Weekly Online Lesson Online Lesson Archive Grade Level: 8-12 Subject: Multidisciplinary

Tire Recall

On August 9, 2000, corporate officials for Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. announced a massive voluntary recall of about 6.5 million 15-inch tires of the ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT models. Ford trucks and sport utility vehicles, especially the Explorer, are among the chief users of the tires.

The recall came after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating reports of 62 fatal accidents connected to the tires.

Bridgestone/Firestone manufacturing plants in the United States have increased tire production by 7,000 tires daily to meet the replacement demand. Plants in Japan are shipping by air thousands of replacement tires, and Firestone is also using competitors' tires as replacements.

On August 26, executives announced that they had reached the 1 million mark in replaced tires.

This week's online lesson is not about the recall specifically, but about automobile tires in general. You will learn about manufacturing, technology, care and maintenance, and recycling.

Tire Manufacturing

Everyone knows tires are made of rubber. But that's just one of many ingredients used to manufacture today's automotive tires. To learn more about what goes into tires and how they are made, visit Goodyear's Tire School. Start by reviewing the basic ingredients to make a tire. What ingredients did you not expect to find? By weight, natural and synthetic rubber is the main ingredient in making a typical passenger tire. What is the next main ingredient?

Now that you know the ingredients, click How to Make a Tire to learn about radial tire production. What are Banbury machines? Why are tires made with a double layer of synthetic gum rubber called an innerliner? What steps help insure that each tire is safe and will perform as designed?

Tires come in many different types, sizes, speed and load ratings, and tread designs. You need to know the right information about a tire before you can replace the ones you own. Fortunately the information you need is right there on the side of each tire. Click Tire Specifications to learn what you need to know about tire specs. What does "H" stand for?

Tire Care and Maintenance

Don't leave the Goodyear Tire School yet. Move on to Care & Maintenance FAQs and browse answers to the 19 frequently asked questions listed. Start with Driving Habits and click Next to move on to the next question. Finally, return to the Tire School index page and click Common Tire Wear Problems. How can most tire wear problems be prevented?

One thing every driver ought to know is how to change a flat tire. Learn what to do at the How to Change a Flat Tire site created by students at Louisiana Tech University. It's all there, step by step with good illustrations. Read the instructions, and then practice on your own car. What are the two pieces of equipment you must have to change a flat tire?

Tire Innovations

If the folks at Michelin have things their way, you may never need to change a flat tire. They along with other tire manufacturers have introduced "zero pressure" or "run-flat" tires that don't deflate when punctured or damaged. Visit the Michelin Zero Pressure site to learn more about this great new technology.

Bridgestone/Firestone have introduced their own innovation to tires recently with "worn" tire technology that increases the performance of worn tires, thereby extending the maximum life of car tires. Read about it in this consumer news release on the Firestone site.

Tire Recycling

Technologies are also being developed and improved for recycling worn tires. Prior to the mid-80s, worn tires were dumped in landfills. Today they are recycled into crumb rubber and used for a wide range of manufacturing applications. Visit Rubber Technology International to learn more about uses for crumb rubber and alternatives to landfill disposal. After reading, name three uses.

Another innovative use for worn tires is converting them to petrochemical feedstocks and generating clean electricity. Find out how by visiting the Cyntech Technologies web site. Click the various links at the bottom of the page to learn more about Cynthech and its environmentally friendly approaches.

© Copyright 2002
Learners Online, Inc.