NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Pneumatic tires

A tire (U.S. spelling) or tyre (UK spelling) is a roughly toroidal piece of material placed on the circumference of a wheel, either for the purpose of cushioning or to protect the wheel from wear and tear. Firestone Tire Source: [1]: Copyright Notice For All Information: Unless otherwise indicated, this information has been authored by an employee or employees of the University of California, operator of the Los Alamos National Laboratory under Contract No. ... Firestone Tire Source: [1]: Copyright Notice For All Information: Unless otherwise indicated, this information has been authored by an employee or employees of the University of California, operator of the Los Alamos National Laboratory under Contract No. ... American English (AmE) is the dialect of the English language used mostly in the United States of America. ... British English (BrE) is a term used to differentiate the form of the English language used in the United Kingdom from other forms of the English language used elsewhere. ... A torus. ... A driving wheel on a steam locomotive. ... Wear and tear is a term for damage that naturally and inevitably occurs due to normal use or aging. ...

1 History
2 Etymology
3 Nomenclature
4 Wagon tires
5 Pneumatic tires
6 Automobile tires
7 Train tires
8 See also
9 Some tire manufacturing companies include:
10 Other external links

History

A tire repair shop in Vologda, Russia. The text painted says "Tire mounting" (Shinomontazh)

For most of history wheels had very little in the way of shock absorption and journeys were very bumpy and uncomfortable. The modern tire came about in stages in the 19th century. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3264x2448, 2523 KB)Photo of a tyre repair shop in Vologda, Russia, taken on August 21 2005 by Robert Broadie. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3264x2448, 2523 KB)Photo of a tyre repair shop in Vologda, Russia, taken on August 21 2005 by Robert Broadie. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1844, Charles Goodyear invented vulcanization, the process that would later be used to produce cured rubber tires. 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Charles Goodyear, as illustrated in an 1891 Scientific American article Charles Goodyear (December 29, 1800 - July 1, 1860) is popularly renowned as the inventor of vulcanized rubber. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

John Boyd Dunlop, a Scottish veterinary surgeon working in Belfast, Ireland, is widely recognized as the father of the modern tire, although he was not the first to come up with the idea. In 1845 the first pneumatic (inflatable) tire was patented by fellow Scotsman, the engineer Robert William Thomson as the Aerial Wheel. This invention consisted of a canvas inner tube surrounded by a leather outer tire. The tire gave a good ride, but there were so many manufacturing and fitting problems that the idea had to be abandoned. John Dunlop re-invented the tire for his ten year old son's tricycle in 1887 and was awarded a patent for his tire in 1888 (rescinded 1890). Dunlop's tire had a modified leather hosepipe as an inner tube and rubber treads. It wasn't long before rubber inner tubes were invented. John Boyd Dunlop (February 5, 1840 - October 23, 1921) was a Scottish inventor who founded the rubber company that bears his name. ... Royal motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within the UK Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 kmÂ² 1. ... In American and Canadian English, a veterinarian (from Latin veterinae, draught animals) is an animal doctor, a practitioner of veterinary medicine. ... Belfast (BÃ©al Feirste in Irish) is a city in the United Kingdom. ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Pneumatics, from the Greek πνευματικός (pneumatikos, coming from the wind) is the use of pressurized air in science and technology. ... A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a government to an inventor or applicant for a limited amount of time (normally maximum 20 years from the filing date, depending on extension). ... Robert William Thomson (1822-1873) was a Scottish inventor. ... Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, and other functions where sturdiness is required. ... Modern leather-working tools Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides, pelts and skins of animals, primarily cows. ... A tricycle (often abbreviated to trike) is a three-wheeled vehicle. ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar). ... 1888 is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... 1890 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Because neither bicycles nor automobiles had been invented when Thomson produced his tire, that tire was only applied to horse drawn carriages. By Dunlop's time, the bicycle had been fully developed (see Rover) and it proved a far more suitable application for pneumatic tires. 1936 Rover 10 1962 Rover 80 Rover 2000 1995 Rover 200 Rover (the MG Rover Group) is a manufacturer of automobiles in the United Kingdom, based at the famous Longbridge plant in Birmingham. ...

