The Tire Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
1 min
The Tire Quiz
Image: santiphotois/iStock

About This Quiz

You probably don't give much thought to those little wheels that get you from point A to point B, but tires are key components of a vehicle's performance. Take the tire quiz to find out how much you know about tires.
Which component of a tire gives it the strength it needs to stay seated on the wheel rim?
bead bundle
The bead is a loop of high-strength steel cable coated with rubber. Along with giving the tire strength to stay seated on the wheel rim, it also enables the tire to withstand the forces applied by tire mounting machines when the tires are installed on rims.
cap plies
steel belts

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The various layers of fabrics that make up the tire's body are called:
cords
belts
plies
Plies are coated with rubber to help them bond with the other components and to seal in the air. The most common ply fabric is polyester cord

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Which direction do the cords in a radial tire run?
perpendicular to the tread
In radial tires, the cords run perpendicular to the tread. The cords run at an angle to the tread in diagonal bias tires.
parallel to the tread
at an angle to the tread

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How many plies do most car tires have?
one
two
Tire strength is often described by the number of plies it has. Most car tires have two body plies, while large commercial jetliners may have 30 or more.
four

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A tire in the initial phases of assembly that doesn't yet have markings or tread patterns is called a:
white tire
brown tire
green tire
Green tires have all of their pieces, but they're not held together very tightly and don't have any markings or tread patterns.

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Bonding all of the tire's components together is called:
melding
vulcanizing
Vulcanizing involves running the green tire through a curing machine to bond all of its components together and mold in all of the markings and traction patterns.
binding

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Which of the following aspect ratios would provide the greatest lateral stability?
80 percent
60 percent
45 percent
The aspect ratio, or the height of a tire expressed as a percentage of its width, indicates the tire's ability to withstand lateral forces. Tires with a lower profile, like 45 percent, have shorter, stiffer sidewalls better suited to resist cornering forces.

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If your tires have more wear on the outside, toward the edge, than the inside, they're probably:
underinflated
Underinflation can cause tires to wear more on the outside than the inside, while overinflation causes tires to wear more in the center of the tread.
properly inflated
overinflated

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Which of the following is not caused by underinflated tires?
increased heat buildup
skidding
Underinflated tires lead to reduced fuel efficiency and increased heat buildup in the tires. You should check your tire pressure at least once a month.
reduced fuel efficiency

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What does a "P" on the side of a tire indicate?
proper inflation
passenger vehicle
Passenger vehicle tires are denoted by a "P" on the side; "LT" indicates light truck; and "T" indicates a temporary, or spare, tire.
the tire brand

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You Got:
/10
santiphotois/iStock
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