Vintage and Classic Tyres - Where are they made?

Chris, our MD, recently visited one of the world’s latest tyre factories. The hi-tech factory you see pictured here produces 15,000 tyres a day of all types, from motorcycle tyres, through crossply car tyres to high performance radials. The processes are computer controlled and the factory is laid out in the most ergonomic way to produce tyres efficiently – which is why it is over half a kilometre long! So where in the world would you find the latest tyre producing technology? In this case, Thailand!

Producing a tyre is a much more complex operation than most people assume; the old myth of pouring liquid rubber into a mould and popping out tyres every few minutes like wellington boots couldn’t be further from the truth. Tyres are assembled normally from about 20 different sub components all precisely positioned and guided by laser beams. Steel, Rayon, Nylon, Kevlar and some 30 different types of rubber can all go into just one tyre. It is amazing to think that all this technology and effort, and components shipped from the four corners of the globe go into the tyres on our classic cars!

When Vintage Tyres started 50 years ago, all the tyres we supplied were British made. Dunlop and Avon for example still produce their entire classic ranges in the original factories here in England and incredibly in many cases still in the original moulds. The difference in the tyres you buy today is that they are able to include all the advances in rubber compounding and technology in their classic designs. Even some Waymaster tyres are still made in the UK.

With the completion of our brand new “high tech” factory, we are confident having many of our Waymaster range produced for us in the Far East. Their lower manufacturing costs combined with rapid development in tyre production techniques have enabled the availability of quality tyres at a cost effective price.

Of Course many major manufacturers still produce classic tyres locally – Avon, Michelin, Dunlop, Pirelli and Vredestein all have factories in Europe. However, it is interesting to know that even in small volume classic ranges, production is common overseas in order to keep costs low; Ensign, Blockley, Excelsior, Waymaster and even Michelin all produce tyres in the far east.

So does it matter where your tyres are made? Well these days we as classic car owners are fortunate to have such a choice open to us. We are lucky that major manufacturer still continue to make small production runs of authentic tyres. The good news is that now it can also be less expensive to have good quality tyres on our cars.

Pictured here is a Riley fitted with Dunlop Triple Studs - the original triple stud tyre, and still made in England!

Rigorous Testing of Waymaster Cord Beaded Edge Tyres

How do you replicate the stresses that will be put on a tyre over thousands of miles of use, and ensure that it performs faultlessly? The answer is rigorous testing.. and at Vintage Tyres we certainly take this seriously!

When we were developing the Waymaster Cord range of beaded edge tyres, we wanted to ensure they were the very best they could be, and as the tyres were designed from the ground up we had the opportunity to use the latest tyre technology to achieve this. Beaded edge tyres were “current” technology over a hundred years ago, and tyres, cars, and roads have moved on hugely since then. Using this design of tyres in current conditions actually puts very different stresses on them than when veteran cars were new. Modern road surfaces mean that although punctures from stones etc may be less likely, it is possible to travel for long distances at much greater speeds than it would have been at the turn of the 20th Century, and also corner more quickly. This means the heat generated by the tyres and lateral pressures applied to them are much greater than they would ever have had to endure under the conditions they were first designed for. It is these problems that the Waymaster range has to deal with- at least as well as any 100 year old tyre design could!

The first step is to get each new tyre size tested to ECE30 standard at RAPRA – the Rubber and Plastics Research Authority. Although it is not a legal requirement that beaded edge tyres meet this standard, it is all part of our aim of making Waymaster Cords the best they can be. This sort of drum testing can only ever test tyres in one plane however – and we want to make sure they perform under all the stresses they will be put under, particularly the lateral forces when cornering under speed. The only way to do this is to actually do it – on a car, on the road, under test conditions.

Our first choice was a 1904 De Dion, which whilst the type of car that would end up fitting the tyres, wasn’t heavy or quick enough to test the tyres to their extreme limits. After this, we made a test wheel and fitted it to our 1935 Morris Commercial, weighed it down with sandbags and sent it out on the testing ground. The old girl fared better, but we still wanted to go further than any beaded edge tyre would ever have to in normal usage. The only answer was to adapt the wheel, and fit it to our modern Nissan pickup!

As you can see from these pictures, we really went as far as we could to test these tyres! Starting at a regular speed and normal pressure for a beaded edge tyre (around 60psi) we repeated the test dropping 5psi each time, until dislodgement occurred - which we found to be between 20 and 25psi; much lower than would ever be used in normal conditions.

We now test every beaded edge tyre like this. Waymaster offer a broad range of beaded edge sizes, using their attractive period tread pattern, and we can personally vouch for the safety and performance of each and every one!

Find out more about Waymaster here "Waymaster Tyres"

Here is a video of the test wheel on the back of the Nissan: