How To: Tire Armor

Right.. so you want to be prepared for the coming apocalypse and be able to dress the part of a wasteland warrior? That means you have to get acquainted with tire armor. Or maybe you just want to make a unique costume for Halloween?

This is a quick HOW TO on making some Mad Max inspired Post-Apocalyptic tire armor, and is by no means a lesson in how to make replica Mad Max armor. If you want authentic looking Mad Max costuming, we have a couple sites in our weblinks that can help you out.

A note about safety: Use common sense. Do not try and get fancy with cutting if you are not able to control your saw. Do not see if you can lop off a finger in your bolt cutters! Do not stick your head near a spinning grinder if you have long hair! I won't be held responsible if you injure yourself, so please avoid doing so.

Why tires?

Easy.
Tires are plentiful. Even now you can find tires by the thousands if you are in the right place! After the world economy fails, there will also be a ton of cars that aren't going anywhere, so best make use of the parts.
Tires are protective. Ever hit an tire? It takes a lot of force to penetrate that much vulcanized rubber with any sort of bladed weapon, and the modern tires that are steel belted just add a little extra to that. The fact that tires are molded into a fairly rigid shape helps absorb the impact from blunt weapons like clubs. Realize that any firearm will make short work of it, however.
One standard automobile tire can yield enough material to provide shoulder, thigh, and some chest protection for one person. Therefore, one car's worth of tires can yield a basic level of protection for up to four people. That's a pretty good return for something you can get pretty easily.

Anatomy of a tire

The important parts to know for our discussion are:

• Bead: This is a group of steel cords that run along the inside of the tire. These can be your biggest problem with constructing tire armor.
• Steel Belt(s): This is a mesh of thin steel wire used to add strength to the tread of the tire. As with the bead, it can be a pain to deal with when constructing your armor, and we'll talk about how to deal with it on the next page.
• The Tire-Tread: This is the part of the tire that gives you the traction for your car.
• Side Walls: The part of the tire that connects the bead area to the tread area. Basically the sides of the tires. This is the easiest part to cut through as it's just rubber with no reinforcement.

Now you are probably asking, "What about all those truck tires I see along the side of the highway? Surely they are useful!".

Why, yes they are! However, there is two problems with shed truck tires, first is usually it's only the belt and tread you will wide up with. This can add complication in attaching your tires to the other parts of your wasteland warrior kit.

The second is usually they are really abused from the process they undergo when shed on the highway. This means you'll have to undergo extra work to dress up the steel belt. If you look at the picture on the right, the side is ate up, and while it gives a cool look, it would be pretty uncomfortable to wear.

Some other notes about truck tire treads:

• You will notice that the tread pattern is significantly different then what you would expect on a car tire.
• Without the sidewalls, a truck tire would be easier to manipulate for armor like a kidney or waist belt.