Could you make effective ARMOR out of TIRES? 

Wait! Are you telling me that the Super-Mutants from Fallout were actually super smart?

A lot of people think tires are just thick rubber, but it's actually pretty hardcore material. Why, it's almost as if they're specifically designed and engineered to mitigate this kind of damage.

The best part about this is you can just keep some tires around and no one would ever suspect they are materials to make some armor in an apocalyptic scenario.

Another thing to think about is supplying a hypothetical army with this. It would be INFINITLY easier to get unskilled laborers to cut tires all day rather than good smiths to make comparable armor.

For future reference, an abrasive metal cutting wheel is what you should use for tires rather than a sabre saw.

Shad "missing" both shots and hitting straight into Boromir is hilarious to me. The man is too lethal

Whoever thinks 100% electrical damage resistance isn't overpowered in 2023 is living in the past smh

I’ve found a few 38 and 9mm rounds embedded in junk tires out in the desert. Tire armor is definitely a winning idea. If you really went crazy with design so you could add a hardened layer behind at least for your center mass, my guess is that someone could empty an AK into your chest and you’d still be able to cough out “got you last” with your final breath.

As an occasional dungeon master for my friends I am going to bump the effectiveness of tire armor in my post apocalyptic campaigns now. At least for melee damage

I actually tried making my own tire armor a few years back and just like you guys say, its tough stuff. I couldn't even get through the treads with bolt cuttersand had to use a hacksaw, which only did the job through monumental effort. And yeah, it's not bulletproof, but against literally any other weapon it's nearly indestructible. A lorica made using tires would be really cool to see.

Speaking of armor, funnily enough modern Kevlar actually isn’t that great at stopping blades because the sharp pointing metal can slip between the fibers that are designed to catch bullets. A lot of bulletproof vests designed to also stop stabbings use other materials as well. EDIT: You need to somehow contact Demolition Ranch and have him test out tire armor against bullets. lol

The rubber itself binds on any blades, which slows things down and adsorbs enough energy to make the steel wires harder to penatrate than just cutting the steel. The rubber would also help reduce the severity of blunt force attacks.

Shad's just out there spinning weapons around. Checks out.

I used to work in tire installation and that steel belt is no joke. Shredded my hands a number of times on blown out and very worn tires. Awesome episode. Rock on, guys!

I have got to say, I did not expect the shadiversity content to improve as much as it has, this is incredible.

If you revisit this I suggest using an angle grinder with a steel cutting disc. It will be a lot faster to cut the steel wire than the rip saw but very smokey.(might want to go all out with ppe) If you cut them into smaller plates and overlap them you'll basically have modernised samurai armour. Lapping will increase weight but smaller plates will help with weight distribution and reduce the stiffness problem.

I find this video particularly interesting because in the movie 'demolition man' (which is actually pretty old already) they showed a dystopian future where the poor people had to protect themselves from the kinds of weapons you showed in this video and so they actually wore tire armor. That is why it was interesting to see this armor in a test and this choice was actually pretty good for the movie in terms of realism.

I grew up on a cattle ranch in America, and we used old tires to build fences. After decades of wear (cattle rubbing on them, being out in the weather 24 hours a day, etc) they looked virtually unchanged. Wooden fences would have collapsed long before. Modern tires are very tough, and this was a cool demonstration of that fact.

6:56 That was actually such a WONDERFUL shot! If that wasn't on purpose, at least tell everyone it was totally on purpose. Got the dummy right between the armor and right in, I think, the Liver. Probably a killshot even if it wasn't the liver just because this is the dirty apocalyse and infection is a concern again.

I’d love to see the aluminum alloy street signs are made of tested. I’ve made some apocalyptic armor out of it, and it seems remarkably tough for its weight

I use to work at a auto shop and the amount of people that actually came into the shop and thought tires were just rubber simply amazed me.... they had no idea their is a metal belt in there

Certainly good option if you are trying to build an army as a post-apocalyptic warlord on a tight budget. Tires are ubiquitous and as an added bonus when done right the armor will look menacing.

I would love to see you actually make a full proper armor set from this

The wire is called "belting" and is woven. Additionally, it's usually layered with woven nylon. Durable and flexible, while resistant to heat and friction.

This episode reminded me of Mythbusters when they did the paper samurai armor. A thin but layered rubber suit of armor would be so rad, so long as nobody has any blunt pointy bits on sticks laying around.

It makes sense. Tires are made to resist punctures under tons of force. The one thing I would say is it doesn’t deflect attacks very well.