Dunlop partnered with William Harvey du Cros to form a company which later became the Dunlop Rubber Company to produce his invention. The invention quickly caught on for bicycles and was later adapted for use on cars. Dunlop's company has since merged with the Bridgestone company, after a brief partnership with Pirelli. People whose family name is or was Dunlop include James Dunlop (1793-1848), Scottish-Australian astronomer John Boyd Dunlop, Scottish inventor and founder of the Dunlop rubber company John Thomas Dunlop, United States administrator Sir Edward Weary Dunlop, Australian war hero Douglas Morton Dunlop, Scottish-American professor of history and... This mountain bicycle features oversized tires, a sturdy frame, front shock absorbers, and handlebars oriented perpendicular to the bikes axis Bicycle may also refer to Bicycle Playing Cards. ... A small variety of cars, the most popular kind of automobile. ... Bridgestone Corporation (æ ªå¼ä¼šç¤¾ãƒ–ãƒªãƒ‚ã‚¹ãƒˆãƒ³) was Japanese company founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (çŸ³æ©‹ æ£äºŒéƒŽ Ishibashi ShÅjirÅ) in the city of Kurume, Japan. ... Pirelli Logo Pirelli & C. SpA is an important industrial company based in Milan, Italy. ...

The radial tire was invented by Michelin, a French company, in 1946, but did not see wide use in the United States, the largest market at that time, until the 1970s. This type of tire uses parallel carcass plies for the sidewalls and crossed belts for the crown of the tire. All modern car tires are now radial. In 2005, Michelin was reported to be attempting to develop a tire and wheel combination, the Tweel, which does not use air. A radial tire (more properly, a radial-ply tire) is a particular design of automotive tire (in British English, tyre). ... Michelin (full name: Compagnie GÃ©nÃ©rale des Ã‰tablissements Michelin) (Euronext: ML) based in Clermont-Ferrand, France in the Auvergne rÃ©gion of France, is primarily a tyre manufacturer. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Promotional photo of the Tweel The Tweel in action The Tweel (a portmanteau of tire and wheel) is a prototype tire designed by Michelin. ...

External link: Robert William Thomson

Etymology

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, quoted in Fowler's Modern English Usage, the word is a shortening of attire, and the British spelling tyre is a recent divergence from historical tradition. Fowler also notes that the altered spelling tyre originally met with resistance from conservative British institutions such as The Times newspaper. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a comprehensive dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP). ... A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, often referred to simply as Fowlers Modern English Usage, or Fowler, is a style guide to British English usage. ... The Times is a national newspaper published daily in the United Kingdom. ...

Nomenclature

The outer perimeter of the tire, often called the crown, has various designs of jagged shaped grooves in it. These grooves are especially useful during weather with rain (or snow). The water from the rain would be compressed into the grooves by the vehicle's weight, providing better traction in the tire to road contact. Without such grooves, a layer or film of water would form between the wet roads and the tire surface, which would cause hydroplaning, substantially reducing traction. Traction is especially important for good braking. The depth of these grooves essentially constitutes the tread depth at any time during the lifetime of the car. When the tread on the outer perimeter of the tire inevitably wears away from use, reducing the tread depth, the tire should be replaced. The sidewalls are the sections of the tire which are between the crown and the inner circular edges of the tire contacting the rim. To avoid tearing at these inner edges, particularly when the tire is being mounted, there are a number of concentric steel wires buried inside the rubber at both inner edges of the tire. The perimeter is the distance around a given two-dimensional object. ... Rain falling For other uses see Rain (disambiguation). ... The snow in Utah is world famous. ... Hydroplaning (sometimes aquaplaning) in a road vehicle is an effect similar to planing in a boat. ... For the type of ferns known as brakes, see brake (fern). ... Look up depth in Wiktionary, the free dictionary In classical physics, depth is a distance measured vertically from top to bottom (height) or horizontally from outside to inside (thickness). ... The tread of a tire refers to the pattern visible on its circumference that makes contact with the road. ...

