How are tyres made?

We all know what tyres are and what they do but, understandably, most of us don’t really know how tyres are made. The process of making a tyre is quite complex and specific, and contains multiple steps in order to make that perfect, grippy tyre.

TYRES - Why are they so important?

There are five key steps in the tyre manufacturing process and all are vital to ensure that the tyres do their job the way they’re supposed to.

Blend

Tyres can contain up to 30 different kinds of rubber, filler and a variety of other elements. Once these ‘ingredients’ are collected, they’re placed inside what is essentially a giant blender where they’re mixed up into a black sticky compound that can be sent to the mill.

Mill

After blending, the rubber compound mix is cooled so it can go to the mill and be cut into strips. These strips will end up forming the basic structure of the tyre. Preparation of other parts of the tyre is also done at this stage.

Build

The name says it all. Once all the different parts are ready, the tyre needs to be put together. This is done starting from the inside and working out. All the different parts such as textile elements, steel belts, tread, ply and beads are put inside a tyre-building machine. Once this stage is over, the tyre should begin to start looking like a tyre. But it’s not quite ready yet.

Cure

The curing process involves vulcanising the tyre with hot moulds in something called a curing press. This compresses all the parts together and is what gives the tyre its final shape, tread pattern and all the letters, numbers and markings on the sidewall.

DO YOU KNOW? - What do all the letters and numbers on tyres mean?

Inspect

The final step in the process involves inspecting the tyre. This requires a trained professional using special machinery to check each tyre for any imperfection before it gets shipped out. It also involves removing a selection of tyres from the batch and putting them through an x-ray machine to make sure there are no internal weaknesses. Some tyre brands will also randomly select tyres to cut open in order to visually inspect them, ensuring they meet their standards.

So now you know that a great deal of work and quality control goes into making each and every tyre. Tyres are extremely important - we couldn’t go anywhere without them - so understanding them a little more can never hurt.