4:00 axe test 4:32 sword test 6:16 spear test 6:35 bow 7:25 thoughts

Another good improv armor material is a ream of printer paper with a stone tile on the front, all wrapped in duct tape. A couple reams of paper will block any pistol bullet. Maybe this would be a good shield to carry with your tire armor.

As a mechanic I was very confident tyre armour would be highly effective. Great video guys, your content of late is brilliant

The vulnerability of tyre armour is definitely its gaps and piercing damage. The other nice thing about rubber is that it closes back up somewhat, even if it doesn't really self heal. For cutting, I recommend shears rather than saws.

Use LT rated tires. They come with extra steel belts due to the increased load capacity plus those types of tires will have deeper tread as well.

Yes. Didnt realy need a video to tell me that, but it was a fun watch :) Shad and&co's banter is gold!

Fascinating, combined with some padding, this is some seriously effective armor!

I was thinking about looking into making mods for Project Zomboid that would add forging and one of the things I was thinking about was tire armor, glad to see I wasn't off on its effectivity. Though I WAS surprised by just how effective it is. 😲 Also - VERY happy to see that Shadiversity is back to its rational educational content! 💝👏👏👏

I'll be darned. The "Tire Armor" gimmick actually has functionality.😳🤯

The one thing I think of when I see tire armor in movies like Demolition Man is, ‘Damn that’s gotta be heavy.’

I love how Shad takes his shots and goes right through the weak spots lol! He has some scary aim apparently.

I love, love, love the mythbuster style transitions and explanations.

With firearms I’ll point out that larger calibers, particularly in pistol ammunition do not necessarily have greater penetration. A .45 caliber round has more knock down power and will cause greater wounds than a 9mm however the higher muzzle velocity of the latter would almost certainly result in higher degrees of penetration. Rifle ammunition is similar in many ways but the sheer power of the bullet weight combined with how much gunpowder is used does lend a certain amount of certainty that larger calibers will be more effective.

I never thought of this and immediately added it to my "projects" playlist! I've got two flats lying around and was going to use them to plant veggies, but now they'll become a set of post-apocalyptic armor. 😎 Thanks for the inspiration!

Who would've thought that something that has to carry tons of car, at high speed, over long distances, would be tough.

So leave about half the sidewall, use that create lashing that mounts the upper and lower halves of the plate, the sidewall should help it to maintain some of its shape, the void behind the tire creates by that provides additional protection for the wear.

The tire knight! Slightly lethargic but rolls along anyway.

Now I'm curious about other post-Apocalyptic protectives... road sign chest plates, car door shields, repurposed safety gear (welding gear, sports padding, denim overclothes, etc.), plastic bucket pauldrons, and more.

0:18 I was exactly like shad when I was younger. I was hoping for the zombie apocalypse so bad it sounded so fun! And maybe I’m still a little excited for it. 😂

wow, I've had thoughts about this recently, thank you for the in-depth analysis on the matter shad!

Before the video starts, I'm gonna say that tire armor would work. It's like leather but better.

I would love to see an in depth video of you guys making a proper suit of tire armour!

Years ago we sent bullets downrange at a black object, 338 and down. When we were done we walked over to it. Not a hole in it, it was a semi airbag, it stopped every bullet and no damaged to the metal

Love the hilarious skits and the new creativity of his channel. The idea on tire armor really makes sense. Shad should do a side quest to manufacture a full body armor suit out of bullet-proof military Humvee tires (mold it into kind of a scuba diver wet suit that you can easily zip into), then layer it fire-proofing material... ...and you will get the ultimate fire-proof, water-proof, cut-proof and bullet-proof suit that will be relatively light weight (compared to plate armor) and yet its highly flexible too. I think all of Shad's fans will buy them without second thought. Lol.

Just an FYI, there are multiple layers of steel “ply’s” in the crown (top or where the tread is). It’s supposed to be resistant to puncture even more so when you get to industrial tires that’s when the standard number of Ply is doubled to triple due to amount of abuse it takes while on the job but not recommend for makeshift armor due to how heavy and annoying it is to cut (from personal experience). Also Tyranth the ring is called the “bead”.

I made my own, and it ended up pretty good, I used a hand saw on the rubber and an angle grinder on the metel. Took a while though

Makes me wonder if a steel wire + Gambeson combo could result in a lighter weight, but extremely effective composite stab-proof type armour. Would likely be slightly heavier than Gambeson, but could potentially match high quality chain mail. To go further perhaps silk + steel wire to reduce weight even more, but combine the silk and steel properties. Interesting stuff guys, love it!

The "opening cinematic"/title intro is top tier and a great change!

I surely hope no one treads on your good time. How people can tire of such things is beyond me. These videos really vulcanized the fan base.