Some air-filled tires, especially those used with spoked wheels such as on bicycles, or on vehicles travelling on rough roads, have an inner tube; this was also formerly the case of automobile tires. This is a fully sealed rubber tube with a valve to control flow of air in and out. Others, including modern radial tires, use a seal between the metal wheel and the tire to maintain the internal air pressure (tubeless tire). This method, however, tends to fail desperately if the vehicle is used on rough roads (for example Kenyan roads) as a small bend on the rim (metal wheel) will result in deflation. The inner tubes are usually made of halobutyl rubber, because of its suitable mechanical properties and excellent impermeability for air. This mountain bicycle features oversized tires, a sturdy frame, front shock absorbers, and handlebars oriented perpendicular to the bikes axis Bicycle may also refer to Bicycle Playing Cards. ... Butyl rubber is a synthetic rubber, a random copolymer of about 98% of isobutylene with about 2% of isoprene. ...

Pneumatic tires generally have reinforcing threads in them; based on the orientation of the threads, they are classified as bias-ply/cross ply or radial. Tires with radial yarns (known as radial tires) are standard for almost all modern automobiles. The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... A radial tire (more properly, a radial-ply tire) is a particular design of automotive tire (in British English, tyre). ... A small variety of cars, the most popular kind of automobile. ...

Wagon tires

The earliest tires were hoops of metal placed around wagon wheels. The tire was heated in a forge, placed on the wheel and quenched, causing the metal to shrink, which drew the rim against the spokes and provided stiffness to the wheel. This work was done by a wheelwright, a craftsman who specialized in making wagon wheels. A blacksmiths forge The forge or smithy is the workplace of a smith or a blacksmith. ... A spoke is one of some number of rods radiating from the center of a wheel (the hub where the axle connects), connecting the hub with the round traction surface. ... Wheelwright - a person that repairs and aligns defective wheels of automotive vehicles, such as automobiles, buses, and trucks. ...

Pneumatic tires

Air-filled tires are known as pneumatic tires, and these are the type in almost universal use today. Pneumatic tires are made of a flexible elastomer material such as rubber with reinforcing threads/wires inside the elastomer material. The air compresses as the wheel goes over a bump and acts as a shock absorber. Tires are inflated through a Schrader valve. Attempts have been made to make various types of solid tire but none has so far met with much success. The "steering feel" of such tires is different from that of pneumatic tires, as their solidity does not allow the amount of torsion that exists in the carcass of a pneumatic tire under steering forces, and the resultant sensory feedback through the steering apparatus. The term elastomer is often used interchangeably with the term rubber, and is preferred when referring to vulcanisates. ... Rubber is an elastic hydrocarbon polymer which occurs as a milky emulsion (known as latex) in the sap of a number of plants but can also be produced synthetically. ... A shock absorber in United States parlance (sometimes damper in British use) is a mechanical device designed to smooth out or damp a sudden shock impulse and dissipate kinetic energy. ... A schrader valve on a bicycle tire. ...

The common motor vehicle tire is mounted around a steel rim at service stations or repair shops for vehicles using a special tire mounting apparatus while the wheel is off the vehicle. After mounting, the tire is inflated (pressurized) with air through the valve stem to manufacturer's specified pressure, which is more than atmospheric pressure. The rim with the tire mounted onto it comprises the removable wheel, which is then attached to the vehicle through a number of holes in the rim using lug nuts. Because tires are often not made with perfectly even mass all around the tire, a special tire-balancing apparatus at a repair shop spins the wheel with the tire to determine where small weights should be attached to the outer edge of the rim to balance out the wheel. Such tire balancing with these kind of weights avoids vibration when the vehicle is driven at higher speeds. The old steel cable of a colliery winding tower Steel is a metal alloy whose major component is iron, with carbon being the primary alloying material. ... Coins The rim of a coin is the sharp circular (or other shaped) edge which surrounds the coin design. ... Service station is a term with different meanings in different parts of the world: In the United States and Canada, it refers to a filling station that also offers such services as oil change and mechanical repairs to automobiles. ... Vehicles are non-living means of transportation. ... Three types of bicycle tire valve stems are in common use, Dunlop (also known as Woods), Schrader and Presta. ... Pressure (symbol: p) is the force per unit area acting on a surface in a direction perpendicular to that surface. ... diurnal (daily) rhythm of air pressure in northern Germany (black curve is air pressure) Atmospheric pressure is the pressure above any area in the Earths atmosphere caused by the weight of air. ... A driving wheel on a steam locomotive. ... Mass is a property of physical objects that, roughly speaking, measures the amount of matter they contain. ... Weights are exercise equipment used for strength and muscle training. ... For other meanings of the word balance, see: propaganda equilibrium (disambiguation page) sense of balance weighing scale analytical balance (a precise weighing scale) balance beam in gymnastics Balance (song) homeostasis, the biological balance within a human or other animals body When the weights on the plates of this balance... See Oscillator (disambiguation) for particular types of oscillation and oscillators. ...

