Tire or Tyre
Dr A R M Harunur Rashid
• Tires are the only means to transfer forces
between the road and vehicle. Using it is
inflated with air and so called pneumatic tires.
• Tyre is a rubber member which gives the
cushion to the automobile. It consists of outer
cover and inner tube.
Basic Functions of Tires
• Support vertical loads while cushioning against
shocks
• Develop / transfer longitudinal forces for
acceleration and braking
• Develop lateral forces for cornering power for
smooth steering.
Wheel and Rim Basics
• Rim: It is the metallic cylindrical part where the
tire is installed. Steel rim is the most common
one used in the passenger cars which is made
by welding a disk into a shell. There are light
alloy rims which are made of light metals such
as Aluminium and Magnesium.
• Wheel: when a tire is installed on a rim and is
inflated by air usually, it is called a wheel. A
wheel is a combination of tire and rim.
Tire Components
• Bead or Bead Handle: It is a loop of high strength steel cable
coated with rubber thereby providing the tire the strength
needed to stay seated on the wheel rim and to transfer the tire
forces to the rim.
• Inner layers: made of different fabrics called plies like polyester
cord most commonly used. The topmost layers are also called
cap plies. Cap plies are polyesteric fabrics that help hold
everything in place. Cap plies are usually found in top level cars
like those require higher speed rating.
• Inner liners: An inner liner is a specially compounded rubber
that forms the inside of a tubeless tire. It prevents loss of air
pressure.
• Belts or belt buffers: one or more rubber-
coated layer of steel, polyester, nylon or other
materials running circumferentially around the
tire under the tread. They reinforce on the
body plies to hold the tread flat on the road
surface and make the best contact with the
road. Belts reduce squirm, thereby good for
redacting tread wear. It resists impact and
penetration.
• Carcass or body plies: made of rubber coated steel or
other high strength steel. They are the main parts to
support the tension forces generated by the air
pressure. They are tied to bead handle.
• The cords in a radial tires are perpendicular to the
tread. The plies are coated with rubber to help them
bond with other components and seal in the air.
• A tires strength is often judged by no of carcass. Usual
passenger car tires have two carcass plies whereas
aero plan tires might have 30 or more carcass plies.
• Sidewall: made of rubber. It protects the body
plies.
• It provides internal stability of the tire. Its
functions are to protect body plies and helps
to prevent air from escaping.
• Thicker sidewall means when in no air is there,
it could go some KM to the gas station.
• Tread: pronounced as trade. It is the portion of
the tire that comes in contact with the road.
• It is made of different kinds of synthetic and
natural rubber.
• The outer permeter of the tire is also called
crown.
• Tread grooves: area between the tread rows or
blocks. It gives the tier traction and especially
useful during rain or snow.
Types based on Construction
• Bias Ply : India-Bangladesh subcontinent
• Radial Ply : majority in North America
Radial Tire
• Constructed with reinforced steel cable belts that
are assembled in parallel from one side bead to
the another bead at an angle of 90 degree to the
circumferential centre line of the tire.
• More flexible radially
• Reduced rolling resistance and improved cornering
• Both tread and sidewall flexes under lateral force
and keep flat on the road surface so do better at
cornering.
Non Radial Tire
• Plies are layered diagonal from one bead to the
other bead at an angle of 30 degree althouth
other angles are possible.
• One ply is set on a bias in one direction which is
opposed by the next ply.
• The end of the plies are wrapped around the bead
wires, anchoring them to the rim of the wheel.
• Both tread and sidewall distort under lateral force,
so not that good at cornering.
Naming convention – size and load rating
• P for passenger
• then section width in mm for biggest width
• Then 45 it is the aspect ratio and it is in percentage. It is height to
section width ratio.
• Low aspect ration has good handling but low ride.
• R is for Radial tire. Biased tire. after R is the rim diameter. North
America they are majority but India minority.
• The load rating
• then speed rating.
• Rim is the metallic cylindrical part where the
tire is installed.
• Flange provide lateral support to the tire
• Rim width is also called the pan width
• When tire is installed on a rim and inflated, it
is called a wheel.
• Section width – widest width when not
loaded
• Aspect ratio is height to width. Low for race
car and higher value for utility car
• If there are four tires, load will be divided
equally among the four.
Wheel and Rim detailed
• 28psi to 32 psi.
• Sidewall better be thick so then if no air still you can
move it to nearby fuel station or gas station.
• Max inflation pressure is the maximum the tyre can
withstand. But usually we do not inflate to that much,
actually much lower than that.
• 1607 means 16th week and 07 means 2007. So you can
find which year it is made. Before 2000, three digits
conventions were used. Thus 167 means 16th week but
it may be 87 or 97.
How tire is made video link
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=K474RYse9P8