This is fantastic! I'd love to see a steel-belted radial version of a Wisby armor. Use a Kevlar gambeson and you are melee and bullet proof!

I am 100% integrating this knowledge into my post-apocalyptic TTRPG campaign

I watched the end bit of you guys talking to spite the algorithm and laugh at you guys. Love the videos. You've come a long way Shad and crew!

Well I was planning on getting around to this at some point, but thank you for getting me moving on it. Don't worry, I'll shoot some for you Shad.

IDEA: I was curious about the automatic knifes and how they work. Then I got to thinking bout an "Automatic Sword" would be. I'm not talking about a collapsible blade, more a retractable blade. I imagine it would be as effective or perhaps MORE effective though there is still this part of me that says "It wouldn't work", and "that should not exist". Of course the hilt would be the size of the blade but that doesn't seem to be too much of a problem, maybe even an advantage. It could also surprise your opponent during or before combat. IDK, I thought I could spit the concept out there and maybe y'all could run with it or not its up to y'all. TY M8s

Try using carbide bits and aluminum oxide cutting discs on a pneumatic die grinder tool. That should make cutting through the tire much easier...I hope. I need to try this at my workshop.

I deal with truck tires, to penetrate the metal belts in the tire you need a point fine enough to push between the metal wires. (nails screws ect. ect. things like large bolt need the force of 8,000 pounds with little "give" to punch through)The spike on an axe type point or an arrow with a fine point and you need enough mass in the blow to push through. Lorica segementata would be interesting. Larger segments could be made with wide sport car tires (much wider) that have had the tread worn down to highway replacement time would be as good but lighter. (and most tire shops will give them to you). For larger sections get heavy truck "super single" type tires. The tread of a 455/45- 24.5 truck tire could make an interesting breastplate.

This newer formula is fantastic

As soon as Nate said, "cats and dogs are living together," I was immediately reminded of that Bill Murray quote from Ghostbusters.

This video is brought to you by Goodyear Tires. Not just for cars anymore.

Thanks for testing! I use a used tire for stick practice, and had similar damage to my sword when I used the tire for practice cuts.

well this is a well rounded idea seems to roll well with alot of different weapons my mind would be spinning trying to design something like this pun intended

Filled with dirt stack of tires makes for great defence walls that last ti even blast near them so yes of course it works ok as armor.

This means the Michelin man is invincible

Some years ago I tested shooting at a standard car tire with my 70 lbs 32" DL compound bow and 650 grain heavy arrows. I was able to shoot through one layer with good penetration with the right arrow heads, but the steel wire in the tire totally ruined the arrow heads and the carbon arrows. I also tried with a 50 lbs longbow with around 400 grain arrows and then the arrows had no chance at penetrating and in fact could work well as an arrow stop.

You saw all the variants in the Road Warrior. Imagine taking the time to go full Gothic Plate with a mix of Steel Belted Radial, Off-road Run-flat, Tractor/Lorry and such to make a Black Knight that would NEVER have to say "Tis but a scratch!"

Nice video. It would be interesting to see how some type 7 (square section) needles would perform over your M2 Tudor bodkins. Different arrow heads are more efficient against different materials, and I suspect against the rubber/wire mesh composite, the needle will perform a bit better than broad heads and warbodkins.

Rubber is one of those things that looks flimsy until you try to break it

Wow! Far better than expected! I thought the pike on the axe would do it and it did. But seemingly just barely. I wish I could see it tested with guns now though I realise that some other channel would probably need to do that.

I've seen full on late medieval plate armour made out of car tyres before.

Back on the farm, we used to cut up old tires with an angle grinder with a metal cutting disk. You get a good number of cut out of a disk with the added bonus of eliminating every mosquito within a hundred miles.

Yes! I've been commenting on videos about fantasy armor about how they should test fallout/mad max tire armor. Oddly enough I don't think I ever did it on a Shad video, but definitely on Metatron and skall

After seeing this video, I was inspired to make tire armor of my own. I messes around with design ideas, and eventually concluded that the design you came up with is the best. After making the tire armor, heres what I have to say: First off, it is heavy and uncomfortable as hell. To be fair, my tires were a lot heavier than yours. However, i only made the upper half of the armor and pauldrons, and IIRC it was 20-25 pounds. I made straps using paracord and ducttape at the top and a belt at the bottom that went around my stomach. I wore it on and off for Halloween at school and by the end up my day my shoulders were on fire. Second off, when using thicker tires like I did, they are absolutely unstoppable. I havent been able to test them much but i would wager that the thicker tires i used are twice as strong. Overall, the cost of the project was 20 bucks for the tire i used, 10 bucks for rope/ tape, another 5 for a drill bit(all other tools/blades i already had). Im considering buying a harness which would be an additional 25+ dollars.

