What are tire “hairs” and what happens if you remove them? – teach me about science

Tires are one of the fundamental parts of a vehicle and, like the rest of the parts that make up a car, they have an important function when driving.

Taking care of your tires is guaranteed to extend their useful life and, although many cares seem obvious, there are many others that are not entirely obvious.

If you are new to driving, you should consider the location where you will park, the cleanliness of the wheels and rubber, as well as the pressure at which you put your tires; Considering that the accumulation of all these activities will prolong the useful life of the tires.

But, something we have all encountered are those little bumps that simulate “hair” on tires, which many people say should be removed, but many others comment That they should not be removed at all. Reason.

What are the projections offered by the new tires?

To explain what these projections are and how they form on tire rubber, it is important to first know about the construction of tires.

For people to buy vehicle tires, they have to go through a manufacturing process and one of the most important steps is placing the rubber on pre-designed molds that give it the desired shape.

As? The process is not as complicated as you think, in fact all you need to do is inject liquid rubber through the intake ports of these molds. However, during the process, due to the high temperatures and formation of air bubbles, there is a risk that some spaces will not be filled correctly, so it becomes necessary to create some type of escape route or hole. Accumulated air may escape. Otherwise the tires will get damaged due to the formation of bubbles inside.

As stated, there are small holes in the tire mold that allow proper drainage of air, while also ensuring that the rubber completely covers the tire mold without leaving air bubbles inside. , but does this have anything to do with the creation of these projections?

When rubber is poured onto molds, it is in a semi-liquid state due to the high temperature, causing air to escape through holes or ducts in the molds, hence, when the rubber hardens, it The type of hair we see on tires with the naked eye.

Do you have to remove this “hair”?

Despite what many people think, these projections have no function. When we see this type of “hair” we can only conclude whether the tire is new or not, although this is also not a clear indicator, since there are owners or dealers who prefer to remove them. The most common practice is to remove those that are in the tread and keep those that are visible on the shoulders and sides of the tire.

These projections have no function other than detecting whether the tire is new or not and some people prefer to remove them for aesthetic reasons. So now you know, if your new tires have these bulges, with the passage of time and friction they will fall off completely, but you can proceed with the process without any consequences.