The automotive industry has been integrated as a very important aspect of society and every man’s life. Without vehicles, transportation is much more difficult, expensive, and complicated. With these powerful the machine that weighs over a ton, we can get from one point to another in just a couple of seconds, minutes or hours. In the past, it took days just to pass 100 km, and now, it takes only an hour or less, especially if you are driving on a highway.
When you think about these powerful machines, you are probably forming an object that is mostly made out of metal. This is the reason why they weigh over a ton or more. Some SUVs, especially electric ones have been measured to be well over 2000 kg. But, there are a lot of different materials used when creating car parts and rubber is a material that you can frequently meet in all kinds of vehicles.
I thought it would be important to talk about this material because I believe it does not get enough recognition. So, I decided to write this article and talk about the most common car parts that are made out of rubber.
1. Tires
Well, if there is one thing that we have to appreciate, it has to be the tires. Without the discovery of the wheel, humanity would not be able to reach this level of intelligence, technology, and advanced society. We would probably still be stuck in the Stone Age, hitting trees with rocks. Fortunately, we did discover the wheel and we managed to evolve into smarter beings.
As the idea of the wheel evolved, so did the materials used for its manufacturing process. After many, many years of trial and error, we found out that the best material to create a wheel is with a combination of steel and rubber. This is how we got the tire.
A tire is able to absorb the shock and vibration from the road and also provide better traction for the vehicle. The improved traction allows a driver to make much sharper turns and to react faster. The better the tread on the tire, the better the traction. This is the reason why we replace the tires during the summer and winter season. When it is wetter, cooler, and icier outside, the vehicle requires treads that will provide a much better grip on the road. While in the summer, a good grip can be achieved with almost any kind of tread.
However, it is very important to acknowledge the different levels of quality when it comes to tires. Personally, I believe that it is always better to bump up your budget and get a higher quality set of tires instead of buying inexpensive or used ones. A nice set of tires will cost you a few hundred dollars more, but they will last you a couple of years more too.
2. Hoses
Another very obvious use of rubber in vehicles is a hose. If you were to open up the hood of your vehicle, you will easily spot at least five of them connecting from one spot to another. There are a lot of different uses for these hoses and they are essential to keep your car running.
There is one hose that sends the detergent and water from the tank to the windshield wipers. Rubber was the best material for this type of hose because it is very resistant to all kinds of chemicals. If another material was used, the chemical could burn through it and doing the hose.
Another good example of the use of a rubber hose in a car is the one that is connected to the radiator. The radiator is usually placed next to the front grill of a car and its purpose is to cool down the engine. The radiator is filled with a special liquid that is easily cooled and maintains its low temperature for a long time. The temperature of the air around the engine is being lowered as the water loops around the radiator. But, without the help of a rubber hose, the water would not be able to loop around the radiator so efficiently.
3. Shock/vibration absorption
While going down the road, your car constantly drives over different bumps, potholes, and uneven surfaces. But, your experience is unaltered because every single one of those vibrations is absorbed. This is achieved with the use of spring-like shock absorbers on the tires and rubber bumpers placed all over the vehicle. Those rubber bumpers are probably the same type as the ones you can find on a website such as etolrubber.com that are used for furniture, ladders, or washing machines.
4. Wiring protection
Electricity can be dangerous, especially if there are exposed and naked copper wires going around and through the engine of a car. This is why every single wire you have seen in your life is probably to protect it one way or another. The best way to isolate electricity is with rubber. This material has a huge resistance against the power of electricity, gets cold and hot. Basically, it is very durable which is why it is the perfect choice for isolating electricity.
So, when you open up the hood, you will notice that every piece of wiring is probably protected with a thick layer of rubber.
5. Seals and gaskets
Most machine parts are made of some type of metal whether it is aluminum, steel, or iron. Usually, steel is used for engine part because it has a high resistance against, and with so many different liquids and chemicals running around or in the engine such as fuel, wiper fluid, oil, etc. corrosion is inevitable. But, with so many different steel parts, it is impossible to perfectly connect two different pieces. Steel is very tough and high on the hardness scale, it is almost impossible to make a seal between those two pieces.
This is why engineers prefer to use gaskets to seal the connection between two pieces made out of metal. This way, the possibility of a leak of fuel, oil, or any other liquid is reduced to zero. It also prevents water from the outside to enter the engine. These gaskets that make that seal is made out of rubber.
As you can see, rubber is very useful even during the manufacturing process of vehicles.
