𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲'𝐬 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭 : 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝐓𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 (𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟎𝐬): 𝐀 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠

𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲'𝐬 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭

𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝐓𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 (𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟎𝐬): 𝐀 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠

The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company faced pressure to sell steel belted radial tires for cars the early 1970s. The company initially resisted this move, betting on bias ply tires as a transitional strategy. This strategy was rejected by the market, which was enamored with radial tires. Struggling to regain market share, the company's existing production sites were hastily re-tooled to produce the desired product – the 500 Series.

In the haste, Firestone engineers did not have time fully validate the new production process with life testing across all environmental conditions. Their bold strategy succeeded until reports of premature tire failures began to trickle in. Soon after, fatal accidents were linked to the new brand. In 1978, the company was subjected to the largest tire recall in history.

Some 500 Series radial tires came off the production line with small points of delamination, where the tread has poor adhesion to the carcass of the tire. Such defects would grow in diameter during the product’s service life, especially under conditions of prolonged exposure to sunlight and high temperatures. Although no problems were visible, the eventual failures were sudden and catastrophic while running at highway speeds. Defects were blamed for 34 deaths. The company paid a record fine and incurred huge losses both financially and in consumer trust.

Tire experts suggest production procedures must be optimized and rigidly controlled to avoid delamination problems when making radial tires. Sloppy practices that were suitable for the older designs cause problems for radial tires. Batches of raw rubber must be homogenized to a high degree to prevent the ingredients from separating into discrete domains. These batches must be vulcanized within strict time limits to prevent oxidation. While the different materials are being assembled into a tire, great care must be taken to avoid cross contamination between components of the side wall and the tread. During assembly, it is crucial not to contaminate the exposed surfaces prior to lamination. Even a partial fingerprint could later become a point of failure.

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source : Tim Oberle