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Show Rubber Tire Tread To Stop Skidding Synthetic Product Answer To Motorists' Dream. MORGANTOWN. W. VA. Two brothers here claimed to have the answer to one of the motorist's dreams a synthetic rubber tire tread, composed chiefly of waste materials, ma-terials, through which automobile drivers may virtually ignore steep, icy streets and highways. The discovery also has potentialities potentiali-ties as a contribution to the war effort, ef-fort, as, the brothers assert, it will lengthen the life of a tire by at least 5,000 miles and has been, developed to the point where it would be practicable prac-ticable for mass production. The brothers Clarence and Lon-nie Lon-nie Gapen are middle-aged owners of a wallpaper store. They developed devel-oped the product after three years of experimenting in a makeshift laboratory in the basement of their store. The rubber substitute, a one-eighth one-eighth inch tread put on an ordinary casing by a cold application in contrast con-trast to the curing required by present pres-ent retreading methods, recently passed a severe test on a steep, ice-covered ice-covered three-block hill in Morgan-town. Morgan-town. Using a light coupe, the Gapen brothers negotiated the grade with ease, coming to a stop in the middle mid-dle of the hill and then resuming the climb. About half-way down, on the return re-turn trip, the car was stopped within half of its length. After being put in reverse the car backed up the hill without sliding or spinning of the wheels. Applied to the two rear tires of the car, the synthetic substance has been used for 2,500 miles and the Gapens expect at least a 5,000-mile life for their product. |