Air? In tires??

[ImBroken]

Radical new tire design by Michelin. The next generation of tires.
They had a pair at the Philadelphia car show.
These tires are airless and are scheduled to be out on the market very soon.
The bad news for law enforcement is that spike strips will not work on these tires.
This is what great R&D will do, and just think of the impact on existing technology:

a... no more air valves
a... no more air compressors at gas stations
a... no more repair kits

These are actual pictures taken in the South Carolina plant of Michelin. It will be awhile before they are available to the automotive industry.

 

[dannyd]

wow. thats crazy!! its like have spoked tires. so what hapends when the tires where out and you are on the road?

 

[ImBroken]

You lose control, crash & die....

 

[Monkey Wrench]

Wow! Can you imagine how much those bad boys are going to cost? I paid close to a grand at Costco to put new shoes on my horse last summer!

 

[retarded pilot]

that ROCKS!!

that looks so simple & intuitive i wonder why it didnt come out sooner?

 

[jetmechG550]

As a true F1 fan and first and foremost a Ferrari fan I can proudly say - I HATE MICHELIN!!! You'll never see a set of those on my bimmer!

 

[Arrow]

these are about a year old I'm still excited for the technology though.

think NO SIDEWALL ROLLOVERS!!!!!

i happen to roll the sidewalls in my celica alot

 

[olds97_lss]

so what hapends when the tires where out and you are on the road?

Instant drift action!

I read about that a month ago in Popular Mechanics I think while I was getting my oil changed.

They noted that rocks and debris gets into the honeycomb and throws the tire off balance though.

 

[HeartBreak]

I'm sure a shrowd would be developed within reason... They might look almost like a traditional tire once all is said and done...

One things' for sure; I'd invest in 'em. I'm about the laziest person there is when it comes to air pressure. As long as it's not sitting on the rim, I run with it.

 

[Karl M]

I think I'm with Dannyd, I don't like the idea of those letting loose. Blow outs are bad enough. Imagine one letting loose in a sharp corner or evasive turn.

 

[Buggyracer28]

You would probably know when they are getting too low to run.... I think its a sweet idea... for criminals.

 

[Lessen]

They noted that rocks and debris gets into the honeycomb and throws the tire off balance though.

I assume maybe retail versions would be enclosed...

 

[godale03]

I assume maybe retail versions would be enclosed...

You know I was thinking the same thing. I believe they would probably enclose those bad boys. Neat idea....

Tom

 

[Greyryder]

Yeah, some kind of sidewall would look better, and keep the debris out of them.

 

[AC48]

Very interesting, I'm surprised no one came up with this earlier. I'm sure they'll put some sort of sidewall on there, cause they look rather ugly like that. I would imagine those would handle pretty well tho, no more flats too.

I wonder if those flexible spokes would wear out and get soft too fast, or if you left the car in one spot for a while if you'd get flat spots and get way out of balance?

 

[dougc]

those spokes would worry me, you can see in the picture that there is a flat stop on the tire while he is driving and standing still... I would think that a long time in some hot weather and the tire stading still would be a bad combo.

 

[Karl M]

I wonder what kind of mileage you could expect out of them, might not have to worry as much about uneven wear. Vehicle weight would have to be a serious consideration.

 

[dannyd]

on a hot summer day it will probaby feel like you have a flat. if these thing do get side walls they better be thick. similar to run flats hopefully.

 

[sweetdiesel]

those spokes would worry me, you can see in the picture that there is a flat stop on the tire while he is driving and standing still... I would think that a long time in some hot weather and the tire stading still would be a bad combo.

That flat spot is just like any tire that would have sidewall flex during cornering. I'm sure there will be some very thorough and extensive testing before these are ever released to the masses.

 

[Monkey Wrench]

on a hot summer day it will probaby feel like you have a flat. if these thing do get side walls they better be thick. similar to run flats hopefully.

My father has one of those BMW Mini-Coopers and they come stock with the run flats because they have to. There is no room to put a spare! On the various forums for Cooper owners he belongs to, the number one "hop-up" owners do is poop can those run-flats when they were out for two reasons: 1) because they run almost $400.00 per tire to replace and 2) because they run like poop! He says that every minor bump and crack in the road he feels and that he cannot "feel" the road when he steers because of the run-flat technology. When I pointed out that it must be cool knowing you won't really have a flat tire, he responded by saying in the close to 70 years he's been on this Earth, he's had two blow outs and that, since most everyone has cell phones and because BMW has that road side assistance deal, it wouldn't be a big deal to call for a spare anyway! He makes a good point!