Michelin has come up with a tire that doesn't need to be pumped up, can't leak, don't go flat.
http://tinyurl.com/6k8ekw
http://tinyurl.com/6k8ekw
New airless tires
- Thread starter #juan
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Jammed full of ice and snow? Probably behave like an ordinary tire. One question might be "how much do they cost? or How long will the tread last? I assume they can be re-treaded.....wonder how much that costs???
Well if your picture is the actual tire you're talking about... Lone Wolfs question is important. In a normal tire (inflated bladder with or without "tube" if you leave a car sitting with a tire in a big puddle, the tire won't fill with ice when the temperature drops....
The tire in your picture......
The tire in your picture......
Mikey
I think there would be enough flex in that outer rim to crack any ice out if that puddle froze solid. I think my biggest question would be; how much for a retread job when they wear out?
I'm from Missouri on this one Juan...
I can imagine a huge chunk of ice meeting with the quarter panel and leaving a substantial divot therein.....I can envision a car tire tearing itself apart .....I can't see a tire (like the one in the picture) working very well at all.....
Besides do you realize how many service stations and gas stations will lose that quarter for compressed air..... there'll be a revolt!
I can imagine a huge chunk of ice meeting with the quarter panel and leaving a substantial divot therein.....I can envision a car tire tearing itself apart .....I can't see a tire (like the one in the picture) working very well at all.....
Besides do you realize how many service stations and gas stations will lose that quarter for compressed air..... there'll be a revolt!
Cool. I have to concur with Mikey though. That pothole that I park in because the city refuses to fix it, would be sure to cause a block of ice to form through my tire. I'd be ripping it apart, or tearing up ice chunks which would smash my wheel wells.... NOT COOL. But, for the vast majority of parking situations (like all the people on my street that the city likes), I can't see it being a real issue.
Hey! Here's another use for a tire iron. :smile: If you parked in a deep puddle that froze solid, you might have a similar problem with ordinary tires. If you moved your car ahead six or eight inches, you would see if you were picking up a slab of ice and you could bash it off with your tire iron.....:smile: I honestly don't think it would be a big problem. The biggest problem with these tires will be the price because it includes the whole wheel.
Ahh ... spoken like a true left-coaster. Methinks those of us from the land of ice and snow (and flash-freeze) would be better off with pneumatics in winter. One wee chunk of stubborn ice can throw tire balance way off.
I don't know wolf. That outside rim that has the tread on it flexes all the time just like an ordinary tire. I can't see a lot of ice actually sticking any more than it would on a regular wheel but being a coward as well as a left coaster, I'll wait till other people try it first......:lol:
I just noticed Karrie that just to the right of the blue and white BMW circle there is another little sign for BMW's Motorsport division. I would accept that car with any tires on it.
It's not ice in the treads you worry about - although big stuff can mess with balance and bodywork. It's frozen-in flat spots and ice that forms between those spokes and around the tread (effectively locking tire to terra firma) that could be a pain in the butt. Here in the land of real winter we gotta think of things like that,
Yes but it wouldn't be any worse than the BMW wheel that I posted. But you are right. That's why I live on the wet coast.
Hmm.... Somehow, I see that Beamer coming second best in a bout with a Sudbury-sized pothole. The airless would be a better option there. I'll stick with checking tire pressure.;-)
^ Looks like besides your shocks absorbing impacts, these would also help absorb as well. From what I can tell, they wouldn't wear their traction any worse then a regular tire.... if not, they'd do even better, considdering the ability to flex more then a regular tire and thus reduce friction, at first glance.
let's see what else I can dig up:
"When the Tweel is put to the road, the spokes absorb road impacts the same way air pressure does in pneumatic tires. The tread and shear bands deform temporarily as the spokes bend, then quickly spring back into shape. Tweels can be made with different spoke tensions, allowing for different handling characteristics.
More pliant spokes result in a more comfortable ride with improved handling. The lateral stiffness of the Tweel is also adjustable. However, you can’t adjust a Tweel once it has been manufactured. You’ll have to select a different Tweel. For testing, Michelin equipped an Audi A4 with Tweels made with five times as much lateral stiffness as a pneumatic tire, resulting in “very responsive handling
Michelin reports that “the Tweel prototype… is within five percent of the rolling resistance and mass levels of current pneumatic tires. That translates to mean within one percent of the fuel economy” of the tires on your own car. Since the Tweel is very early in its development, Michelin could be expected to improve those numbers."