Tire school

Today’s tires provide a comfortable suspension compared to yesterday’s iron wheels. What makes the ride comfortable is not just the rubber of the tire but the air it encloses. This pressurized air volume is also the reason why the tyres can carry their load. The structure of today’s tires is a textile cord that lies radially to the direction of rolling, hence the name radial tire. These so-called core wires, which are in one or two layers, are held together by several rubber layers. The radial tire provides significantly better comfort than yesterday’s diagonal tires, which have completely disappeared from the passenger car market.

The soft carcass is stiffened by a number of belts that run diagonally and across the carcass wires and create stability in the deck structure. These belts can be made of steel (steel radial tires) and/or textile materials such as polyester, rayon, nylon, kevlar, etc.

The tread rubber is a combination of synthetic and natural rubber, depending on the desired properties. The rubber, together with the tread pattern, should provide a secure grip in all situations.

The pattern is designed to provide good water drainage and directional stability (longitudinal track) and at the same time have good traction and braking (transverse track).

Many of today’s tires also have much lower rolling resistance than yesterday’s, thanks to special silica-based compounds and other belt designs.