Watching the Indy 500 might get you thinking about all the sports car tires that burnout in that race and every major motor race around the world. Are all of those tires filling up our landfills, or do they have a life after the finish line? Keep reading to see what our readers say happens after the race ends.

Cody Crawford

Cody Crawford

Cody Crawford is an American entrepreneur, vehicle enthusiast, and co-founder of Low Offset.

Many Uses Available for “Dead” Tires

Sports car tires are made from synthetic rubber, carbon black, sulfur, and zinc oxide. When exposed to heat, these ingredients can cause the formation of crystals, decreasing the tire’s elasticity. These crystals cause a sports car tire to become hard or “dead.” Sports car tires can be recycled into many things, including new commercial tires.

The recycling process involves separating the rubber from the steel belt by heating them in an oxygen-free chamber. The molten rubber is cooled and put into a grinder to be turned back into pulp. This material is used for various products such as asphalt shingles, toys, floor tiles, speed bumps, and insulation panels. Steel belts are shredded into fine pieces and sold to manufacturing plants that require steel as a raw material.

Recycling Aids Tire Production

The burnt-out sports car tires can be recycled. These tires can be recycled and used for roadway surfaces, garden planters, commercial recycling plants, and in a variety of DIY projects.

Recycling burnt-out tires has always been a smart move as it does not negatively impact the environment. Moreover, tires are made up of rubbers. Rubber is more expensive than silver. And the only way to keep up the production of tires is through recycling old, burnt-out tires.

Zach Wimpey

Zach Wimpey

Zach Wimpey, Operations Manager at Craig and Landreth Clarksville.
Shawn Laib

Shawn Laib

Shawn Laib is a tire expert with AutoInsurance.org.

Recycling is Usually an Option

Sports car tires can be recycled if they meet certain criteria and conditions. The tire is made out of the same materials that most tires are made out of. This includes rubbers and similar materials. Most tires are now made out of mostly recycled materials, so taking the parts of the tire that are in pristine condition and putting them in the new tire is common.

Burnt-out tires are going to have the reputation of being non-usable for future projects or tire manufacturing, but this simply isn’t true. There will always be parts of the tire that can be extracted and used for something else, typically other projects that include rubber.

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