Hagerty Media commentator Dub6 writes:
My question is about modern radial tires and their “toughness”. I slipped into a icy corner and hit a curb with a preload tire. I was in 60s with a Chevy in a full size when I hit an angle of about 30 degrees. The branded tire developed an extinguishing and the profile separated on the side wall transitions and was thus ruined.
A friend recently met a huge pothole on a nearby motorway, which had worn 75 miles per hour and new radials with steel in a 73 Oldsmobile, and, as we might have been able to find an indication of where he met, let alone harm.
Is the tire technology much better now?
Sajeev Answer:
Oooooooh yes, baby! There is no other way to say it, because modern tire technology is astonishing.
But tire companies are terribly secret over the special sauce (s) with which they produce their products. We may not know the exact reasons, but you can read between the profile patterns (so to speak) to find the answer. So I did it and found two reasons for this impressive increase in performance.
Computer Aided Design (CAD)
I previously mentioned the advantages of CAD in automotive technology during the Malaise era, and it seems that Goodyear Cad has been using in their tires for at least 20 years. Things like Z-rated tires (good for over 149 miles per hour) came out during the mass association of CAD in the 1980s, so I think that the 3D modeling of tire shapes has… well … um …
I can improve the WHO/WHAT/WHERE/WOE or WHO or like 3D modeling the overall performance of a tire. Apart from my journalistic shame, people sell online courses to learn these details. (Participation in such a class is outside the framework of this weekly column.) So this happens -some of them -to the point where we see rudimentary YouTube videos how tires are modeled in a software called CATIA.
Catia has existed since the late 1970s, but it is difficult to know when the tire industry lifted what Catia laid down. However, take a look at the LinkedIn profiles of engineers for large tire companies, and they openly admit to have this software in their toolkit.
How about if I don't enjoy researching 3D modeling for tire manufacturers, how about if we find something similarly complex that was heavily documented in an outstanding YouTube video?
This is a long clock about Frank Gehry's radical Guggenheim museum in Bilbao and as the industry turned it upside down. While architecture and tires are not a parallel industry, both require a complex mating of 3D modeling with the knowledge of engineering/construction required for the creation of a finished product.
The entire video is worth a look because parallels between the crazy curves on buildings designed by Katia (which have become a tourist trap) and more than 50 years of improving the tire design. Adjusting a 3D model before it is necessary for the construction of a finished product, we probably only understand that we can only understand if we hit a 4000 pound supply vehicle with a 20-inch rim into a pothole at 65 miles per hour … how nothing happens.
Synthetic rubber
Then in the last 20-40 (?) Years we have the second remarkable progress in tire technology: polymers, generally known as plastic or synthetic rubber. From superior automotive wax to more powerful automobile speakers, the changeover of natural materials (Carnuba wax, paper loudspeaker) to polymers has revolutionized, as we interact with the automotive.
The steps to the synthesis of the fake rubber are known and optimizing the formula is relevant, but too complicated for this article. The result is a material that produces tires to steroid superheroes for the chassis system of your car. Thanks to the long -term possession of several vehicles, I come first from experience.
I will discuss two examples: a daily driver sitting outside, and a classic that lives in a garage. Both were owned by New and therefore experienced the mature technology available at the time. Neither is old enough to experience the time before radial tires, but surprisingly, this is not a problem if the improvements in tire technology are discussed.
The general Altimax tires in my Ranger 2011 (outdoor) lasted twice as long as the Contitracs from OEM Continental before the dry putrefaction (from UV exposure) demanded their lives. Even at the end of the needy life of this altimax, they never triggered an abdominal muscles or active handling on smooth roads. This is in a strong contrast to the OEM continental, which activated the ABS with shocking frequency in the rain when the top of the brand was new. Even more impressive that the generals lasted more than 2 years longer than the continental before they had replaced. (My daily commuters are short, so I can give a first -hand report about everything except tire clothing.)
These generals cost me a fuel consumption of 1.5-2 MPG, but that was a worthy trade for the additional grip and the longer usable/safe lifespan. The only reason why I replaced these generals (with the same Altimax family) was that they became loud and stiffening (ie UV exposure) until the driving quality was impaired.
The new generals work much better than the weathered, but I am absolutely overwhelmed by the Slow performance rate In the formula for this tire infused by polymer. And this slow performance deterioration is only enlarged if your new, polymers infused tires are on a classic car indoors and are not used for commuting.
My 1988 Mercury Cougar XR-7 was bought by my father with Goodyear's famous high-performance gatorback tire, and he loved handling, but hated the profile clothing. Great tires, but it's a surprising choice for a mercury product.
Our Cougar is now wearing Kumho Performance all-season tires with date kodices for 2018 and until now 2025 has a shocking level of cornering and unshakable assurance in standing water. The only disadvantage that I am on the highway for more street noise. The driving quality is probably deteriorated, but there are no signs of dry putrefaction in the “rubber”.
This is a shocking change in my perception, which a seven -year -old tire can do. Tires that was so old used to be a death of more than half the gas on a dry surface. But I would drive these old kumhos everywhere, provided that it is not on a road trip with hours of driving with hot concrete at high speeds. (This will probably test the vintage polymers for an unsafe fracture.)
But you probably don't save vintage Cougar in your garage or make short trips in a Ford Ranger. I understand it, so don't just listen to this crazy car clerk. Instead, listen to Porsche when you have teamed up with Michelin to make new rubber with the latest polymers and construction techniques for the Carrera GT 2003-06.
I wish we could withdraw the secret polymer formulas and design techniques of the tire manufacturer to learn more, but maybe this is similar to the recipe for cola or pepsi for good reason. But not everything is okay, since it has been proven that polymers in modern tires are a considerable source of microplastics in our ecosystem. I have probably consumed tire microplasty, just by living in an author -centered megality where people like to do burnouts whenever they can. And also because of my love for sushi … but I wander off.
Yes, Dub6, tire technology is really that good now. And modern polymers with 3D models are probably the biggest reasons for this.
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