance and penning on the design that’s placed in the treads, tires can be optimized for specific conditions. Computer simulations are often used today to simulate the effects of rubber compounds.
Manufacturing
Tire manufacturing involves a machine called a Banbury mixer. This combines together the raw materials in a standardized format to produce the treads like the sidewalls, treads and more. All the raw materials are purchased and assembled into the tire. As the trade is glued into place the access needs to be trimmed away from the tire building machine. The targets are placed into a mold for the curing process and it is then tested and inspected before it’s distributed.
As a tire is one of the most crucial aspects of a car, extensive quality and assurance testing is handled to make sure that every tire produces a high degree of comfort, efficiency, performance, safety and reliability. Tire factories worldwide produce over 250 million new tires for the market each year.
If you have questions about the best type of tire for your vehicle, contact us today.
This post was written by Justin K, owner of Wheel Identity. Wheel Identity is Tampa Bay’s premier custom shop. We carry custom wheels in Tampa for every vehicle, custom suspension kits, and all accessories for the interior or exterior of your vehicle. We only hire highly trained technicians using state of the art equipment with experience in all areas of tire, wheel, suspension, and 4×4 needs.