Steel cord, carcass & steel belt: tire components & basics explained!

The car tire is the only connection to the road. All drive, braking and steering forces are transmitted to the wheels in an area about the size of a postcard. It is therefore particularly important that a car tire works in every situation and meets all requirements on dry, wet or even snowy surfaces. Tire manufacturers today offer true high-tech products for the various demands and changing conditions.

The structure of all tires is basically the same

Basically, tires can be divided into three different product categories. The classification is very roughly in summer, winter and all-season tires. The tires are made of soft, hard or standardized rubber compounds by numerous brand manufacturers for the special weather conditions and have different profiles. However, the structure of today’s tubeless tires is always the same. The skeleton of the tire is the carcass, which consists of different layers of fabric. Polyamides, polyester and steel cord ensure high strength. Above the carcass is a nylon tire belt and a steel belt. The rubber with the tread blocks and grooves vulcanized at about 22 bar is the tread. Anyone looking for new tires can buy cheap summer, winter or all-season tires at Tyreleader.co.uk.

Summer tires have to meet high standards

A summer tire is used in this country from Easter to early October. These tires are designed for road conditions without snow and ice. The rubber compounds and treads are designed in such a way that the tires have low rolling resistance, good grip in the wet and are resistant to high temperatures. In order to meet customer demands, each manufacturer sets different priorities. A summer tire for a high-powered sports car is composed differently than for a small car. Like all tyres, a summer tire must have a minimum tread depth of at least 1.6 mm.

Winter tires are ideal on mud, snow and ice

The counterpart to the summer tire is the winter tire. The tires are mounted at the latest when the temperatures drop to single digits. The profile and the rubber compound of the tires are designed in such a way that driving in mud, snow and ice is relatively safe at an appropriate speed. Manufacturers use softer rubber compounds for winter tires. The numerous tread blocks, grooves and sipes evacuate snow, mud and water, improving traction and driving characteristics on the ground. Winter tires have been mandatory in wintry conditions since 2010.

Task of the profile grooves: keep grip on wet roads!

An all-season tire is the all-rounder for the urban area

A compromise between winter and summer tires is the so-called all-season tire. With this tire, the manufacturers try to combine the properties of a winter and a summer tire. The tires can be driven all year round. The advantage is that you save yourself the conversion and no set of tires has to be stored. However, depending on the weather, these tires have a lower mileage. They also don’t offer the benefits of a proper summer tire and they don’t have the safety of a winter tire either. However, they are ideal for regions with cool summers and mild winters. Even if you drive your vehicle almost exclusively in urban areas, all-weather or all-season tires are a very good and inexpensive solution. We tested a good but inexpensive all-season tire from Fulda some time ago.