Word: tiredly
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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RUSSELL DeYOUNG, chairman of Goodyear Tire and Rubber...
What are the differences among these tires? In the bias-ply tires, the rubber tread is attached to a casing made of crisscross layers of rayon or nylon (see diagram). The belted models are built the same way, but in addition they have two or more rigid belts of fiber glass encircling the tire under the tread. Helped by these extra belts, the tire grips the road better, wears up to 15% or 20% longer, is less likely to be punctured. In the radials, the casing cords run in straight lines instead of a crisscross pattern, and as many...
...most promising new belting materials is steel wire. It resists temperature and fatigue better than synthetic fibers, and at 550 a pound the price is right. Only one U.S. firm, National Standard, produces tire wire for the domestic market, and its capacity is 10 million Ibs. a year. All together, 100 million Ibs. of wire would be needed to make steel-belted tires standard equipment on all new cars...
...shortage may be ending. The American Viscose Division of FMC will start producing steel tire wire. To get the most advanced technology, American Viscose signed a licensing agreement with Pirelli, the Italian tiremaker, which has long used steel wire in its radials. Firestone has begun using steel in some of its bias-belted tires, and this year opened a plant in France to provide the necessary wire. Monsanto Co. has developed a quick and cheap process for spinning continuous strands of steel wire. The company estimates that production of the wire could reach 200 million Ibs. a year...
...that a big switch to steel belts and radials is probable in five years, but they may have to move faster than that. Foreign competitors are making a major drive, and last year they increased their U.S. volume by 35%, accounting for 6,700,000 of the 170 million tires sold domestically. France's Michelin is building a radial-tire plant in Nova Scotia and intends to export almost the entire output to the U.S. market. And on the West Coast, Japan's Bridgestone has just introduced a steel-belted radial guaranteed for 40,000 miles...