With the introduction of radial tires, however, it was found that some vibrations could not be cured by adding balance weights. This was because the structure and manufacture of a radial tire lends itself to the problems of variation in stiffnes around the tyre. These variations are measured as Radial Force Variation and Lateral Force Variation, which are measured on a Force Variation Machine at the end of the manufaturing process. Tires outside the specified limits for RFV and LFV are rejected. This is known in general throughout the industry as Tyre Uniformity. Introduction Tyre vibrations can cause annoyance when driving a car. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ...

Automobile tires

Automobile tires have numerous rating systems. See tire code. Automobile tires are described by an alphanumeric code which is generally molded into the side-wall of the tire. ...

New automotive tires now also have ratings for traction, treadwear, and temperature resistance (collectively known as UTQG ratings); as well as speed and load ratings.

Some tread designs are unidirectional and the tire has a rotation direction indicated by an arrow showing which way the tire should rotate when the vehicle is moving forwards. It is important not to put a 'clockwise' tire on the left hand side of the car or a 'counter-clockwise' tire on the right side. Tire rotation moves tires between the different wheels of the vehicle as front and back axles carry different loads and thus the tires wear differently. Tire rotation or rotating tires is the practice of moving automobile tires from one wheel to another to ensure even tire wear. ... An axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. ...

Tire tread gauges are small rulers designed to be inserted into tire treads to measure the remaining tread depth. Local legislation may specify minimum tread depths, typically between 1/8" (3.2 mm) and 1/32" (0.8 mm). Wearbars may be designed into the tire tread to indicate when it is time to replace the tire. Essentially, part of the tire tread is shallower than the rest and will show when the tire is worn down to that level.

There is currently an attempt to reinforce the tire with nanomaterial. This is likely to increase the tire life, but may turn out to be a bad idea if the worn out part of nanocarbon deposited on the roads is washed off and ends up in the food chain. A mite next to a gear chain produced using nanotechnology Nanotechnology as a collective term refers to technological developments on the nanometer scale, usually 0. ... Food chains and food webs or food networks describe the feeding relationships between species in a biotic community. ...

