Wheels & Tyres
From rubber compound formulation and steel-belted radial construction to cast alloy, forged and carbon fibre wheels — the complete materials science of the automotive corner assembly.
The Wheels & Tyres Landscape
Wheels and tyres represent the sole interface between vehicle and road — engineered from the most sophisticated rubber, alloy and composite materials to deliver safety, performance, efficiency and durability across every driving condition.
Tyres & Rubber Compounds
Automotive tyres are complex engineered composites of natural and synthetic rubber, carbon black, silica, steel cords and textile reinforcement — engineered to deliver grip, rolling resistance, wet performance, durability and low noise across a vast range of operating conditions.
Alloy & Cast Wheels
Cast and forged aluminium alloy wheels combine structural rigidity with dramatic weight savings versus steel — reducing unsprung mass, improving ride, handling and fuel economy while enabling the complex spoke geometries that define modern vehicle aesthetics.
Carbon Fibre & Forged Composite Wheels
Carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) and forged carbon composite wheels represent the leading edge of wheel technology — offering 40–50% mass reduction versus aluminium alloy equivalents, used in hypercar, motorsport and premium performance applications.
Wheels & Tyres Specialists
Leading tyre manufacturers, alloy wheel producers and carbon fibre wheel specialists
Gurit
Switzerland
HRE Wheels
United States
BEAMIT
Italy
Monolith
United Kingdom
Fibra Italia
Italy
Capristo
Germany
HP Composites
Italy
Spark Racing Technology
France
Arkal
Israel
Alloyed
United Kingdom
Sauber Technologies
Switzerland
Honeywell
United States
How Automotive Wheels & Tyres Are Made
Wheels and tyres are among the most safety-critical components on any vehicle — the sole contact patch between car and road. Their design, materials and manufacturing processes are engineered to extreme tolerances, balancing performance, safety, longevity, fuel efficiency and aesthetics across the full range of road and weather conditions.
Step-by-Step Process
Fast Facts
Typical tyre rubber compound ingredients
10 – 20 distinct materials
Steel belt cord strength
2,700 – 3,700 MPa tensile
LPDC casting pressure
0.2 – 1.5 bar (above atmosphere)
Forged vs cast alloy weight saving
20 – 30%
CFRP vs alloy wheel weight saving
40 – 50%
EU TPMS mandate (passenger cars)
Mandatory since November 2014
Key Challenges
Rolling resistance vs grip trade-off
Reducing rolling resistance improves fuel economy and EV range, but typically conflicts with wet grip performance. Silica-based tread compounds have improved both simultaneously, but further gains require increasingly sophisticated compound engineering and tread pattern design.
EV-specific tyre requirements
Electric vehicles impose unique tyre demands — higher vehicle mass from batteries increases wear rates, high instant torque demands lateral grip and durability, while range anxiety places extreme pressure on rolling resistance targets. EV-specific tyre lines from all major manufacturers are now market-standard.
End-of-life tyre recycling
Over 1 billion end-of-life tyres are generated globally each year. The complex composite structure of vulcanised rubber, steel and textile makes recycling technically and economically challenging. Pyrolysis, devulcanisation and crumb rubber applications are developing but none yet achieve closed-loop material recovery at scale.
Emerging Innovations
- Run-flat tyre technologies enabling continued mobility for 50–80 miles after total pressure loss
- Airless (non-pneumatic) tyre concepts eliminating puncture risk for autonomous and low-speed applications
- Intelligent tyre systems with embedded sensors for real-time wear, temperature and load monitoring
- Bio-based rubber from guayule and dandelion as alternatives to tropical natural rubber
- Sustainable tyre formulations incorporating recycled carbon black and bio-circular oil
- Flow-formed and rotary-forged aluminium wheel manufacturing for enhanced strength-to-weight ratio
See it in a real car
Models with Brakes & Wheels teardown data on the platform.
