Car tire is the most important component of a car that serves to support the overall weight of your car and usually is made of several different components.

Tire is the component that is made of rubber and other material to support the weight of a vehicle, whether it’s a car, motorcycle, or even bicycle.

There are several parts of a tire that work simultaneously to ensure that you go safely from point A to your destination.

How Tires Can Support Your Car

One of the reasons why your tire can support the weight of your car is because it is not completely round in shape.

But other than that, there are several reasons as well that we’ll explain down below.

1. Air Pressure

Tires are filled with air that’ll create internal pressure. With this pressure, your tire will be able to support the weight of your car by creating a cushion that’ll absorb shocks and maintain the tire’s shape.

The air pressure is also responsible to allow the tire to carry specific load while maintaining its structural integrity. Thus, effectively distributing the vehicle’s weight.

2. Structural Design

The shape of the tire itself is one of the reasons why the tire is able to withstand and support the weight of your car.

The tires are designed to be round and flexible, allowing them to conform to the road surface and distribute the weight of your car.

Other than that, the tread and sidewall that are present in the car tire’s design also provide the grip and traction and also support the overall tire’s structure.

3. Material

The material used in the car tire is also responsible for it being able to support your car. Tires are mostly made from a blend of rubber and other materials. This will give the car tire durability but still maintain its flexibility.

On top of that, the car tire is usually made of several parts (that we’ll discuss later on) of layers of fabrics and steel belts to give the tire more strength.

4. Physics

Physics also applies for a tire, especially Pascal’s principle, that states the pressure applied on a confined fluid (air, in this case) is transmitted equally in all directions.

The air that is present inside your car tire will push the inner wall which in turn supports the weight of your ride.

Parts of Car Tire

Car tires are made of several parts, here is the explanation!

1. Inner Tire

The first part of the tire and its function you should know is the inner tire layer (not to be confused with the inner tube).

This part is made of fairly thin rubber with small pores. Its function is to keep the air inside the tire so that it cannot seep out.

Air pressure stability is important for tires so that the journey with your favorite ride remains comfortable.

2. Tread

Tread is the outermost layer of a tire. It is the layer that is directly in contact with the road surface and is the first component that is most visibly altered during tire driving.

In the tread lies the tire’s power to grip and transmit power to the vehicle’s engine and determines how the tire is perceived in terms of quality.

In addition, making the tire anti-slip is also important by adding certain patterns on the tread surface such as unidirectional, symmetrical, and asymmetrical patterns.

3. Sidewall

The next part of the car tire is the sidewall. This part is made of thick rubber on the side of the tire and serves to protect the tire from impact.

Because it is intended to withstand the weight of the vehicle during use, the sidewall is made with flexible yet durable materials.

The sidewall is also usually marked with the brand, code, and other information about the tire. But, it is important to remember that the sidewall is the weakest (thinnest) part of a tire.

4. Bead

Among the parts of a car tire, there is a bead near the wheel. This component is made of steel wire on the side of the tire and on the side of the ply. Its function is to prevent tears in the tire due to its use on the road.

To maximize its function, the bead consists of several parts including:

Bead Chaffers: made of special rubber material for tires, bead chaffers are made so that the main bead is strong when clamping bead wires.
Bead Wires: made from a collection of wires which are then joined together with strong thick rubber, bead wires are made with the aim of strengthening the adhesion of tires to wheels.

5. Belt

The last part of the tire is the belt. The belt is part of the breaker used in radial tires.

Also known as rigid breaker, the belt is shaped like a belt that surrounds the tire. This component is made of steel wire that is added with rayon and wrapped in polyester material.

Also Read: “9 Signs You Need New Tires“

What All the Numbers on Your Tire Mean?

Car Tire: Here’s Everything You Need to Know!

There are numbers on the sidewall of your car tires, here are how to identify what is them:

1. Type

The alphabet on the code usually indicates the purpose of your car tire, for example

P: designates that the tire is a passenger vehicle tire.
LT: is for light truck
C: is for commercial or van
XL, HL or Reinforced: meaning the tire is with a higher load capacity than normal for its dimensions. Such tires must be replaced with an equivalent (e.g., HL tires with other HL tires).
T: is for temporary or spare tires.

2. Tire Width

You can see the three numbers to inform you of the tire width. For example, it is 215.

The number usually appears in the first three numbers in the code to inform you of the thickness of the tire in millimeters (measured from sidewall to sidewall) when mounted on a car rim.

3. Aspect Ratio

This number tells you the height of the tire (or the size of your tire) that is measured from the bead to the top of the tread.

The aspect ratio is described as a percentage of the tire width. For example, if the aspect ratio is 55% percent, so the tire’s height is 55% percent of its width.

It is worth noting that higher performance tires usually have a lower aspect ratio than that of regular tires.

Why? This is because a high performance tire needs those lower aspect ratio as lower aspect ratio will provide better stability.

3. Tire Construction

Last but not least the tire construction. If you spot the letter R in your tire, it means that the tire was made using radial construction.

The radial construction is also the most common type of tire construction.

On the other hand, if you spot the letter B, it is most likely that the tire was made using belted construction.

There is also letter D that means your tire was made using diagonal bias.

Phew! There you have it! (Almost) everything you need to know about car tire!

Another thing that is worth noting is the safety and quality of your car tires! Yes, because of its important and crucial role, choosing the right and quality tire is a must to ensure your safety.

To spot the quality tire is quite easy, especially in Indonesia. You can just spot the presence of the SNI logo on your car tires.

But what does that mean? To put it simply, the SNI logo on your car tires means that the said tire is already being tested for its quality and safety and is already certified by the SNI certification.

The SNI certification itself is one type of product approval applied in Indonesia that regulates almost all of the products and services that are sold and distributed here.

There are several regulations for the tire that are applied in Indonesia and are mandatory to be followed.

SNI 0098-2012: For passenger car tires
SNI 0099-2012: For truck and bus tires
SNI 0100-2012: For light truck tires
SNI 0101-2012: For motorcycle tires

Car Tire: Here’s Everything You Need to Know!