Tire Stickers would be nothing without the tire itself. That black rubber canvas that we apply all our creative expression to. Have you ever stopped to think about that blank slate? We have.
How It’s Actually Made
Turns out tire-making is a complicated manufacturing process just to form a single tire. From the raw, natural rubber to various strengthening materials, a tire ends up greater than the sum of its parts.
Check out this video from the classic show How It’s Made for the full assembly process (Warning: It’s hypnotic.):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o9mVZxoayA
Long story short? You take a bunch of materials. With the help of some robots, you treat them, form them, and bring them together. Then with that base tire, you apply your chosen tread (more on that shortly) and branding. And voila, you have a tire.
Here are some terms you can sprinkle in to conversation at your next meet-up to impress your friends:
Beads - Don’t let the name fool you, these things are strong as hell. The wire that creates an airtight grip holding the tire to the rim. Each bead can resist almost 4,000 pounds of pressure and with eight beads total across four tires, well ... you do the math.
Carbon Black - The pigment that makes the black rubber we all know and love. Way better looking than Onyx, not as dark as Vantablack.
Green Tire - Uncured tire without tread pattern. A naive piece of rubber with no purpose in life.
Plies - Steel or textile cords/cables placed by the thousands within the walls of the tire to strengthen it. They come in cool-sounding varieties like crown, cap, and carcass, with each one playing a certain role.
Vulcanization - Turning rubber from a weak and sticky substance into a strong and elastic one. Like going Super Saiyan, but staying there.
The Types of Tyres (or Tires)
Tire types are based around where, when, and what you’ll be driving.
They can be seasonal:
Summer - Dry and wet performance handling. Perfect for the sports car you only take out between June and September. Or if you can afford to live in Southern California.
All-Season - A little bit of winter traction control balancing with the dry and wet performance handling. Jack-of-all-trades, master of none, but good enough for most circumstances and not a bad choice for a normal climate.
Winter - All traction, all the time. When the road is buried and you’re not willing to attach chains and studs, the winter tire is where it’s at.
Location-dependent:
Track - Built to burn rubber. Perfect for accelerating, taking corners, and braking without crashing at 100+ mph. Not suited for your normal commute, whether you’re late to work or not.
All-Terrain - Off-roading, mudding, skipping traffic by creating a new highway off-ramp (you know what we’re talking about). If the rubber is leaving the road often, you’ll need the right tires to keep up.
Based on what you’re driving:
Motorcycle - Besides the obvious shape and size differences, motorcycle tires are uber important. You’ve only got two tires and quickly-wearing tread keeping you from being roadkill, so don’t skimp on them. Also, we make motorcycle-specific Tire Stickers, so there’s always that to consider too.
Truck - If you only bought a truck to impress girls and practice the art of saying no when people ask for help moving, you don’t need truck-specific tires. If you’re actually hauling heavy loads around all the time, they’re made for you.
SUV - Same as the Truck tire, except you might need them if you have a family of four and shop at Costco on the regular.
Trailer - One hyphenated word: Heavy-duty. If you’re hauling cars, horses, boats, or whatever gigantic thing, the last thing you want is a blowout.
And last-but-not-least:
Spare - The tire we never really consider until we actually need it. The spare tire is a space-saver that allows you to lug it around so you’ll have it when you need it. It’s temporary of course, so only apply short-term Tire Stickers to it. Oh, and replace it ASAP.
The Tire Stickers Tire Shop
We love tires, which is why we offer them direct. Check out our Tire Shop to request a custom quote and even get Tire Stickers pre-installed. Warehouse pricing for dozens of tire brands. Professionally installed Tire Stickers with custom text & logos, stylish vintage designs, and more. And a sweet warranty.
And, of course, don’t forget to send us your Tire Stickered tire pics so we can repost them. Just make sure we can see them. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see who makes it.