There’s only one thing between your vehicle and the road
I get it. Tyres aren’t the most interesting things in the world. They’re a grudge purchase. They’re big rubber donuts.
But those few inches of tyre tread you don’t spend much time thinking about is the only thing keeping you on the road. Tyres are incredibly important to your vehicle’s performance and to you and your passengers’ safety.
Ever since the wheel was invented people have been ‘dressing’ them to improve comfort, longevity and performance. This is where the word ‘tyre’ originates. A contraction of attire, a tire (American spelling) is a ‘dressed’ wheel.
Original ‘dressings’ included wood, then steel – like on trains – and later, simple rubber strips.
Scotsman Robert Thomson patented the first pneumatic tyre (one that can be inflated), although it is fellow Scot, John Dunlop’s cycle tyre, made from 1888, that’s considered by many to be the first practical tyre.
Early automobiles appeared around this time. This incentivised manufacturers to produce better tyres. Many of these pioneering companies – like Dunlop, Goodyear, Pirelli, and Michelin – exist today.
Manufacturers spend millions of dollars and countless hours designing, testing and validating tyres for cars, commercials, motorcycles, trucks, mining equipment, farm machinery and plant, and bicycles.
Tyres are being developed specifically for electric vehicles, along with ones that heal themselves when punctured. Tyres that absorb pollution and produce electricity also exist, in prototype form at least.
I don’t expect you to get excited about tyres. But they are crucial to your mobility. Consider that next time you’re out on the road
Words: VACC CEO, Geoff Gwilym. As featured in the Herald Sun 23 April 2021.
Share your thoughts! E: ceo@vacc.com.au