Car tyres are made up of several different components. It is a good idea to learn more about these various components and how they work so that you can understand more about how to properly maintain your tyres, why they should be rotated on a regular basis and when the best time would be to replace them. Understanding more about tyres and how they function will help you to take care of your current set for longer and know more about what you should look for when buying a new set of tyres in the future.

Car tyres are typically one of the easiest parts of a car to learn about. The tread and sidewall are two of the external parts of a tyre. The tread is the first part that we see and the part that most people are familiar with when it comes to tyres and their components. This is the outside of the tyre that is patterned and provides your car with traction so that the wheels will stick to the road. The design of the tread found on car tyres comes from the curing machine that is used to manufacture the tyres. This machine functions in a very similar way to the waffle irons seen in American restaurants. Once the curing machine heats up the internal parts of your car tyres it leaves an imprint (the tread pattern) on the smooth rubber of the newly-built tire.

The sidewall is another external part of car tyres that you should be familiar with. The sidewall is important because it helps to add an extra level of stability to the tire and also protects the internal parts of the tyre. There are some major tyre manufacturers out there that add additional durable components that will provide your wheels with even more support.

The cap and body plies are components that can be found on the inside of tyres. Body plies can be made of a number of different materials, the most common being polyester cords. These cords are essential to the strength of the tire and they run perpendicular to the tire tread for added strength. The amount of plies that are in tyres helps to indicate how strong the tyre is overall. Most common car tyres will have two plies, for example, while a tyre used for an airplane will typically have 30 or more plies. Body plies are rubber coated and they bond with the other internal components during what is known as the vulcanising process. This occurs inside the curing machine and also helps to seal in air.

Beads and belts are two other essential components. Belts are found within the tyre, in between the tread and the body plies. These are supportive materials made out of wire or fibreglass fabrics that can help car tyres stay flat against the road in order to provide the driver with better traction. The bead is the base part of the tyre where it sits against the rim. It is made out of thick steel and is coated in rubber to prevent any damage that could be caused by the rim. Some car tyre manufacturers use thicker beads which are also known as bead fillers to add extra support to the lower sidewall.

Understanding the inner workings of your car tyres is important - especially in an age when many people buy cheap tyres online. Because they have less contact with mechanics, they are less likely to have had the different tyre components explained to them.