Car tires are such an important part of our cars that you’d think we would know more about them. It doesn’t matter if you’re driving a German car brand or an American one, they all need tires. Know how to check them is important, but today we’re going to instead show you some amazing new technology and engineering facts about tires that you may not have heard before.
Prepared to be amazed at how much information is hiding within these four round wheels on your car! Here are ten facts you probably didn’t know.
6 Amazing Trends and Facts About Car Tires
Keep all of your knowledge, but make room for more, because here we go!
1. Skinny Tires are Coming Back!
BMW is working on a plug-in hybrid called the i3 that requires the tires to have a little rolling resistance as possible so they can fall within the needed driving ranges. The Bridgestone Ecopia EP500 have extremely thin and tall tires with aspect ratios anywhere from 55 to 70. This drastic change results in a tire that loses less energy and contributes to less aerodynamic drag overall.
Since the tire is so much smaller, Bridgestone has conceived an elevated inflation pressure that allows to the right amounts of acceleration and traction. As fuel efficiency becomes the name of the game, it’s likely that we’ll see a lot more skinny tires like this one on all of our cars very soon.
2. Increasing the Tire’s Width does Nothing for Braking or Traction
You would think that bigger is better with tires, but that’s not the case. For starters, a larger tire leaves less passenger space and less space for engine components. You would think though that it would have a shorter contact patch, but this is the opposite of what you want when your ultimate goal is longitudinal grip.
Jamie McNutt, the replacement-tire development manager at Bridgestone Americas revealed that longer contact patch is better than a wider one for braking grip. Of course, tires are a very tricky thing, because changing one aspect affects all of the others.
3. Static Electricity Buildup is Still an Issue
Cars must be grounded, otherwise static electricity can build up and cause violent issues when refueling. Modern tires have been able to cut down the amount of conductive elements in them, but there’s another solution on the horizon that will make this problem go away, hopefully for good.
It is called a grounding strip or an antenna tread which is a continuous strip of rubber that includes a compound made to avoid buildup between the surface and the tire itself.
4. Spares Aren’t Going Anywhere
You may have noticed more and more roadside assistance kits included in cars these days. Everything from inflator kits, to run-flat tires. Still, it appears that spares won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. McNutt form Bridgestone commented: “Many customers want a spire in their car for peace of mind, whether or not they intend to ever fix a flat on the road.”
One possibility is that spares will become an option instead of a given, something Ford is doing already with the Mustangs they sell. By going this route, manufacturers can save money on weight and pass easier when it comes to testing for emissions and fuel-economy. For the customer it allow them to know exactly what tools they have in the event of a flat tire.
5. Run-Flat Tires Can Roll for 100 Miles After Losing Pressure
If you’re using a run-flat tire, you’re instruction manual or manufacturer will tell you that you can still drive on it, even after it’s lost pressure, for 50 miles going 50 miles per-hour. Here’s the thing though, if you’re going slower, you can double that distance. Lee Willard, a product engineer at Michelin said the range doubles if you drop your speed to 40 mph.
Slow down even further than that, and the range continues to climb. “It’s all about reducing the amount of heat generated in the tire.”
6. There are Over 200 Different Materials in a Typical Tire
You may already know about the steel belts, the plies that are similar to Kevlar, and the outer tread which is rubber, but even the rubber contains metals; cobalt and titanium to be exact. To help this compound bond with the steel belts, Yokohama has even used citrus oil in some of their tires to make this happen.
One recent change is the use of silane, also known as silicon hydride to enhance the traction while driving over snow and wet surfaces.
Final Thoughts
It’s incredible how much work goes into a single tire, and how many strides we’re making in both safety and performance. Now that you’re a tire expert, it’s time to check out some of the other posts on our site to learn about the cars that use them. Thanks for reading!
All images via Car and Driver
