Posted: 4/27/2008 7:47:28 AM EDT
| How thick is the typical automotive tire ? Are the treads thicker than the sidewall ? What kind of road debris do I need to be concerned about with regards to tire penetration ? |
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The tread is thicker than the sidwall. This gives a better ride. The tread will have between one and three steel belts, and one to three polyester or nylon belts. The sidewall will have at most two polyester or nylon belts. Belts are layers of parallel thread like material. most tires have little resistance to sharp object penetration, esp on the side wall. I have had eight and ten ply rated truck tires pickup nails and bend the nail before it penetrates. |
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The tread part of the tread is 5/8ths of an inch to 1 inch (passenger cars) The lack-of-tread is 1/3rd inch to 1/2 inch The sidewalls of a 70 series tire is 1/3rd inch (ish) The sidewalls of a 40 series tire is 1/2 inch (ish) The bead is close to 1 inch. The steel/kevlar/arimid belts are what protect the tire from punctures. |
At my local tire shop, there is a tire on display in the waiting room with a live Wolf 7.62x39 round in it, primer out. They also have a big jar full of items that have been removed from tires. A few that I can remember: a horseshoe, several 3/4 and larger bolts, an aluminum brake or clutch handle from a motorcycle, several different combination wrenches, a pair of slip-joint pliers, many car and house keys, and a bunch of other random things that would probably surprise most people. And, of course, hundreds of nails and screws. I once had just put new tires on my car, and was pulling into a parking lot when I had to swerve suddenly to avoid someone pulling way into my lane. I clipped the edge of the sidewalk, and just my luck, a piece of it had been previously broken and left a sharp edge. That edge cut right through the sidewall of my brand new tire, and of course, that isn't fixable. Naturally, it couldn't have happened the week before, when I still had the old, bald tires on it... -Troy |