These really look strange, but then the future often does, eh?
No air! And much less petroleum in their manufacture. Check these
out...
Quote.
"" Thought you might like to see the next generation of tires. They had a
pair at the Philadelphia Car show. Attached are pictures of the new
Michelin tires. 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: no more air valves.......no more air
compressors at gas stations....... no more repair kits.
GUESS YOU JUST THROW THEM OUT WHEN THE 'FINS'? BREAK""
Turbo54 ·
Do they come low profile?
Ich fahre ein Kdf ein Tag ·
hard to keep clean? Be pretty noisy at 100 clicks..
bajachris88 ·
hmm... clever idea...
just wouldn't wanna be next to it in a rainy or rocky road... water spray or flying missiles being lauched by the fast turning fins in the inner wheel
pete wood ·
Probably great for on road in specific conditions, but I can't see them replacing pneumatic tyres real soon.
One of the easiest ways to boost or lessen traction is to change tyre pressure. Eg, when driving on the freeway, I sometimes put 38-40psi in my tyres to help them have less resistance. On wet trips I might let them down to say 30-32 pounds for more grip. If there's a big load in the back of the car, I pump the tyres right up. And that's just my road car.
The buggy well, there's even more variability. 18psi fr/38psi rr on the road. 12psi fr/8psi rr (or less) for the sand and all sorts of things in between for motorkhanas and khanacrosses. Offroad they'd be a liablity.
There's a good reason beyond simple mechanics why tyres are still pneumatic. 😉
Wild1 ·
still.. for most people (read: city-folks), they would be great for everyday use and i can definitely see them being a good alternative for a lot of people
shaihulud ·
Yes. That is all very fine, but as M. du Boise says they lack versatility.
This idea has been around for a while. It's good to see that they will be on the market soon.
Also when did you last have a flat trye that was not caused by a nail or some such? Modern tyres are very reliable. I doubt that I would have some.
pete wood ·
how much will they cost?
Volkswagenboy ·
Tire life would be increased... just a few PSI over or under pressure can result in a massive reduction in longevity.
Having no variables would mean people would be spending less on tire-changes, unless of course the fins 'sag'.
As for the danger factor of waterspray or rocks/debris being propelled sideways, I can't see why it's be any different (or worse) to the latest and greatest of 20" plus rims, some of which are actually shaped in a helical pattern as opposed to the spur design of the 'fins'.
I'd buy some for my Charade!
-Staggers.
Schmoburger ·
Yeh but Charade's are crap and expendable B-man... dubs arent! 😂 :P
But seriously...regardless of how good or bad these tyres are mechanically... we are missing one vital point here.
THEY ARE SOOO F#@^*$! UGLY!!! :duh :puke
baybuscamperkid ·
cool idea, wonder if their any better then runflats like on the bimmers in regards to ride quality?
helbus ·
Whitewalls would be a problem.
Great for those nuffies that drive around for weeks with one tyre only having about 5psi in it. They wonder why people keep pointing at then at the lights. 😂
bajachris88 ·
so thats why they were pointing at me :o
jo_tas ·
Couldn't they just put a side on them to make them look like regular tires?
DoNkEy ·
hehe i can just see it now..
"daddy daddy!..that cars got funny tyres"
"oh...he he...thats how they used to do them when i was young"
baybuscamperkid ·
jo_tas wrote:Couldn't they just put a side on them to make them look like regular tires?
with the current design it appears the maximum stiffness would be in the middle of the tyre, just like an inflated tyre, if you added sidewalls they would make the outer edges of the tyre stiffest, which would cause bad wear issues in the least, as well as traping the heat created by the rubber spokes flexing.
pod ·
bajachris88 wrote:so thats why they were pointing at me :o
umm?? dont think so!!!:P:thumb
zac_smits ·
doesn't look like it's doing that much for the audi's handling....
and what happens when it floods?? your car acts as a paddle steamer too?