EVOLUTION OF TYRES

The radial-ply tyre was invented in 1913 by Gray and Sloper of the Palmer tyre



Company (UK). In 1948, Michelin started commercial production of the radial tyre


(Incredible X) and patented a radial with a steel belt. In 1951, Pirelli patented a radial tyre


with rayon belts (Cinturato). By late 1950s, Continental, Dunlop and the European


subsidiaries of Goodyear, Firestone and Uniroyal started the production of radial tyres. In


contrast the radial technology became popular in the U.S after a long time since its


introduction in Europe.






There were major hurdles to the introduction of radial tyre technology in existing


bias-ply manufacturing locations. Labor required was more. Substantial changes in


production technology were needed. New machinery for tyre building, wire and fabric


bias cutting and tyre curing were needed. Another major implication was the increased


cost of raw materials required for the radial tyre. In short, radial tyre manufacture was a


totally different technology and as such could not be made on existing bias-ply tyre


machinery.






Nowadays the requirements spearheading development in tyres is energy saving


and noise reduction. Energy saving is achieved by reducing the tyre’s rolling resistance


(by incorporating silica in the tyre tread). On the other hand noise reduction measures


have lead to developments in tyre tread design.