You see tires everywhere
as they move the world around us
but you probably didn't realize
how much thoughtful engineering is needed to make one
and how much better tires have gotten
in the last 70 years
For example
scientists figured out how a few clever tweaks to tread geometry
made tires way quieter
As well
The shops and tools that service them
have also been transformed
I found the apple of tire machines
which have become so automated
that even a child can put a wheel on a tire.
However
it's not all rainbows and unicorns
I discovered this sneaky engineering move
that some companies can use to
cheat in tire reviews
My name is Andrew
and let's discover the cool design and engineering
behind these boring products
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and let's get back to our story on innovation
This is a socket
and it's used to tighten or remove bolts
that hold things like wheels to your car
If you look closely all the corners are rounded
and the reason is fascinating
We need to go back to the 1960s to learn why
During the Vietnam war
aircraft mechanics faced a serious issue
When they tried to remove tightly fastened bolts
they would round off
which means the shape went from being a hexagon
to a circle
The reason is that sockets back then had sharp corners
which grabbed the bolt at its points
which under high torque can shear them off
Snap-On, a high-end tool brand came to the rescue
The solution was to round the socket's corners
which moved the nut's contact point to the edges
which are more resilient to damage
It worked
mechanics could work faster
and get airplanes into the sky
In 1966 this design was patented
sold to the public under the name "Flank Drive"
and is still being made today
After the patent expired in 1987
this tech trickled down into every company's socket
even cheap sets
If you have one
take a look and see for yourself
You've seen these before
To many, they're nothing more than a black rubber donut
But in reality
every inch has been carefully engineered
including the tread.
If we go back 80 years
tires were loud and harsh sounding
and one surprising cause is from the tread pattern
used back then
You might notice the tread blocks
are of similar size and shape
and aligned in a grid
which causes them to hum at one frequency
This would sound a lot like driving over a metal grate
This can be seen as a large peak on the sound spectrum
and it's no different than playing one note on a xylophone
To fix it scientists wanted to spread out this sound energy
flattening the peaks into white noise
One of the earliest patents in 1935 started addressing this issue
It staggered the tread blocks so they don't hit the ground at once
which can greatly reduce noise
It also broke up this uniform pattern into small, medium, large sizes
and changed the shape
so each section sounds differently
That resulted in a quieter tire
but you could still hear three distinct and annoying sounds
and the cause is because the tread block pattern
was not randomized well
The tire starts with 7 large blocks labeled B
followed by a small block A
then 6 medium-sized blocks C
Looking at the full pattern
you can see how there's not much variation
which causes noise
On modern tires
tread blocks are organized into groups called base pitches
On this tire
there are three pitches labeled large medium and small
each with different lengths and a different sound profile
This is often done by stretching the tread blocks
to the length needed to change the pitch
Then their order around the tire is randomized
and when compared with the older pattern
the difference is noticeable
This pattern improvement greatly reduces sound peaks
and results in a more pleasant-sounding tire
This is called pitch sequence engineering
and is just the surface of a larger ecosystem of parts below
that most people have never seen
Each component plays an important purpose
but I'm going to focus on body plies
which are the fabric cords that give a tire its strength
Before the 70s most tires used bias design
which layered these plies at 30°
and applied the rubber tread on top
The problem is these layers rubbed together
generating heat and used more fuel
This wasn't a problem in America until the 1973 oil crisis
caused gas prices to rise nearly 300%
The solution was the newer radial construction
where each ply layer looped around the tire
which runs cooler using much less fuel
and quickly became the dominant design
As well several protective belt layers are added over the plies
which protect against objects puncturing the tire
This radial design also separates the tread
from the sidewall
which keeps the tread flat and stable as you turn your car
In comparison
the old bias design has the plies wrap around the tire
which connects the tread and sidewall together
This can pull the tread off the road during cornering
which reduces traction
As well the sidewalls are stiffer
which causes a harsher ride as they are less able to absorb shock
For those reasons
radial tires are used in nearly every car and truck tire
on the road today
and a huge improvement from 50 years ago
However
engineering isn't only used to improve safety
I discovered a sneaky way tire companies cut corners
without being discovered
To explain you need to know about sipes
These are small slits that help remove water
and improve traction on snow
The problem with sipes is they flex under load
which can mean squishy handling and faster wear
One of the best ways to improve stability
is to use narrow, 3D interlocking sipes
that hold the block together
but this is harder to make and costs more money
For example
the tire mold which shapes the rubber
would use thinner, geometrically complex blades
which require advanced design and 3D metal printing to manufacture
However
there's a way companies
can use a simpler and cheaper sipe without anyone knowing
First
you remove the 3D shape
then to stiffen the block
you only make the cut go halfway through
When new
the tire performs great in tests and it costs less money
The problem starts as the tire wears down
and the sipes start disappearing
even though a lot of tread is left
You can see this exact issue with the budget tires I bought
The old one has far less water removing features
and it still has a ton of tread life remaining
When it rains
this increases braking distance versus a better made tire
which can cause an accident and kill people
Most people have no clue when buying tires
as the biggest reviewers
like consumer reports and tire rack only test new tires
This should change
and I want to share a fascinating story of how the IIHS
shamed automakers into making better cars.