If you are curious how this armor would hold up to bullets, Shad, I recommend reaching out to Scott at “Kentucky Ballistics”, I bet he would be as curious as you, and I’m sure he’d be open to working with you. The axe and spear would have still have been grievous. The thing about bullet armor, soft and ceramic, that people don’t realize is that armor might catch the bullet, but it does not stop the energy of the round. It might stop a .500 S&W Magnum bullet, but it will push the armor itself several inches into the body and be a permanent plug several inches across. The same principle applies here. The axe or spear might not penetrate, but the energy delivered will still break ribs-especially when seeing the dummy being knocked over backwards. It maybe synthetic rubber, but unlike cartoons it will not stop the impact force, merely slightly blunt it. There are a lot of good examples on “Kentucky Ballistics” channel where he demonstrates this using elephant guns and large caliber pistols being tested on armor, including .460 Rigby, .375 H&H Mag, 4 Bore, and even the Nitro Express series of .470, .500, .600, and even .700. Sometimes, ironically, the armor can be deadlier than to be straight up hit by the round in question, since the bullet (if it’s a FMJ or otherwise designed for penetration) might have passed through the body whereas hitting the armor literally turned it into a 4-8 inch (roughly, 10-20 cm) wide spike running through the body and out the other side. Physics can be weird, and Kevlar is not always your friend, especially when speed is involved.

Wow, it held up a whole lot better than I thought. Also LOVED the fire sword video! 😁⚔️

I swear each video becomes ever more like a dnd campaign, and I am all for it!

Cool video. I shredded a tire recently while driving off road. It took a razor sharp bit of bedrock, the weigh and horsepower of the vehicle. Slashed 2 lugs and rip the side wall. My tires are 3ply so they have 3 layers of high carbon steel wire. My next set will be 10ply and be heavier but hold up to the abuse better.

The shot at 6:53 that goes in between the two tires is the dictionary definition of a critical hit.

I love how enthusiastic and excited you get it is a genuinely good idea tyre rubber i would never of thought of it

A cool idea to test, is if you mold rubber across a set of chainmail, how strong that'd be.

When I was young I saw "Demolition man" with sylvester stallone and wesly snilpe and snipe had a tire armour and I fell in love with it. I made and used a few armors made of tire and you didn't even start hurting that... use blunt force trauma or something like bodking arrows or you can't hurt it...

Armors made from Tires? This should have been the Road Warrior Episode! Have they guy get Mohawk, Leather, and wear Football Pad. Then end with you guys running into the Castle because Lord Humongus showed up demanding Gas.

I ALWAYS had it as one of my 'post apoc list' items that scouring the highways for tire scraps from blowouts for all kinds of uses was a good idea.

I approve. Ive made several tire armors, just for deco tho. A fully functional tire armor has been on the ever growing idea list... Maybe it's time for that!

From 16:48, to answer your question, tires are a common backstop for open air ranges, though its usually large tires like from tractors.

I can’t put into words how awesome and epic this intro is 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Shad, I'm so happy that you've found yourself two more turbonerds

They've been cooking up ideas worthy of a Michelin Star . And the talk of the flaming sword video makes me wonder if they will make something with a Firestone.

You could choose balding tires for a lighter more flexible version, or brand new tires for greater thickness. I wonder too if the different tread patterns would change things?

Big and slow bullets, so most pistol calibers, I think a few layers could stop. Once you get into the small and fast rifle rounds they'll breeze through.

You can use a big pair of scissors for sheet metal and cut them quite effectively. Or to make it easy you get them mounted on a workbench with a long lever.

If you had two layers you could place them so that the wires in one piece are at 90 degrees to the other, making a sort of crisscross that would be a bit more effective against piercing strikes.

A grinder with a few cutoff wheels and a grinding disc to shape and thin the rubber where needed would make working with it more bearable.

Absolutely loving all your new content. Just tons of creativity and passion on display.

The tire armor is almost like a gambeson & hard armor combined into 1 However, a couple of things come to mind, 1.angle grinder with a cut-off wheel will definitely help with cutting the tires 2. Would a tire with a nylon or other material for the belt (instead of steel) be similar in performance? 3. that same cut-off wheel could make select bits of metal from the car an excellent source for additional armor material 4. At least some airbags are made of cross woven Kevlar My conclusion, I would love to see a significantly higher grade of your tire armor! Better fit, more effective, or possibly bullet resistant?