HAGERTY MEDIA commentator Dub6 writing:
My question concerns modern radial tires and their “tenacity”. Once, I slipped into an icy corner and I hit a sidewalk with a bias tire. Maybe I was going to 5 MPH with a full-top Chevy from the 60s when I struck at an angle of about 30 degrees. The brand tire developed a bulge and the rolling strip separated at the side junction, and was therefore ruined.
A friend recently struck a huge pitch on a nearby highway at 75 MPH in an Oldsmobile from 1973, which wore new steel radials, and try as we can, we do not even find an indication of the place where he struck, not to mention damage.
Is tire technology much better now?
Sajeev Answers:
Oooooooh yeah, baby! There is no other way to say it, because modern tire technology is downright incredible.
But tire companies are terribly secret on the special sauces (s) they use to make their products. We may not know the exact reasons, but you can read between the models of rolling band (so to speak) to find the answer. So I did it and I found two reasons for this impressive performance increase.
Computer assisted design (CAD)
I have previously mentioned The advantages of CAD in automotive engineering during the discomfort era, and it seems that Goodyear used CAD in their tires for at least 20 years. Things like Z tires (good for more than 149 MPH) were released during the mass adoption of CAD in the 1980s, so I think that 3D modeling of tire molds has… Well … uh …
I can’t find the one / what / when / where or how or how 3D modeling has improved the overall performance of a tire. Aside from my journalistic shame, people sell online lessons to learn these details. (Assisting such a class exceeds the framework of this weekly column.) So this happens – somewhere – to the point that we see rudimentary YouTube videos on how tires are modeled in software called Catia.
Catia has existed since the late 1970s, but it is difficult to know when the tire industry has picked up what Catia reduced. But take a look at the LinkedIn profiles of engineers for large tire companies, and they openly admit to this software in their toolbox.
Since I have no joy in looking for 3D modeling for tire manufacturers, how about finding something complex of the same complex that has been strongly documented in an exceptional YouTube video?
This is a long watch on the Radical Guggenheim Museum from Frank Gehry in Bilbao, and how it made industry. Although architecture and tires are not parallel industries, both require a complex 3D modeling couple with engineering / construction knowledge necessary to create a finished product.
The whole video is worth a glance, because there are parallels between the crazy curves on the buildings designed by Catia (which have become a tourist trap) and more than 50 years of improving the design of the tires. The adjustment of a 3D model long before it is necessary to build a finished product probably generated the advances that we can only understand when we slam a utility vehicle of 4000 lb with 20-inch rims in a 65 mph nest … by driving as nothing was happening.
Synthetic rubber
Then, we have the second notable advancement in tire technology in the past 20 to 40 years: polymers, more commonly known as plastics or synthetic rubber. From upper automotive waxes With more efficient car speakers, the passage of natural materials (carnau wax, paper speaker cones) to polymers has revolutionized the way we interact with the automobile.
THE Steps to synthesize the false rubber are well known, and refine the formula is relevant but too complicated for this article. The result is a material that makes tires in superhero infused steroids for the suspension system of your car. I arrive at this conclusion by first -hand experience, thanks to the long -term property of several vehicles.
I will discuss two examples: a daily driver who is outside and a classic who lives in a garage. The two belonged to New, thus known the technology of the tires available at the time. Neither is old enough to live the time before the radial tires, but above all, it is not a problem when discussing the improvements in tire technology.
ALTIMAX general tires on my RANGER 2011 (stored outside) lasted twice as long as the OEM continental content before dry rot (from UV exposure) has won their lives. Even at the end of the usable life of these altimaxs, they never triggered an ABS or active manipulation intervention on smooth roads. This contrasts strongly with OEM continents, which activated ABS with a shocking frequency in the rain during the new brand. Even more impressive, the generals lasted more than 2 years more than the continents before needing replacement. (My daily journeys are short, so I can give a first -hand report of everything except tire wear.)
These generals cost me an additional 1.5-2 MPG in the fuel economy, but it was a worthy job for additional grip and a longer / safe lifespan. The only reason for which I replaced these generals (by the same family of Altimax tires) was because they became noisy and stiffness (that is to say an exposure to UV) to the point of affecting the quality of the driving.
The new generals work much better than those altered, but I am absolutely blown away by the Slow performance degradation rate In the formula infused by the polymer for this tire. And this slow rate of performance degradation is only amplified when your new tires infused by the polymer are on a conventional car stored inside and not used for travel.
My Mercury Cougar XR-7 in 1988 was bought nine by my father with the famous high performance Gatorback tires from Goodyear, and he loved manipulation but hated the wear of the bearing strip. Large tire, but it is a surprising choice for a Mercury product.
Our cougar now has tires of all seasons of Kumho Performance with dates from 2018 and has a shocking level of grip in turns, and unshakable insurance in standing water to date in 2025. The only drawback that I feel is more road noise on the highway. The quality of driving is probably degrading, but there is no signs of dry rot in the “rubber”.
It is a shocking change to my perception of what a seven year old tire can do. Shots that the old one was once death kicks more than half of the half-gaz on a dry surface. But I would drive these old kumhos anywhere, provided that it is not in a road trip involving hours of driving on hot concrete at high speed. (This will probably test vintage polymers at a dangerous break point.)
But you probably don’t store a vintage couguar in your garage, and do not make short trips in a Ford Ranger. I understand, so don’t just listen to this eccentric automatic scribe. Instead, Listen to Porsche when they have teamed up with Michelin To make a new rubber for the Carrera GT 2003-06 with the latest polymers and construction techniques.
I would like us to be able to take off the secret polymer formulas of the tire manufacturer and construction techniques to find out more, but it may be like coke or pepsi recipe for a good reason. But everything is not well, because it has been proven that polymers in modern tires are a considerable source of microplastics in our ecosystem. I have probably consumed tire microplastics simply by living in a megapacity centered on the car where people like to make Burnnets every time they can. And also because of my love of sushi… But I get lost.
Yes DUB6, tire technology is really good now. And modern polymers associated with 3D models are probably the biggest reasons.
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