When were solid rubber tires invented?

Tires have come a long, long way even since the radial tires of the 1990s. As automobile design has matured and evolved, tires have improved greatly over the decades as well…they last longer, ride smoother, are quieter, handle better and generally continue to improve. Here’s a brief timeline of major innovations in tire design.

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The first rubber tires were developed in the mid-19th century. These solid rubber strips were fitted to wagon or coach wheels to soften the bone-rattling ride a little. Air-filled tires were patented as early as 1845, but these early pneumatic tires failed easily and fell into disuse.

• • 1888: Belfast veterinary surgeon John Boyd Dunlop patented the pneumatic tire for bicycles, after watching his young son struggling to ride a tricycle on cobblestones
  • 1895: Andre and Edouard Michelin used a set of pneumatic tires for the car in the Paris-Bordeaux road race
  • 1898: Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company – named after George Goodyear, the inventor of the vulcanizing process for rubber – opens its doors.
  • 1900: Firestone Tire & Rubber Company founded
  • 1905: Experimentation with tread patterns for tire surfaces
  • 1931: Synthetic rubber is successfully developed by DuPont, revolutionizing tire manufacturing processes.
  • 1941: American automobile tire manufacturing halts as all production is shifted to WWII war effort
  • 1900-1948: Tires are manufactured using overlapping layers of fabric cord. These layers ran at alternating 55 degree angles to the wheel rim; along with a rubber tread area, they served to protect the inner tube and cushion the ride.
  • 1948: Michelin introduces the first radial tires in Europe, with the plies at a 90 degree angle from the wheel rim and a layer of steel belts at the circumference, under the tread. Radials soon proved to have a longer tread life, better handling and less rolling resistance, but were also considerably more expensive to make.
  • 1965: BF Goodrich introduces the Silvertown Radial 900…which doesn’t catch on with consumers
  • 1967: Goodyear’s answer to radial tires is the bias-belted Custom Superwide Polyglas, with a fiberglass belt added to conventional bias-ply construction
  • 1973: The Arab oil embargo and hike in gas prices suddenly made a better case for the improved fuel economy that came with radial tires. In addition, sales of economical foreign cars spiked, and these imported cars came with radial tires. Michelin and Bridgestone started to make major inroads in the American tire market with their radials.
  • 1977: Firestone introduces the Firestone 500, a notorious failure; they were forced to recall 9 million tires, laying off 25,000 workers and nearly bankrupting the company.
  • 1977: Goodyear introduces their own radial design
  • 1983: All new American cars come standard with radial tires
  • 2000s: Manufacturers all introduce low-rolling-resistance tires, with rubber materials and tread compounds that are enhanced to reduce friction and improve gas mileage

As tire technology evolved, automotive suspensions and steering had to change as well; cars that were designed for the bias-ply tires of the 1940s and 50s generally do not perform well with modern radial tires. Today, tire technology continues to advance with new designs of all-terrain, touring, winter and performance tires, all of which represent big improvements over previous generations of tires from a decade or two ago.

How are the tires on your car holding up? Got plenty of tread? Time for a tire rotation? Give us a call at The Tire Terminal in Mississauga, ON and set up an appointment!

Solid rubber tires were first developed in the mid-19th century. These early tires were simply strips of rubber that provided some cushioning and a quieter ride compared to bare metal wheels. They were primarily used on wagons and early motor vehicles before the advent of pneumatic tires.

Solid rubber tires, often referred to as "solid tires," have made a resurgence in specific applications where durability and puncture resistance are more critical than a smooth ride. Forklifts, industrial machinery, and certain military vehicles often employ solid tires due to their robust nature.

The development of pneumatic tires in the late 19th and early 20th centuries eventually overshadowed solid rubber tires for most consumer vehicles. However, in environments where vehicles are exposed to sharp objects or rugged terrain, solid rubber tires remain valuable.

For those interested in learning more about the evolution and applications of solid rubber tires, you may want to visit our website.

History of Tires

The wheel was invented around 3500 BC, becoming one of man’s greatest innovations. In its earliest form, the wheel was a curved piece of wood. Leather was eventually added to make the ride softer. Over time, the leather was replaced by rubber. The original rubber tire was solid rubber, without air, and was used by slow-speed vehicles.

Benz invented the first gasoline car in 1888, fitted with metal tires covered with air-filled rubber. This was the beginning of the pneumatic tire, which was first seen by the public in a Paris-Bordeaux-Paris automobile race. The tread tire was introduced in 1905. The tread was designed to protect the tire carcass from direct contact with the road. It also improved the tire friction coefficient.

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The 1920s saw the development of tire materials. The DuPont Company industrialized synthetic rubber in 1931, allowing the increase in tire production, which used to be dependent on natural rubber. Synthetic rubber ushered in a turning point in tire production. The balloon tire, a low-pressure tire that had a greater contact area with the road surface, was introduced in 1923.

Tubeless tires were developed in 1947 in an attempt to relieve the high cost of oil prices. Tubeless tires contributed to the reduction of the vehicle’s weight, allowing for a significant savings in fuel costs.
The first winter tires or snow tires were introduced in Finland in 1934 when Nokian made tire trucks that were designed for handling stormy weather.

The radial tire was invented in the 1950s. It is a type of tire with the cords and carcass plies arranged vertically to the driving direction. The radial tires turned out to have better fuel economy compared to other tires. They provided uniform contact of the tread with the road surface. This offered good driving stability, even at high speeds.

The run-flat tire was developed in 1979. It allowed vehicles to continue driving up to 50 miles at 50 mph with a punctured tire. Several types of tires were designed later, including eco-friendly tires as well as the Ultra High Performance tire. UHP tires have diameters greater than 16 inches and allow for superior cornering, braking, and drivability. Currently, tire companies are working on a non-pneumatic tire created from a uni-material that can be reused or recycled.

If you’re in the market for new tires, check out a Utah tire store near you. Ask about the best type of tire for your vehicle, including tires for Utah winters. Your local dealer can point you to the latest in winter tires.

Want to know more about the tires your cars currently have? You can find it with this infographic. It discusses tires from the beginning of time, its transformation in the 19th century up to these days. The purpose is still the same but the changes show how people innovate it to ensure its maximum usage and performance.

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