Types of automobile tires

Performance tires
- Performance tires tend to be designed for use at higher speeds. They often have a softer rubber compound for improved traction, especially on high speed cornering. The trade off of this softer rubber is a lower treadwear rating.
- Performance tires are often called summer tires, because they sacrifice wet weather handling, by having shallower water channels, and tire life from softer rubber compounds, for dry weather performance. The ultimate variant of performance tires has no tread pattern at all and is called slick tire.
Winter tires
- Winter tires are designed to provide improved performance under winter conditions compared to tires made for use in summer. The rubber compound used in the tread of the tire is usually softer than that used in tires for summer conditions, so providing better grip on ice and snow. Winter tires often have fine grooves and siping in the tread patterns that are designed to grip any unevenness on ice. Winter tires are usually removed for storage in the spring, because the rubber compound becomes too soft in warm weather resulting in a reduced tire life.
- Winter tires are marked M+S or MS (Mud & Snow), although there is no valid criterion based on testing for marking a tire M+S.
- Many winter tires are designed to be studded for additional traction on icy roads. The studs also roughen the ice, so providing better friction between the ice and the soft rubber in winter tires. Use of studs is regulated in most countries, and even prohibited in some countries due to the increased road wear caused by studs.
All-season tires
- These are an attempt to make a tire that will be a compromise between a tire developed for use on dry and wet roads during summer, and a tire developed for use under winter conditions, when there is snow and ice on the road. However, the type of rubber and the tread pattern best suited for use under summer conditions cannot, for technical reasons, give good performance on snow and ice. The all-season tire is therefore a poor compromise, and is neither a good summer tire, nor a good winter tire.
- All-Season tires are marked M+S, i.e. the same as winter tires. However, due to the compromise with performance during summer, winter performance is usually not comparable with a winter tire.
Run flat tires
All-terrain tires
- All-terrain tires are typically used on SUVs and light trucks. These tires often have stiffer sidewalls for greater resistance against puncture when traveling off-road, the tread pattern offers wider spacing than all-season tires to evacuate mud from the tread.
- Within the all-terrain category, many of the tires available are designed primarily for on-road use, particularly all-terrain tires that are originally sold with the vehicle.
Mud tires
- Mud terrain tires are characterized by large, chunky tread patterns designed to bite into muddy surfaces and provide grip. The large open design also allows mud to clear more quickly from between the lugs.
- Mud terrain tires also tend to be wider than other tires, to spread the weight of the vehicle over a greater contact patch to prevent the vehicle from sinking too deep into the mud.
- Depending on the composition and tread pattern, many mud terrain tires are not well suited to on-road use. They can be noisy at highway speeds, and due to the open tread design, they have less of a contact area with the road, limiting traction. The large lugs on mud tires tend to tear and chip on roads, because they are made from hard rubber compounds that do not bend easily.

The Treadwear Grade of a tire is the numeric portion of the Uniform Tire Quality Grade Standards (UTQG) that are printed on the sidewall of a tire. ... A wheel with a slick tire. ... A pneumatic vehicle tire that is designed to resist the effects of deflation and to enable the vehicle to continue to be driven - albeit at reduced speeds and for limited distances. ... All-terrain tyre An All-terrain tyre is a type of automotive tyre most commonly found on Four wheel drive vehicles. ... A sport utility vehicle (SUV) or off-roader is a vehicle that combines the load-hauling and passenger-carrying capacity of a large station wagon or minivan with features designed for off-road driving. ... Light truck is a vehicle classification generally used by the United States government for regulating fuel economy and safety. ... Contact patch is the name applied to the area of a vehicles tire that is in contact with the road surface. ...

Maintenance of automobile tires

Friction from moving contact with the road causes the tread on the outer perimeter of the tire to eventually wear away. When the tire tread becomes too shallow, the tire is worn out and should be replaced. The same tire rims can usually be used throughout the lifetime of the car. Uneven or accelerated tire wear can be caused by bad wheel alignment. More wear on a tire facing the outside or the inside of a car is often a sign of bad wheel alignment. When the tread is worn away completely and especially when the wear on the outer rubber exposes the reinforcing threads inside them, the tire is said to be bald. A bald tire should be replaced as soon as possible. Sometimes tires with worn tread are recapped, i. e. a new layer of rubber with grooves is bonded onto the outer perimeter of a worn tire. Because this bonding may occasionally come loose on the tire, new tires are superior to recapped tires. Friction is the force that opposes the relative motion or tendency of such motion of two surfaces in contact. ... An alignment refers to adjustment of an object in relation with other objects. ...

