For those who have ever looked at their new tires closely, you may be surprised to see that there are little rubber hairs that are sticking out of the tire itself. This is a common question that many people are curious about, and it’s best to look towards auto experts in order to explain this phenomenon.
The little rubber hairs actually have a real name: vent spews, also known as, tire whiskers. The Director of Consumer Product Strategy for Bridgestone Americas, Will Robbins, notes that these vent spews are simply byproducts of the tire manufacturing process.
While many people have theorised that they are for indicating tyre wear, for noise reduction or air ventilation, they don’t actually serve any purpose post production. They are simply a by-product of the tyre manufacturing process
Heat and pressure is applied to the green tyre. The rubber expands to fill the mould, taking on the tread pattern and Toyo Tires Proxes or Open Country label in the proces
During the application of pressure and heat there is a risk of air bubbles forming between rubber and mould. Air bubbles prevent the mould from forming correctly.
A spew hole, or vent sprue is the tube that excess pressure escapes from as the rubber expands.
Curiously, there’s no set number of hairs each tire will have. The exact number of vent spews varies based on the design and size of the tires. But the presence of tire hair is universal. They are nothing more than remnants of the intricate process that makes strong and durable tires that safely carry you around town every day. You can now impress your friends with some random trivia knowledge.
As soon as the little rubber bits are removed from the mold, they harden and remain attached to the tire.