The insurance institute for highway safety is a non-profit
and tasked with continuously improving crash safety.
In the 90s only full-frontal crashes were conducted
through the government's traffic safety agency
IIHS thought it wasn't demanding enough
and in 1995 created an offset crash
which showed how bad some vehicles were made
like this van where the driver would have been killed.
Overtime manufacturers improved their vehicles
and in late 2011 cars appeared safer than ever
IIHS wasn't satisfied and in 2012 the small overlap crash test was launched
which simulated hitting a pole
or the front edge of a vehicle
This is a far more difficult test compared to before
and once again showed dangerous flaws in many vehicles
as the impact forces didn't contact the usual crash structures
which means all those forces
would collapse the passenger compartment
and could drive your head into the pillar
due to the sideways forces
You can see how many cars went from being safe
to suddenly being far more dangerous overnight
This forced car makers to improve the safety of their vehicles
as the IIHS has shown that consumers notice
the test ratings
and go out and buy more of the safer vehicles
I'm hoping this idea of making tests harder
can be used to draw attention to how worn tires perform
But let’s move on
I want to turn our attention to a quiet revolution in tire machines
As with other industries
there's increasing automation as product complexity
and labor costs grow.
For better or for worse machines are coming
and this shop is no different.
For example
this tire changer makes putting a tire on a wheel simple
but it wasn't always this easy
Tires used to be put on by hand
which is physically challenging and time-consuming
Over the years
different mechanical contraptions were created to make this easier
like whatever the heck this does
As motorized versions were created
these became the standard in many shops today
with optional time-saving devices like tire lifts
mounting hooks and arms added
for especially busy shops
The top of the line machines
have gone one step further with automation
which allows one tech to change
more tires in less time versus older systems
and simplifies the process to allow a 10-year old to use one
I figure I can do that too right?
Luckily I have an expert who will show me the ropes
Let me introduce to you Kelvin
who at 24 runs and manages this high-end tire shop
called Markham Alignment
and he’s a master of his craft
Shall we get started?
Yeah Andrew, lets get started
Kelvin: So the first thing we want to do is we want to line up this valve to this roller
Kelvin: You want to press the rotating button
Kelvin: Now we want to line up this roller to this part of the lip of the wheel
Kelvin: So in order for us to do that we have the red joystick
Andrew: Alright
Kelvin: It’s like a video game. You just kinda move up and down like this.
Andrew: Go Left
Andrew: Go Right
Andrew: Slowly
Kelvin: Yeah, so it’s lined up right now
Kelvin: So then that's good
So the reason we did that
was to tell the machine where the tire pressure sensor is
to avoid damaging it
and where the tire begins so we can start taking it off
Kelvin: We can do demount and all you have to do is to press on this go pedal
The machine can do all the next steps by itself
as it breaks the bead and pulls the tire off the wheel
The red plastic head prevents the metal hook from scratching the rim
Andrew: Wow I’m doing it
Kelvin: Then all you have to do is grab the tire so it doesn’t fall off
Andrew: and I take my foot off the pedal
Kelvin: Put it on the ground
Andrew: I almost dropped it too
This was a ton of fun
and I left out a lot of details
like explaining how balancing and tire alignment worked
as I didn't think it fit this video
What I took away is the craftsmanship needed to do a great job
and a greater appreciation of how important a tire is
Let me talk about the future of this channel
you should expect more videos like this one
I'm no longer doing any dashcam reviews
which is what I did for the last 7 years
After the success of the last video with Mark Rober shouting it out
I'm all in
It won't just be cars
I want to get into topics like great dental tools
and farm equipment
Subscribe if you want more videos like this one
Big thanks to Kelvin for letting me film
If you're around Toronto and need tires or an alignment done right
check out Markham Alignment
Link in the description
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