Tyre rubber...

[blassberg]

Our tyres wear with use.

Do they

a) become denser and not give up any rubber?
b) give up all the worn rubber to the road?
c) vapourise?
d) something else

I assume the answer is d) as total number or cars x mass of rubber lost per car must be a LOT of rubber??

 

[Shude]

the rubber turns into tiny balls and is carried from the road surface by water etc.

Er, I think

 

[MangoMan]

B)

And it's not that much really, you'd be surprised. You spin a new tyre until it is almost bald, you will be surprised as to how little rubber there is on a tyre tread!

 

[marcos]

The speed my tyres wear down I'm sure fairys or pixies come along at night, shave the rubber off and make new tyres for other people.
I might of course be wrong about the fairys and pixies

 

[dougal74]

The speed my tyres wear down I'm sure fairys or pixies come along at night, shave the rubber off and make new tyres for other people.
I might of course be wrong about the fairys and pixies

Might be a story from the pixies but what do people think of the conspiracy theory that tyre compounds have been invented that mean that tyres could be produced that would last the lifetime of the car but that the tyre companies own the patents and therefore will not release them to market?

 

[GrahamC230K]

Lifetime sounds a bit long, but I have no doubt they could last longer with no loss of performance if that didn't have a direct impact on loss of sales.

 

[blassberg]

...but bought a 330d instead...with a telly

Don't even need money to buy a beemer now?

 

[Fady]

Might be a story from the pixies but what do people think of the conspiracy theory that tyre compounds have been invented that mean that tyres could be produced that would last the lifetime of the car but that the tyre companies own the patents and therefore will not release them to market?

Personally I would doubt this on the basis that, as a rule of thumb, the tyre that offers the most grip is the one that is made out of the softest rubber compound. Such a tyre would almost "melt" right into the tarmac, but unfortunately, being so soft it would wear out in absolutely no time at all.

For tyre manufacturers, it is all about finding the best compromise between factors that are odds with each other. The tyre that last the longest will be made of the hardest compound, and the tyre that has the hardest compound will offer the least grip. And that is before considering other characteristics such as dry weather performance, wet weather performance, ride comfort, handling at speed etc. etc.

As regards what happens to worn bits of tyre, there are lots of studies on this - particles or particulates of rubber and other constituents, which are mainly metals, become air-borne. After exhaust fumes this is meant to be the largest contributer to pollution by motor vehicles and can affect those with respiratory disorders such as asthma. Try Googling "tyre/tire wear + pollution" or such like for more details

 

[machasm]

Interlocking wheels.

This might be a little OT but
Could it be possible to design a tyre AND a road surface such that the 2 would interlock somehow? Almost like cogs.
Then we could have a situation where the 'tyre' is made out of a hard substance, maybe even metal, and thus effectively never wear out. It should also help with stopping distances as there would be no skidding.
I understand that this would mean having to resurface the entire road network!
Hey, I never said it was perfect or even feasible, but if we had to start all over again could this approach work?
Mac.

 

[esox]

Might be a story from the pixies but what do people think of the conspiracy theory that tyre compounds have been invented that mean that tyres could be produced that would last the lifetime of the car but that the tyre companies own the patents and therefore will not release them to market?

Conspiracy theory number two;

tyre shops adjust your tracking so that they wear out on the outside....

I dont think i`ve ever had a front tyre that has worn out due to natural mileage related wear - they always seem to need replacing because they`re bald on the outside.This really p***es me off,tyres are too expensive to replace this way.
Even when i bought my new W203 i thought "at least my tyres will be OK",- WRONG.......

 

[Dieselman]

This might be a little OT but
Could it be possible to design a tyre AND a road surface such that the 2 would interlock somehow? Almost like cogs.
Then we could have a situation where the 'tyre' is made out of a hard substance, maybe even metal, and thus effectively never wear out. It should also help with stopping distances as there would be no skidding.
I understand that this would mean having to resurface the entire road network!
Hey, I never said it was perfect or even feasible, but if we had to start all over again could this approach work?
Mac.

Err this is called a railway, and guess what it already exists.

 

[reflexboy]

This might be a little OT but
Could it be possible to design a tyre AND a road surface such that the 2 would interlock somehow? Almost like cogs.
Then we could have a situation where the 'tyre' is made out of a hard substance, maybe even metal, and thus effectively never wear out. It should also help with stopping distances as there would be no skidding.
I understand that this would mean having to resurface the entire road network!
Hey, I never said it was perfect or even feasible, but if we had to start all over again could this approach work?
Mac.

Give me a bit of what you've been smokin!

 

[reflexboy]

Err this is called a railway, and guess what it already exists.

Can you imagine, the entire UK road network grinding to a halt because there are 'leaves on the road'

 

[NormanB]

Can you imagine, the entire UK road network grinding to a halt because there are 'leaves on the road'

...........as opposed to cones!

 

[dougal74]

Don't even need money to buy a beemer now?

Very good, have a :bannana: ...was Krust an optional extra on yours or standard?

 

[Satch]

May wish you never asked.

There has been lots of research on this in Europe and the US. Found that the rubber particles break down with weathering/UV exposure but usually get washed off the road surface by rain and end up in the groundwater.

Trouble is that tyres contain Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) oils used as extenders in the rubber matrix. So the extender oil will be present in the tyre debris and if that breaks down the PAH's are released which is why they have to be treated as a form of hazardous waste and we get charged a disposal fee.

The compound of some of the stickier performance and winter tyres contains up to 28% PAH's in total. Tyre industry worldwide uses about 1 million tonnes of PAH's per annum and all of that has to go somewhere

So what, you cry. Well the so what is that some PAH's are classed as "c/m/r" substances. c/m/r stands for: Carcinogenic, Mutagenic and toxic to Reproduction

Under an EU directive by 2010 no tyre can contain more than 10mg/kg in total of eight specified PAHs.

A limit of 1 mg/kg is set for Benzo(a)Pyrene (BaP), which is classified as a particularly vile c/m/r. BaP concentrations in extender oils currently can be up to 16mg/kg, averaging 5mg/kg.

Anybody still think standing around a burnout is a good idea?

 

[MangoMan]

......or watching a Gran-Prix 'live' (at the venue)........

 

[grober]

Nokians are PAH free.

If you are concerned about PAH in tyres getting into the environment see http://www.gronkemi.nu/tyres.html then NOKIAN tyres are PAH free as far as I know. They are good tyres also IMHO. See http://www.nokiantyres.com/ Interestingly Continental tyres closed their Swedish GISLAVID factory which made PAH free tyres. I used to run GISLAVID tyres on my two 190's - good wear characteristics and cheap. Got them at my local SAAB dealer since they used to be a SAAB recommended tyre and the old SAABS shared wheel/tyre size.

 

[MangoMan]

Funny you should say that, I use Nokian NRV's. Excellent tyre!

 

[Satch]

If you are concerned about PAH in tyres getting into the environment see http://www.gronkemi.nu/tyres.html then NOKIAN tyres are PAH free as far as I know.

That makes sense. Finland, Sweden and Norway have been making the most noise about this issue.