Sometimes a pneumatic tire gets a hole or a leak through which the air inside leaks out resulting in a flat tire, a condition which must be fixed before the car can be driven further safely. A leak may be slow in a few cases, such as is sometimes observed when the seal between the rim and tire edge is not perfect. Many leaks in flat tires, though, are caused by nails, screws, caltrops, broken glass or other sharp objects puncturing the rubber tire wall. If the hole is small and not elongated, the tire can often be repaired by using plugs from a tire repair kit. A leak in a tire can often be found by submerging the tire, pressurized with air, under water to see where air bubbles come out. If submerging a tire underwater is not possible, the leak can be searched for by covering the pressurized tire surface with a soapy solution to see where leaking air forms soap bubbles. A puncturing object, such as a nail or a screw, can be pulled out using pliers. Then a plug coated with a semi-liquid form of rubber can be inserted into the hole with a special tool. The rubber covering the plug solidifies rather quickly, after which the protruding ends of the plug can be cut off, the tire can be refilled with air to the appropriate pressure, and the repaired wheel replaced on the vehicle. Patches covering a hole have been glued or rubber-cemented to the interior surface of a tire also, particularly if a hole is too elongated for a simple plug. Tire repair with such patches requires the tire to be taken off the rim and then remounted after the patch is applied. Sometimes a more serious rupture of the tire material occurs resulting in a blowout. The damaged tire typically must be replaced after that. A leaking valve stem may occasionally be the cause of a leak, necessitating valve stem replacement. This replacement means the tire will have to be taken off the rim and remounted after the valve replacement. Occasionally, other types of damage require replacement of a tire. Leakage is the diffusion of energy or matter out of a container. ... Caltrop with hollow spikes to puncture self-sealing rubber tires Contemporary caltrop improvised from large nails welded together. ... Needle nose pliers Pliers are hand tools primarily for gripping that use leverage There are numerous different jaw configurations to grip, turn, pull, or crimp a variety of things. ...

Vehicles typically carry a spare tire, already mounted on a rim, to be used in case a flat tire or blowout occurs. These days, most spare tires for cars are smaller than normal tires (to save on trunk space, gas mileage, and cost) and should not be driven very far before replacement with a full-size tire. Years ago, full-size or conventional spare tires were used. A few modern vehicle models may use conventional spare tires also. Jacks and tire irons for emergency replacement of a flat tire with a spare tire are included when buying a new car. Not included, but sometimes available separately, are hand or foot pumps for filling a tire with air by the vehicle owner. Cans of pressurized "gas" can sometimes be bought separately for convenient emergency refill of a tire. Look up Jack and jack in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A tire iron is a specialized tool used in changing tires. ...

Alternatively, many modern cars and trucks are equipped with run flat tires that may be driven with a puncture - or perhaps are even self-repairing for moderate sized holes. A pneumatic vehicle tire that is designed to resist the effects of deflation and to enable the vehicle to continue to be driven - albeit at reduced speeds and for limited distances. ...

Front tires, especially on front wheel drive vehicles, have a tendency to wear out more quickly than rear tires. Routine maintenance including tire rotation, exchanging the front and rear tires with each other, is often done periodically to even out tire wear. There are simple hand-held tire-pressure gauges which can be temporarily attached to the valve stem to check a tire's interior air pressure. Because of slow leaks or changes in weather or other conditions, tire pressure may occasionally have to be adjusted, usually by refilling through the valve stem with some pressurized air which is often available at service stations. Tire rotation or rotating tires is the practice of moving automobile tires from one wheel to another to ensure even tire wear. ... A tire pressure gauge is used to measure the pressure of tires on a vehicle. ...

Tire Manufacturing

See: Tire manufacturing. Tire Manufacturing is a complex process, because the tire structure consists of several discrete components. ...

Train tires

Steel tire on a steam locomotive's driving wheel is heated with gas flames to expand and loosen it so it may be removed and replaced.

The steel wheels of trains are fitted with tires which are themselves usually made of steel. Download high resolution version (904x685, 95 KB)A railroad locomotives steel tire is heated with gas flames to expand and loosen it, so it may be removed. ... Download high resolution version (904x685, 95 KB)A railroad locomotives steel tire is heated with gas flames to expand and loosen it, so it may be removed. ... Great Western Railway No. ... This article is about trains in rail transport. ...

