To know what you’re getting, you first have to understand what you’re looking at. Unfortunately, tire shopping can often feel like revisiting your high school calculus textbook, but this time it’s in a foreign language.
It’s difficult to care about “bead filler” and “radial cord body” if you’ve never even heard of the names of different parts of a tire. That’s why we’re here with a little tire education to help you understand the parts of a tire you actually need to know.
Tire Parts Diagram
Related Post: What Is Tire Tread Depth and How to Check It?
The Parts of a Tire
Tires are made up of many different parts:
#1. Beads
We’ll start from the inside out! Tire beads hold the tire to the rim, or the outer edge of the wheel. They’re made of copper, brass, or bronze-plated high-tensile steel wires wound into a rubber band. Tire beads prevent the tire from sliding out of place when the wheel rolls.
#2. Bead Filler
Bead filler is a rubber compound inside the tire’s beads. It provides stability to the lower sidewall and bead area. The density and stiffness of a tire’s bead filler help to determine a tire’s performance characteristics.
#3. Radial Cord Body
The cord body gives the tire strength and transmits cornering forces from the tread to the wheel. Rubber-coated fabric cord, called body plies, make up the cord body.
Body plies can be made of polyester, rayon, or nylon. Polyester is most commonly used.
#4. Inner Liner
The inner liner (in the center of the tire diagram) is a rubber compound bonded to the inside of the cord body that retains air under pressure. It has no cord reinforcement, and it functions like an inner tube.
Note, however, that modern car tires no longer have inner tubes inside them. A tire’s beads, bead filler, and inner liner work together to hold air within the tire walls.
#5. Belt Plies
Belt piles are two or more strong layers of cord just under the tread area of the tire. The primary function of belt plies is to provide strength and stability to the tire tread.
They play a role in improving tire mileage, impact resistance, and traction. Steel is the most common cord material used in belt plies.
#6. Sidewall
The area of a tire from the bead to the tread—the side of the tire—is called the sidewall. It forms a protective covering for the cord body. Information about the tire is printed on the sidewall.
This information includes the tire size, load index, and speed rating. Sidewall rubber compounds are designed to resist damage from ozone, cuts, and snags.
#7. Tread
The tread is the portion of the tire that comes in contact with the road surface. The tread’s compound and its design have to balance wear, traction, handling, fuel economy, resistance, and other characteristics of the tire. Tread designs vary greatly!
FAQs.
What’s the metal part of the tire called?
The metal component inside a tire is referred to as a “tire bead,” which helps secure the tire to the wheel rim.
What are the little things on tires called?
The real name for these hairs all sound mildly insulting. They are called ‘vent spews’, a weird name for something extremely common. Other names include sprue nubs, tyre nibs, gate marks or nippers. The hairs actually play a vital role in the tyre manufacturing process.
What’s the rubber part of a tire called?
The rubber part of a tire is called the “tread.” The tread is the outermost part of the tire that makes contact with the road surface.
How many components are in a tire?
An inner tube is a rubber tube containing air that is inside a car tire or a bicycle tire. French Translation of. ‘inner tube’ ‘cryosleep’ ‘inner tube’
What is the air thing on a tire called?
A valve stem is a basic feature of your wheel/rim that keeps your tires inflated, allowing you to add or remove air as needed.