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Winter Tyres History-Safer now for winter driving.

Winter Tyres History

 Winter Tyres a Brief History
This Goodyear winter tyres shows the complex tread pattern

Winter Tyres History

Of course, there is no doubt about the fact that in recent times, we have had to use winter tyres (as we know them today). Indeed, they have taken off big style. Especially with many motorists in the United Kingdom.

I recall another window in my tyre fitters mind set, from a long time ago. I worked for one of the national tyre companies in a small town called Dewsbury, in Yorkshire, UK. Subsequently, from what I can remember, we must have been going through a spell of cold winters.

I recall that we were installing a lot of winter tyres at the time. I suppose that I was indeed part of the Winter Tyres History. Hence picking up knowledge with every year in the tyre business.

The tyres were mainly remould tyres

Because of the deep tread patterns! So, the drivers did not want to run these tyres in the summer months. Surprisingly, tread compounds did not differ between summer and winter tyres. So, the winter tyres then were really summer tyres. As a result, a very heavy tread pattern is applied to the tyre carcass.

The tread patterns were usually derived from the old tread patterns as used by the new tyre manufacturers. The old Firestone and Goodyear tread patterns were very popular. So as a major part of winter tyres history, these companies would sell their old tyre moulds to tyre remoulding companies. They are being used to remould their tyres onto old casings.

The remoulded winter tyres were very noisy

Winter tyres history reminds me of the big tread patterns, they would also overheat. The overheating was caused by sheer friction between the tyre and the road surface, and the sound they made was a constant drumming noise inside the car.

The friction also caused the remould tyres to separate; this is when the tread parts separate from the casing part of the tyre. This happens frequently on our highways, when a large chunk of tyre tread comes off and is left by the side of the road or on the grass verge.

Winter Tyres History


The first so-called winter tyre was invented as long ago as 1908. of course, when Frank Seiberling cut an extra-deep groove in an early tyre to discover that the tyre gave a better grip on a wintry road surface.
Nothing much happened after that until the first modern type of winter tyre.

So, was introduced by Nokian Tyres of Finland, which was a range of winter truck tyres named the “kelirengas,” which is translated as “weather tyre.” This was in 1934, and in 1936, the Finns launched a winter tyre for cars that was known as the “Lumi-Hakkapelitta.”

Other winter tyres companies

Tyre companies were slow to follow and did not really start to develop winter tyres until the early 1950s. These included Goodyear tyres in America, who brought out the “Suburbanite” whose excellent early TV, advert can be seen on this blog post.
Also at the same time Continental tyres were bringing out a winter tyre known as the M14. These types of tyres were very heavy on tread rubber, but they are the beginning of the modern-day winter tyres that we see today.

The main difference is that the tyre design has had to change to meet the demands of the modern car, and more fundamentally, the tyres now have added ingredients in their tread compounds that were not known about in the early days, primarily silica-based compounds that now help the tyre to continue flexing in cold temperatures.

My days at Goodyear Tyres-Was rallying connected to winter tyre development?

Did Goodyear Rally Tyres Influence the Development of Winter Tyres?

Goodyear, a well-known tyre manufacturer, has long been a pioneer in innovative tyre technology, making it a major player in Winter Tyres History. This article investigates the potential impact of Goodyear’s rally tyres on the development of winter tyres.

Goodyear’s Rally Legacy:

Goodyear has a long history in rally racing, providing high-performance tyres for a variety of rally events. Their expertise in developing tyres for extreme conditions has resulted in significant advances in tyre technology.

Rally Tyres vs. Winter Tyres:

Rally tyres are similar to winter tyres in that they are specifically designed for grip and performance on gravel, mud, and snow. In harsh conditions, both types prioritise traction, stability, and control, but they serve different purposes. Rally tyres are designed for professional racing, whereas winter tyres are designed for everyday driving in cold weather.

