Many people mistakenly believe that the small spikes on motorcycle tires, known as “vent spews,” are designed to prevent slipping or improve traction. However, these spikes have no impact on tire performance. In reality, they are a by-product of the tire manufacturing process and serve no functional purpose once the tire is complete.
What Are Vent Spews?
Vent spews, sometimes called sprue nubs, tire nibs, gate markings, or nippers, are small rubber projections that appear on new tires. But what are they exactly? To understand their purpose, it’s helpful to know a bit about how tires are made.
During the manufacturing process, a tire starts as a “green tire,” which is essentially a raw rubber form. At this stage, the tire hasn’t yet developed its tread pattern or markings. The green tire is placed into a mold, where heat and pressure are applied to shape it. As the rubber expands, it fills the mold, creating the tread pattern and adding any labels or branding, like Toyo Tires Proxes or Open Country.
During this molding process, air bubbles can get trapped between the rubber and the mold. If these air pockets remain, they can interfere with the tire’s formation. Vent spews serve as escape routes for these trapped air bubbles, ensuring that the rubber fills the mold properly without imperfections.
Why Do Vent Spews Stay on the Tires?
You may have noticed that these spikes are sometimes still visible on the tire’s sidewalls or shoulders. Steve Burke, a technical manager at Toyo Tires, explains this phenomenon: “As air escapes during the tire molding process, it carries small bits of rubber with it. This results in the formation of the vent spews.”
Most of the vent spews that appear on the tread face of the tire are removed before the tire reaches the consumer. However, it’s not uncommon to see them remaining on the tire’s sides or shoulder areas. Despite their appearance, they don’t serve any functional purpose once the tire is in use.
Do You Need to Remove Vent Spews?
The short answer is no. Vent spews don’t affect the performance or safety of the tire once it’s on the road. In fact, most manufacturers don’t bother removing them unless they’re on the tread face, where they could potentially interfere with the tire’s initial contact with the road.
Steve Burke adds that some car enthusiasts enjoy trimming or shaving off the remaining vent spews for aesthetic purposes, especially those who own show cars. He cautions, however, that it’s not necessary to remove them. If you do decide to remove them for cosmetic reasons, Burke advises avoiding the use of scissors or blades, which could damage the tire. Instead, he suggests simply pulling them off by hand, which can actually be quite stress-relieving!
The Bottom Line
The spikes, or vent spews, you see on your motorcycle tires are not there to improve grip or prevent slipping. They’re just harmless leftovers from the manufacturing process. Whether you choose to leave them on or pull them off is entirely up to you, but either way, they don’t impact your tire’s performance.
Next time you pick up a new set of Toyo tires or any other brand, you’ll know exactly what those little spikes are for—and why they’re not worth worrying about. So, no need to stress about tire spikes the next time you hit the road. Your tires are designed to perform exactly as they should, with or without those tiny rubber nubs.
