By Jacquie Foote So, in the late 1800s and early…
By Jacquie Foote So, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Geaugans were riding around on bias ply tires and time continued to march on.…
By Jacquie Foote
So, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Geaugans were riding around on bias ply tires and time continued to march on.
The bead wire tire was invented by C.K. Welch in 1891 and marked one of the important breakthroughs in tire history. That same year, the Michelin brothers patented tires that could be mounted or demounted by hand. In 1904, Firestone and the Goodyear Tire Company developed straight-sided wire bead tires. By 1908, almost all the tire manufacturers in America were following their manufacturing tech-niques.
In 1913, British tire companies developed the radial ply method, which broke from the previous bias ply method. However, radial ply tires only came into wide use some 35 years later, in 1948, when the radial ply method was adopted by Michelin. (Radial tires are so named because the ply cords radiate at a 90-degree angle from the wheel rim. The casing is strengthened by a belt of steel fabric that runs around the circumference of the tire.)
The advantages of radial tires include longer tread life, better steering and less rolling resistance, which increases gas mileage. On the other hand, radials have a harder riding quality and are about twice as expensive to make. The latter is why the tires were not immediately popular. There was a need for the development of new, less expensive fabric for the ply cords. Originally, the preferred fabrics were silk or a weave of thick cotton thread. Even though the silk thread was stronger, its high price put it out of the running for tire use. Unfortunately, the cotton was heat-susceptive and the hunt for a more satisfactory fabric was on.
Then, in 1928, Dupont, an American firm, created the basic theory of synthetic reactions, which resulted in rapid developments in tire fabric. Rayon being the first, took 75 percent of the market share within a short time.
1948 saw the invention of nylon fabric. It competed with rayon until the late 1950s when nylon, being less expensive, began to dominate the market. In the 1970s, steel cords took the lead and swept the European and American markets. In 1972, Dupont invented a polyamide fiber called Kevlar. It was five times stronger than steel and had good dimensional stability, however, it was so expensive that its use was limited to tires for select passenger cars. Today, radial tire ply cords are usually made of nylon, rayon or polyester.
As you can see, the development of materials and manufacturing technology led to an increase in automobile performance. As cars have developed and roads were built to accommodate them, car tires have been designed to deliver enhanced speed, control and safety. And new economic, high performance tires will continue to be developed.
For information on the events at the Geauga County Historical Society’s Burton Century Village Museum, call 440-834-1492 or visit www.geauga
historical.org.
