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When you walk into a tire store, you probably go straight to what you need instead of browsing or looking for a better option. Unless of course, you don't know what type of tire you need, you can easily pick out the ones you need from your favourite tire store. Tires are such essential part of a car, yet we don't give much thought to it unless we need to. There are so many unknown facts that people mostly don't know about, but should have the knowledge. Here are seven unknown facts on tires that you have probably never heard of before.
Fact #1
Earlier, tires used to be fatter with a bigger footprint as they were believed to have better performance and handling. But nowadays skinnier tires mean lower rolling resistance and better fuel economy. They also seem to have a smaller aerodynamic profile. Even though it's true that fatter tires have better handling, skinner tires make up with a stickier tread formulation for traction and cornering ability.
Fact #2
You may remember seeing wagon stations or heard about how they used to have ground strap dragging along the pavement. Now, with new tread compounds static electricity has become a problem again as these compounds are cutting back on the amount of carbon black in newer tires. So, to counter this problem the tire manufacturers are designing tires with an antenna strip of more conductive material down the centre of the tread which provides a positive electrical contact between tire and pavement.
Fact #3
The lighter the weight of the products, the easier it would be to handle it. Same goes for tires too. Lighter the weight of the tires, the less is their inertia, and lower is their rolling resistance. Tire manufacturers like Bridgestones and Michelin are using a lighter gauge of cord for steel belts and have cut the depth of the tread surface while using a tougher, high-mileage tread formulation for longer treadwear respectively.
Fact #4
We mostly see tires in tire stores that are made of rubber, nylon, steel, and Kevlar. But along with that, you also might not know that cobalt and titanium are used in some to bond the rubber to the steel belts. Citrus oil is used in modifying the tread stiffness changes with temperature. Silica, on the other hand, helps enhance wet and snow traction.
Fact #5
Airless tires are becoming popular nowadays. They are used in industrial vehicles, but very soon they will be found in every type of tires in every tire store. Honeycomb is used in these tires to carry the weight and maintain rigidity of the vehicle. Another advantageous feature is that they are quite tough and drivers have been able to hit a curb at 50 mph with no damage to wheels, tires or suspension.
Fact #6
Another surprising unknown fact is that for the first time tires have been made whose tread is made of Russian dandelion rubber as a polymer. Dandelion rubber can be grown in a year while a traditional rubber tree takes up to seven years to grow, which is a huge benefit of using dandelion over traditional rubber trees.
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