# Why not make a tire that lasts 100,000 miles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 8, 2001, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-make-a-tire-that-lasts-100-000-miles/57250 "2001-03-08T18:33:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-make-a-tire-that-lasts-100-000-miles/57250/21 "2001-03-09T14:21:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by enolancooper \* > \*\*Another factor is the belt material. > Steel belts? > Take a coat hanger and bend it back and forth for a minute. > What happens? It breaks. > Take a rope and bend it back and forth forever. > If you can find them, go for tires with nylon cords. > Ive seen such tires so bald the cords were showing where the tread used to be. > Steel belted tires often fail with plenty of tread left. \*\* I’m afraid this analogy is not correct. Steel, like aluminum (but not titanium, surprisingly), can have an “infinite” fatigue resistance if not stressed too much to it’s yield point - less than 1/3 of yield strength, IIRC. Steel belts were one of the great inventions towards creating safe, strong, reliable tires. I would be interested in seeing cites that show a clear detriment to using steel as opposed to nylon. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-make-a-tire-that-lasts-100-000-miles/57250/22 "2001-03-09T14:24:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jet Jaguar \* > \*\*Actually, steel tires would have hardly any grip at all compared to rubber tires (coefficient of friction is about a third, if I remember correctly). They would also tear up the road surface, so much in fact that metal treads are illegal for use on public roads. \*\* On a related note - IIRC, super high-performance tires on F1/CART/Drag Racers can have a coefficient of friction greater than 1.0. This happens if the material is soft enough to grip into the peaks and valleys of the road surface at the sorta-microscopic level. ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-make-a-tire-that-lasts-100-000-miles/57250/23 "2001-03-09T15:46:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anthracite \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Jet Jaguar \* > > \*\*Actually, steel tires would have hardly any grip at all compared to rubber tires (coefficient of friction is about a third, if I remember correctly). They would also tear up the road surface, so much in fact that metal treads are illegal for use on public roads. \*\* > > On a related note - IIRC, super high-performance tires on F1/CART/Drag Racers can have a coefficient of friction greater than 1.0. This happens if the material is soft enough to grip into the peaks and valleys of the road surface at the sorta-microscopic level. \*\* Yup, back when I was involved in racing, I remember seeing coefficient figures for F1 qualifying tyres (so soft and sticky they’re only good for 2-3 laps) in the 1.8 range, and 1.0-1.2 is not uncommon for a race tire. ---
**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-make-a-tire-that-lasts-100-000-miles/57250/24 "2001-03-09T16:21:45Z")
I bought my Cavalier in October, 1996. November 2000 I changed the tires at 96,000 miles. They were Goodyear, R16, that’s all I can remember. If it weren’t for the snow, I could have kept driving on them. My commute to work during most of that time was about 34 miles, pretty much all Highway. Coupled with rotation every 4-5 months proved to be good on the tires. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-make-a-tire-that-lasts-100-000-miles/57250/25 "2001-03-09T16:39:05Z")
I found this in a search: 1 set of 100,000 mile tires Les Schwab Tire Center ([http://www.columbia-center.org/blacktie/2000\_auction\_items.htm](http://www.columbia-center.org/blacktie/2000_auction_items.htm)) ANother idea would be a solid rubber Tire, I don’t remember what happened to that idea. aha, they can only get so big before they start rubbing on the frame. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-make-a-tire-that-lasts-100-000-miles/57250/26 "2001-03-09T17:17:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > **ANother idea would be a solid rubber Tire, I don’t remember what happened to that idea.** Too heavy. Too stiff. Too expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-make-a-tire-that-lasts-100-000-miles/57250/27 "2001-03-09T17:18:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\* > > ANother idea would be a solid rubber Tire, I don’t remember what happened to that idea. > \*\* Solid tires are also illegal for use on public roads. This law is mostly intended to keep farm equipment off of the roads, but a solid rubber car tire would also fall under it. IIRC, about 10 years ago, a company developed a compact spare tire that was made of rubber over a solid plastic core, so it didn’t need to be inflated. It was a great idea - you wouldn’t have to change a tire only to find your spare is also flat - but it died a quiet death because they found it impossible to get DOT approval. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-make-a-tire-that-lasts-100-000-miles/57250/28 "2001-03-09T17:36:07Z")
I’ve never replaced a tire on my 1995 Geo Prizm (90,000+ miles, almost all highway trips of 100+ miles) due to tread wear. All the tires have been replaced by now, but it’s been because of punctures (most annoyingly, through the thickest part of the tread). What can I say–the alley behind my garage is not kept very clean… ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-make-a-tire-that-lasts-100-000-miles/57250/29 "2001-03-09T20:23:56Z")
Again, all comes down to safety. A tire that lasts 100k miles would be made of such hard rubber that it wouldn’t stick to the road–as if you were constantly driving on a very slippery surface. Tires stick to roads because there’s some amount of friction; this wears the tires down gradually. There’s just a certain point of hardness where the desired tradeoff between stickiness and the life of the tire balance off. ---
**Author:** ![Neenah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/958977/32.png) [@Neenah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neenah)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-make-a-tire-that-lasts-100-000-miles/57250/30 "2001-03-09T23:02:23Z")
I’ve got a nice set of Toyo Z800s on my car, and they’re supposed to be good for 100K. The tires that came on the car (don’t recall the brand) were rated for 40K, but I ran them to 63,000 or so. They were worn down to the steel belts but still held air, for the most part. As has been said before, it’s very important to pay attention to your tires. Alignment problems or improper inflation can shorten their life considerably, and can be dangerous in the right situation. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-make-a-tire-that-lasts-100-000-miles/57250/31 "2001-03-09T23:17:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jet Jaguar \* > \*\* > Actually, steel tires would have hardly any grip at all compared to rubber tires (coefficient of friction is about a third, if I remember correctly). They would also tear up the road surface, so much in fact that metal treads are illegal for use on public roads. \*\* Wait, I’ve got a simple solution. Make the TIRES out of asphalt and the ROADS out of rubber! That’d solve the tire wear problem! ---
**Author:** ![Mikahw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Mikahw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikahw)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-make-a-tire-that-lasts-100-000-miles/57250/32 "2001-03-09T23:46:14Z")
Yeah, but what would you do when the road wore out? Change road every 80,000 miles, heh… ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2001, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-make-a-tire-that-lasts-100-000-miles/57250/33 "2001-03-10T01:02:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Neenah \* > \*\*I’ve got a nice set of Toyo Z800s on my car, and they’re supposed to be good for 100K. The tires that came on the car (don’t recall the brand) were rated for 40K, but I ran them to 63,000 or so. They were worn down to the steel belts but still held air, for the most part. > > As has been said before, it’s very important to pay attention to your tires. Alignment problems or improper inflation can shorten their life considerably, and can be dangerous in the right situation. \*\* It’s hard to believe these two paragraphs were written by the same person! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-make-a-tire-that-lasts-100-000-miles/57250.md?page=1)