The Link:

Goodyear’s development of rally tyres has undoubtedly contributed to the evolution of winter tyres. Winter tyres were designed using the company’s extensive experience in creating tyres for extreme conditions. Elements from rally tyres, such as advanced rubber compounds, tread patterns, and siping techniques, have been adapted to improve winter tyre performance.

Conclusion:

Goodyear rally tyres contributed to the development of winter tyres. Goodyear has contributed to the development of winter tyres that provide improved grip, stability, and control in adverse weather conditions by leveraging their rally racing experience and knowledge. This advancement has made winter driving safer and more accessible to motorists worldwide.

General also make an excellent winter tyres the W drive winter as seen on this video.

Winter Tyres-A Women’s guide

Not all makes of winter tyres are made to the same standards and can perform differently.

Just like any other thing in life that you buy, there are different

winter tyres
This customer is having winter tyres fitted in preperation for the bad weather

qualities at different prices.
The first point to remember is that all makes of winter tyres will give you better service in the winter months, than say summer tyres. Summer tyres are the regular tyres that are fitted to the car when the car is brand new. Even on SUV and X over cars they will be fitted with summer tyres.


Winter tyres were once thought to be a luxury and indeed in the early days of my career, we only fitted winter tyres to let’s say, the better of type of customer. I remember very clearly, when I worked for a national tyre company, the first time I had ever heard of winter tyres.

The guy was called Kenneth Knight and he owned a local newspaper shop,(everything was local in the late sixties). It was important to him because he had to collect the papers from the local train station every morning at 5 am, in winter he was probably one of the first up on the snow covered roads.

winter tyres
Firestone winter tyres similar to the ones fitted to Mr Knights car in the late 1960’s

Mr Knight owned an Austin Cambridge car and wanted to two Firestone winter tyres. This was the first time that I knew they existed and the first ones that I had ever seen.

I remember that they were special order and took two weeks to arrive at our fitting depot in Dewsbury, Yorkshire UK. When they arrived they were what I would call the old fashioned type of winter tyres with a very junky tread pattern, I also recon that these tyres would have been very noisy bit affective on wet or snowy roads.

winter tyres
Scenes like this from two year ago can remind us just how bad it gets. This was in Sowerby north of Halifax UK

This brings me back today’s driving and especially women’s cars and advice.

Back in my early days Lady Drivers were a rarity, driving the cars was a man’s job, and few women owned cars or learned to drive.

Today is a much different world and I would say that there is as many lady drivers as men. This is why I feel that it is important to educate all drivers in the benefits of fitting winter tyres to their cars before winter arrives.

Winter tyres for the SUVS and X OVERS

Winters in the UK have become more extreme in recent years, last winter 2013/2014 was extremely mild with practically no snowfall recorded here in West Yorkshire.

Across the Atlantic North America was struck by many large blizzards and had their worse snow falls on record. The truth is that none of us know what the weather will bring and so it is hugely important that we prepare our cars for what may hit us.
The first advice I would give lady drivers would be to give their cars a winter service. This would include anti-freezing their engines and additives in their windscreen bottles to stop them freezing when the first frost arrives.

Many of our customers ignore this advice and you would be surprised how many frozen cylinder heads that we get from lack of anti-freeze in the engine, costing over £1000 to repair.


The next advice is to change your summer tyres to winter tyres.

The perfect fit for your car would be to change all four, but if your money won’t stretch to that then fit two to the drive wheels. I am not going to recommend any brand names, but in my opinion it would be better to stick to mid-range brands as they are excellent quality and would be cheap tyres compared to leading brands. Pellon Tyres in Halifax stock all brands of winter tyres.
These tyres are going to help you get about during bad weather in the winter months.

We all know how important our jobs are now and taking the children to school usually becomes a woman’s job and so safety is paramount when it comes to your family and winter tyres will give you the edge in all types of bad weather and not just snow, although these tyres are fantastic when it comes to handling your car in snowy conditions, especially in hilly areas, such as here in the West Yorkshire Pennines.
So in the coming months you should be at least thinking about your car and your safety before the winter weather is upon us again.