(Some trains, mostly certain types of metros and people movers, have rubber tires, including some lines of the Paris Métro, the Mexico City Metro, the Caracas Metro and the Montreal Metro). Metro is: a general term, synonymous with rapid transit, subway or underground, for an urban underground rail public transit system (see list of rapid transit systems); any of several specific public transport systems, including: Bi-State Development Agency in Missouri and Illinois, d/b/a Metro since 2003 Buffalo Metro... A people mover is a fully-automated light rail or tram system. ... The Paris MÃ©tro is the metro (underground) system in Paris, France. ... A Mexico City metro distinctive orange train on a surface track, on Line 2 The Mexico City Metro provides mass transit transportation to large areas of the Mexican Federal District. ... Place-Saint-Henri station The Montreal Metro is the main form of public transportation within the city of Montreal and was the second metro system to be built in Canada, opening 12 years after the Toronto subway. ...

Efficient though the rolling of steel wheel on steel rail is, wear still takes place - on acceleration, on braking, and on cornering. As well as the simple wearing away of the wheel surface, a wheel that wears begins to deviate from the correct profile. The shape of a train wheel is designed and specified precisely for the best possible riding and cornering characteristics, and too much wear can alter that. Wear can also take place unevenly if wheels lock up under heavy braking, causing flat spots.

Another, different form of damage to a train's wheels takes place if violent wheelslip occurs. The friction so caused can heat the wheel (and rail) enough to cause permanent heat damage.

Replacing a whole wheel because of a worn contact surface proves expensive, so the concept of fitting steel tires to train wheels came about. The tire is a hoop of steel that is fitted around the steel or iron wheel. No obvious form of fastening is generally used to attach it. As with wagon wheels, the tire is held by an interference fit - it is made slightly smaller than the wheel on which it is supposed to fit. To fit a tire, it is heated up until it is glowing hot. Railroad workshops generally have special equipment to do so. As the tire heats, it expands, making it big enough to fit around the wheel. After placing it on the wheel, the tire is cooled, and it shrink fits onto the wheel. When cold, friction between the tire and the wheel is such that the tire will not budge even under quite extreme forces. An Interference fit is a fastening between two components which is achieved by friction after the parts are pushed together, rather than by any other means of fastening. ...

Removing a tire is done in reverse - the tire is heated while on the wheel until it loosens.

Tires are reasonably thick, up to about an inch thick or more, giving plenty of room to wear. If a tire wears out of shape, or gets flat-spotted, but has a reasonable amount of metal left, it can be turned on a wheel lathe to refinish it, reshaping it to the correct profile.

Some tire manufacturing companies include:

Bridgestone Corporation (æ ªå¼ä¼šç¤¾ãƒ–ãƒªãƒ‚ã‚¹ãƒˆãƒ³) was Japanese company founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (çŸ³æ©‹ æ£äºŒéƒŽ Ishibashi ShÅjirÅ) in the city of Kurume, Japan. ... Firestone tire The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company was founded by Harvey Firestone in the late 19th century to supply pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era. ... Continental AG is a manufacturer of tires, brake systems, vehicle stability control systems, and other automobile parts, based in Hanover, Germany. ... Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is a global company specializing in the design, manufacture and sales of passenger car, light truck, medium truck, motorcycle and racing tires, as well as tread rubber and related equipment for the retread industry. ... Dunlop Tires was a company founded in 1888 by John Boyd Dunlop, a Scottish veterinary surgeon living in Belfast, UK, after he invented the modern pneumatic inflatable tire. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Kumho is a South Korean industrial conglomerate (chaebol) consisting of various business groups, including aviation, finance, construction, transportation, chemical, and tyre manufacture, headquartered in Seoul, Korea. ... Michelin (full name: Compagnie GÃ©nÃ©rale des Ã‰tablissements Michelin) (Euronext: ML) based in Clermont-Ferrand, France in the Auvergne rÃ©gion of France, is primarily a tyre manufacturer. ... The Goodrich Corporation (formerly the B.F. Goodrich Company) NYSE: GR, based in Charlotte is an American aerospace manufacturing company. ... Nokian Renkaat (engl. ... Pirelli Logo Pirelli & C. SpA is an important industrial company based in Milan, Italy. ... The Toyo Tire and Rubber Company is a tire company based in Japan. ... The Yokohama Rubber Company is a tire company based in Yokohama, Japan. ...

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