7
Airless Tires (Puncture Proof)
- Thread starter launchd
- Start date
AtlantaDad
Drag Race Newbie
- Location
- Cumming, GA
I expect this kinda crap from The Fed. [emoji1787]
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Sandman GTI
Drag Race Newbie
- Location
- Tennessee USA
How will we know if any internal ribs are broken?
If I hit a pot hole will it bend a plastic rib and then have uniformity issues?
If I get mud in the ribs, will it be out of balance?
If I hit a pot hole will it bend a plastic rib and then have uniformity issues?
If I get mud in the ribs, will it be out of balance?
I'd assume they would still have a sidewall for additional stiffness and to counteract those concerns you have. Probably just pics to show proof of concept but the ribs wearing/breaking seems to be a concern.
Seems like the ride would be super soft and lead to loss of a lot of power at wheels and rolling resistance leading to reduced fuel economy...Why not just fix the roads...
theBrandler
Ready to race!
- Location
- New England
Nope, Michelin makes tweels for off-road use. You can get them for lawn tractors and ATV and other off-road use, and they are open like this.
It's an awful design, and what's worse, they weigh twice as much as normal tires!
Not something you want on your GTI. I looked into putting them on my ATV, but it would add nearly 100lb to the drive trane!
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Finglonga
Drag Racing Champion
- Location
- Stafford, UK, Earth, Solar System.
They have been around for decades, all our Forklift trucks had them in the 90's. They don't make enough money on them so won't ever be available fot the humble car.
shortyb
Autocross Newbie
- Location
- Upstate SC
- Car(s)
- Felon Taxi,Dad Wagon
Michelin did these prototypes many years ago. called them "Tweels". Tried some on afew cruisers some years back but they didn't corner very well. Made a lot of noise too.
theBrandler
Ready to race!
- Location
- New England
I am very glad they are trying though. I see here as well as other forums people keep saying these won't make money, but that's silly. The tread will wear out just like a regular tire.
I don't know how much revenue will be lost to the lack of puncture replacements. But I think Michelin is trying to capture the oem market with these. Should be an easy sell for dealers to regular folks looking to keep tires from popping.
So if Michelin can get to market first, they could become the defacto tire for all normal cars and suvs really quickly. People would also happily replace the tires on their current vehicle with unpopable tires.
The effect of this market takeover would surpass any losses to not replacing popped tires. I imagine that's exactly what Michelin has in mind.
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I don't know how much revenue will be lost to the lack of puncture replacements. But I think Michelin is trying to capture the oem market with these. Should be an easy sell for dealers to regular folks looking to keep tires from popping.
So if Michelin can get to market first, they could become the defacto tire for all normal cars and suvs really quickly. People would also happily replace the tires on their current vehicle with unpopable tires.
The effect of this market takeover would surpass any losses to not replacing popped tires. I imagine that's exactly what Michelin has in mind.
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This is progress in a direction, but you're probably right to say it's going to sit in the OEMs hands for sometime before it becomes something commonly available or wanted by the masses.
Honda/Acura had a Michelin designed PAX system that is similar in idea to this, but was only used as a run flat replacement. The issue with run flat tires is that for them to work without air for ~50miles the sidewalls have to be very rigid, which isn't good for ride quality. The tires are also more expensive. Honda's system that they used in Odysseys, Pilots, and one or two Acura models looked like this:
It needed a special wheel, tire, there was a replaceable band in the center that the tire was supported by when flat. This lasted about 2-3 model years in the mid 2000's and was scrapped. People couldn't wait to replace this setup with a standard wheel and tire because of longevity and cost, and there was a class action lawsuit because of that. Basically a complete failure.
A tweel on a road going car might not be that bad of an idea IF and only IF the wear characteristics are equal to the increase in costs to purchase AND mount, since specialist tools are likely required. Same with the PAX system, if you didn't know what you were doing, it was difficult as hell to replace a tire. Even if you knew what you were doing, it still sucked, and people paid extra for those installs no question about it.
If there are environmental concerns that these tires can help with by using less material or recycled elements, that is awesome. I'm all for that. But this will be limited to Priuses, Minivans, and Crossovers for the foreseeable future, I'm sure of that. It has no place with enthusiast vehicles.
Honda/Acura had a Michelin designed PAX system that is similar in idea to this, but was only used as a run flat replacement. The issue with run flat tires is that for them to work without air for ~50miles the sidewalls have to be very rigid, which isn't good for ride quality. The tires are also more expensive. Honda's system that they used in Odysseys, Pilots, and one or two Acura models looked like this:
It needed a special wheel, tire, there was a replaceable band in the center that the tire was supported by when flat. This lasted about 2-3 model years in the mid 2000's and was scrapped. People couldn't wait to replace this setup with a standard wheel and tire because of longevity and cost, and there was a class action lawsuit because of that. Basically a complete failure.
A tweel on a road going car might not be that bad of an idea IF and only IF the wear characteristics are equal to the increase in costs to purchase AND mount, since specialist tools are likely required. Same with the PAX system, if you didn't know what you were doing, it was difficult as hell to replace a tire. Even if you knew what you were doing, it still sucked, and people paid extra for those installs no question about it.
If there are environmental concerns that these tires can help with by using less material or recycled elements, that is awesome. I'm all for that. But this will be limited to Priuses, Minivans, and Crossovers for the foreseeable future, I'm sure of that. It has no place with enthusiast vehicles.