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another kind of rubber coats the fabric that will be used to make up the
tire's body. The fabrics come in huge rolls, and they are as specialized
and critical as the rubber blends. Many kinds of fabrics are used: (i.e.
polyester or nylon). Most of today’s passenger tires have polyester cord
bodies.
Another component called a bead, shaped like a hoop. It is made of high-tensile steel wire, which will fit against the vehicle's wheel rim. The strands are aligned into a ribbon coated with rubber for adhesion, then wound into loops that are then wrapped together to secure them until they are assembled with the rest of the tire.
Radial tires are built on one or two tire machines. The tire starts with a double layer of synthetic gum rubber called an inner liner that will seal in air and make the tire tubeless. Next come two layers of ply fabric, the cords. Two strips called apexes stiffen the area just above the bead. Next, a pair of chafer strips is added, so called because they resist chafing from the wheel rim when mounted on a car. The tire building machine pre-shapes radial tires into a form very close to their final dimension to make sure the many components are in proper position before the tire goes into the mold.