Tires: not just a piece of rubber
For several years now, every driver in Quebec has been required to put winter tires on his or her car as of December 1st.
December 01 2021, Toyota Richmond
For several years now, every driver in Quebec has been required to put winter tires on his or her car as of December 1st. We are in Quebec, we have the winters we have, and it's better to be more careful than less!
This regulation didn't just appear on the corner of a table while eating poutine at Ringo La Patate! First, the tire had to be refined to become more and more efficient in order to be able to brave without fear the weather conditions that Mother Nature sends us. This dear Lady Snowflakes, this Lucy Snowstorm, this Queen Blowing Snow that pinches in the face!
The origin of the tire
I don't know anyone but myself who says to himself one day, while getting into his car: "Well, I wonder who invented the first tire. And who invented rubber to make tires in the first place? Were cars and tires invented at the same time, or is it like the chicken and egg story again?" Then I calm the hamster down and start my car... But I stop it after three seconds, go back inside - the groceries will wait - and do the necessary research to satisfy my tire curiosity!
I first looked up rubber, its discovery, its very beginnings. I know, I'm unbearable. When I bake cookies, I'm the kind of guy who wants to know who might have thought: "Here! Wheat! And if I took the seeds and did a lot of manipulations to finally grind them into a fine powder, I could cook with that! But who could have said that to himself!".
From the Peruvian natives to Mr. Goodyear
I'm getting away from the subject again... In short, natural rubber is extracted mainly from the rubber tree, a bit like the maple trees here, and it was the Peruvian natives, among others, who used it. They used latex to make balls for fun and training, as well as coatings to waterproof cloth.
Much later, in the 1800's, it was a U.S. man named Charles Goodyear who created the vulcanization process that literally changed everything about the manufacture and use of rubber. Basically, he "threw the recipe" out the window so that we could use this material for absolutely everything. But I hear you thinking... No, Mr. Goodyear did not invent the tire. In fact, he had no connection with the company of the same name that was formed two years after his death.
From invention to invention
Around 1830, a Frenchman by the name of Charles Dietz came up with the idea of covering cart wheels with rubber strips. Then, things evolved over the years and in 1845, the Scotsman R.W. Thompson filed a patent for a tire. But that's as far as it went, Mr. Thompson got cold feet and the project fell through.
More than forty years later, in 1887, a Scottish veterinarian who lived in Ireland wanted to tinker with his son's tricycle so that he could have fun on roads that were too bumpy for his taste. He developed an inner tube wrapped in a woven cotton fabric, which he glued to a wooden rim. The veterinarian refined his invention and patented it in 1888. His name? John Boyd Dunlop! Yes, he is the founder of the company that bears his name and that still exists.
Credits for the tire
Since then, the tire has always evolved, especially with the contribution of the French, the Michelin brothers, who created the radial tire in 1946. The Second World War also meant that the United States, being deprived of natural rubber supplied by Japan, had to develop the synthetic rubber industry very quickly. All tires manufactured today are made with natural rubber and synthetic rubber, layered to obtain the best properties of both.
So, after almost two hundred years of history, the tire deserves a lot of attention. There are many on the market, which is why it's always advisable to call on a consultant who knows as much about tires as Dunlop, Goodyear and Michelin. You know, real specialists like Toyota Richmond...
Ref : Histoire pour tous & Wikipedia
