Tires: How they are made
Most of us know that a tire is made of rubber and must be durable. The tire allows a vehicle to get its driver from point A to point B. It must provide a comfortable and
safe ride. However, a tire is much more complex than this; it is far more than a rubber object. A tire's innerliner, body plies, bead assembly, belts, sidewalls, and treads, are all made up of fiber, textile, and steel cords. As you can see, the basic rubber tire we are familiar with, requires the manufacturers to have qualified people, equipment, and the latest and greatest technology!
[caption id="attachment_986" align="alignnone" width="300"]
The many components of a tire![/caption]
This Week at V&F:
One of our customers brought in their
2011 Nissan Rogue complaining of a vibration/rattle in the front end of her vehicle when
driving 30 MPH and above. Our technician started his inspection by taking the vehicle for a test drive. During his test drive, he felt a bad shake coming from the
rear of the vehicle while driving only 5-10 MPH. The technician was never able to increase his speed to 30 MPH due to the fact he felt it was unsafe.
When he returned to the shop, he begin his visual inspection. He found that the left rear tire's cord was showing, had a severe shifted band (components of the belt plies), and was down to 3/32 tread depth.
Tires have to carry heavy loads, because of this, there are steel and fabric cords used in order to reinforce the rubber compound and provide strength. In this case, the customer's tire had worn through the tread and belt plies... making the cord visible!
See photo below:
[caption id="attachment_985" align="alignnone" width="272"]
This tire has a shifted band. Causing vibration when driving.[/caption]
Tip of the week:
As you can see from the section above, the customer originally brought her car in due to a vibration coming front the
FRONT of the vehicle. The cause however, ended up being from a
REAR tire. We often makes assumptions as to where we think vibrations or shakes are coming from. As an ordinary motorist, is very difficult to pinpoint where the root cause of the vibration is. However, technicians have experience detecting any out of the ordinary behaviors with vehicles due to their experience and countless test drives. If you feel a vibration/shake with your vehicle, you can narrow down the location of the cause:
- If you feel a vibration in the steering wheel or by your feet; the cause is coming from the front of the vehicle
- If you feel a vibration in your seat; the cause is coming from the rear of the vehicle
Visit this link to learn more about the Tire Services we offer here at V&F Auto: Click Here
#tires #safety #autorepair
