Hooper’s Tire Outlet Has the Buzz!

You thought you knew everything there was to know about tires I bet. Here are some tire facts you probably weren’t aware of:

The first tires were white. This was before a black carbon material called carbon black was added to strengthen the rubber making the tire more durable and giving it a longer lifespan. Carbon black is also used in toner, mascara and other widely-used products. 

Most new cars have done away with the spare tire in the trunk. In an attempt to “lose weight,” manufacturers decided to stop putting spare tires in the trunk. Instead, most cars come with a patch kit and a can of compressed air.

The first white wall tires were made in 1914. A whitewall tire was created by combining carbon black tread with a zinc oxide white sidewall. 

Originally, whitewalls were on both sides of the tire. In early cars, there were open fenders so you were able to see white walls on both sides. 

Run-flat tires can drive for a time without air. Run-flat tires will go another 100 miles after losing tire pressure. They are designed to go about 50 miles when driving at 50 mph, but if you drive at slower speeds you can get many more miles out of them. BMW uses the most run-flat tires.

Lego is the leading tire manufacturer. You read that right! You may think it’s Goodyear or Michelin, but Lego produces more than 306 million tires a year!

In “grownup” terms, Bridgestone Corporation was the world’s largest manufacturer in 2020. This is based on revenue which was over 27 billion dollars.

Used tires produce a lot of waste. Each year, the earth takes on over 250,000,000 discarded tires. To help combat this, recycling programs have popped up that will melt the tire to be used in asphalt or shredded for use in mulch. In some cases, new tires are made from used ones.

The “Tweel '' is Michelin’s new tire. They are in the process of designing an airless tire therefore it can’t burst, leak pressure, or flatten.

Tires today contain over 200 materials. The obvious materials are nylon, rubber and steel. However, there are metals like cobalt and titanium. Hard to believe but things like saline and citrus oil are used. 

The world’s largest tire can be found in Michigan. With an intimidating height of 80-feet-tall, it weighs 12 tons. It was originally used as a ferris wheel at New York’s World Fair in 1964-65. It was moved to Allen Park, Michigan in 1966.