The History of Car Tyres
As car tyres are such an essential part of our cars we tend to take them for granted, simply fixing or changing them as we need to without actually needing to know a great deal about them. Universally we know that we have to have car tyres and that they have to be fitted and maintained specifically; it’s not just good advice to keep your car performing to the peak of its abilities. Such is the danger of low tread or poor infrequent maintenance that if the legal limits are not adhered to a car can fail its MOT and be declared un roadworthy or a fine given by a police officer if the car is travelling at the time. With the current punishment being a three point penalty and up to £2500 fine per tyre it’s certainly no laughing matter.
Re-inventing the Wheel
In what seems like an extremely short period the tyre has become vital to our transportation needs. Prior to the use of rubber we used a very simple design incorporated a band of steel which was tied to the spokes of a wooden wheel. This was both cumbersome and required frequent mending.
Change came in the early 1800’s when products which offered more flexibility and durability were experimented with. At first untreated latex was used and although it showed promise it was adversely affected by the weather. The first actually viable product was a trial by Charles Goodyear who added sulphur to melted latex to vulcanise it.
The tyre continued to be used in this image until the late 1880’s when John Boyd Dunlop “accidentally” invented the pneumatic tyre in an experiment to attempt to make a bicycle ride more comfortable. Although Dunlop’s idea was sound his business acumen was not and he sold the idea and patent for very little money and was never able to see any profit or growth from his invention.
Further Development
The Michelin Brothers then invented and marketed the detachable pneumatic tyre in 1891. From this point experimentation, both negative and positive has continued from that point and the Radial Tyre which is the closest relative to the tyres which are still used today was pioneered in 1947.
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