What Is Car Tyre’s?
Tire
A Tire or Tyre is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel’s rim to transfer a vehicle’s load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over which the wheel travels.
What Is Car Tire Used For?
Main Tire Functions;
Tires are designed to support the weight of the vehicle, absorb road shocks, transmit traction, torque and braking forces to the road surface and maintain and change the direction of travel. To fulfill these four basic functions tires are made of resilient rubber and filled with compressed air.
Choosing of A Car Tyres;
Tyres may seem like simple and sturdy rubber disks. But there is so much detail that goes into the making of a tyre. It’s a complex engineering process that has a lot of physics and chemistry in it. Multiple layers made of multiple compounds work together to make the tyre run the way it does.
Design
Different tyres perform differently. This is because there is a wide variation in the design of tyres. We need separate tyres for various functions. If we are classifying broadly, there are obvious variations in the design of passenger tyres, heavy-duty off-road tyres and others.
Depending on load and operating conditions, the components included in the tyre may vary. Compared to passenger tyres, heavier tyres like truck tyres may have additional ply layers, belt, breakers, or a heavier sidewall.
But more specifically, a lot of times tyres are designed as per the unique requirements of each car manufacturer and for each vehicle model. As each car runs differently, it makes sense that inorder to optimize performance it needs to be paired with the right tyres.
Materials and Components
It’s not just rubber, an average tyre has. It has numerous compounds in the final product. Although, in most cases, other materials are used in combination with rubber for best results. Like an intricate dish, even the tiniest variation in the recipe can change the end product.
The base material used in the tyre is natural as well as synthetic rubber. Additionally, carbon black, silica, oils, sulfur, antioxidants, and so on are used as fillers. This is done right at the mixing stage to produce the sheets. As for other components, steel wire is covered in a rubber compound to form the bead. It is joined with the apex. Moreover, angled steel wires are used as breakers.
Assembly
Firstly, the carcass of the tyre is assembled. The bead and apex are joined with inner liner and body ply layers, and finally with the sidewall. The sidewall edges are then turned down mechanically to complete the basic carcass.
On a different assembly, we would have a belt drum. Here the belt is brought together, layering the ply with breakers, and then laying the tread. The belt assembly is then brought to the carcass and they are joined together. Compressed air is used for joining to ensure cohesion.
The final manufacturing step is cooking, or vulcanization if you prefer to be more civilized. The green tyre is placed in a patterned mould. The pattern is pressed into the tyre during the process. Rubber curing bladders are placed inside the tyre with high-pressure steam inside, that expands when the mould is closed. The process is done in high temperatures. For passenger tyres, it takes about 10-15 minutes. But heavier the tyre, the more time it would need. It may even go up to an entire day.
How Long Are Tires Good For?
On average, people drive between 12,000 to 15,000 miles a year, which means the average good quality all-season tire will last somewhere between three and five years, depending on maintenance, driving style and conditions, etc.
Car Tires Prices In Ghana;
