Interesting tyre facts you may not know
A lot of people might already know the basics about the rubber feet of their vehicles. These basics include the fact that there is a wide range of tyre manufacturers to buy from, the different pattern designs on tyres, the fact that they’re filled with air that will slowly leak through the sidewall/valve and they gradually wear down over time. There are many more interesting facts about tyres that you might not know, and this blog post will discuss a number of them, so you might learn something new from today’s blog.
- Tyres are naturally white
The natural colour of tyres is white, the rubber is actually white in colour, and the first tyres to be designed were originally white. This changed when a compound called carbon black was introduced to the rubber during the manufacturing process. This compound helps increase the tensile strength and durability of tyres as we know them.
- The amount of tyres manufactured per day
There are approximately 6.8 million tyres manufactured each day, and hundreds of millions of tyres are made each year by a wide range of tyre manufacturers worldwide.
- Tyres can be recycled into different products/materials
Tyres can be recycled into more than 110 products which is a fantastic initiative as this decreases the amount of scrap rubber that ends up in landfills. Common uses for recycled tyres include roading, artificial turf and playground mats. The recycling process consists of removing any steel frames, followed by shredding the scrap tyres into small bits of rubber crumbs.
- Tyres have the date they were produced on the sidewall
This is called a dot code – a four digit number, with the first two indicating the week in the year they were manufactured and the last two specifying the year. These are important to look for especially if you’re looking to purchase second-hand tyres or if you’re looking at purchasing a car from a private seller.
- LEGO Group is the world’s largest tyre producer
In 1962, LEGO introduced their tyres with a kit set that surged in popularity. LEGO then went on to produce 318 million mini rubber tyres in 2011 which made them the largest tyre manufacturer in the world.
- Mickey Thompson created his own tyres to try and break the land speed record
With the help of Gene Mcmannis, Mickey Thompson wanted to design a style that would be able to travel at 500mph. There was nothing on the market that was capable of handling these speeds and in 1960, his own tyres helped him reach a world land speed record of 406.6mph.
If you’re looking to find out more information about tyres or if you have any tyre-related questions then head over to our FAQ page.
