Amazing New Airless Tires…………………….

[Pops1967GTX]

New Airless Tires…………………….

Michelin Tires… Absolutely SCARY looking… but may be just the thing if the SHTF.
Radical new tire design by Michelin.They have been testing that for several years now. Company was developing them for military application.
These tires are airless and are scheduled to be out on the market very soon.

Just think:
A. no more air valves…
B. no more air needed…
C. no more repair kits…
D. no more flats…

 

[Cornpatch MO]

Hmmm- think they might get out of balance when mud gets packed in the holes??................................MO

 

[Photon440]

One of the major drawbacks that has kept them off the road for so long (I've seen articles on these years ago) is the amount of noise generated by those flexible spokes.

 

[tallhair]

Rugged look for military vehicles but I shudder at the thought of something like that nice old Mopars

 

[Hemi Rebel]

http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2009/01/trublpruf-solid-rubber-tires.html apparently whats old is now new again

 

[Budnicks]

they're not the most attractive looking things either !!

 

[YY1]

I tried airless tires on my BMX bike back in the 80's.

Similar concept, but the honeycomb cells were radial, and the hex shaped edges were what contacted the road surface.

Kind of a hard ride, but at the same time, squishy, like not enough air.

Hard to describe, but I didn't like them.

 

[64BEL]

Just think:
A. no more air valves…
B. no more air needed…
C. no more repair kits…
D. no more flats…

And no more good looking tire/wheel combos.

 

[ATC25]

You won't see airless tires on passenger cars anytime soon. Tire companies are still working hard to overcome the hurdles of heat build-up and vibration at high speeds. Progress is being made however, and Michelin released its Tweel for skid steer loaders in late 2013. Polaris is also supposedly coming out with an airless ATV tire in 2014. Note that these are slow speed, low load applications compared to passenger cars thus much easier to handle from an engineering point of view.

 

[Photon440]

You won't see airless tires on passenger cars anytime soon. Tire companies are still working hard to overcome the hurdles of heat build-up and vibration at high speeds. Progress is being made however, and Michelin released its Tweel for skid steer loaders in late 2013. Polaris is also supposedly coming out with an airless ATV tire in 2014. Note that these are slow speed, low load applications compared to passenger cars thus much easier to handle from an engineering point of view.

Interesting first post. Welcome aboard! And I'm sure you meant "late 2012" for that Michelin date.

As an aside, I find the cost of air to be fairly low. And I haven't had a flat in years....

 

[ATC25]

Interesting first post. Welcome aboard! And I'm sure you meant "late 2012" for that Michelin date.

As an aside, I find the cost of air to be fairly low. And I haven't had a flat in years....

Thanks for the welcome. And yes, I meant late 2012 indeed

You raise an interesting question: are flats still an issue today or not? As many other motorists, I haven't had a flat in a while either. For ATVs and skid steer loaders that may look quite different however.
That being said, I don't think that preventing flats is the main advantage of airless tires (though this is the most obvious to the user). As these tires are manufactured in a radically different way, they open up totally new avenues in terms of retreading. Imagine buying a set of tires that stay with your car for the entire duration of its life. Would make a lot of sense, both economically and ecologically.

 

[Photon440]

Thanks for the welcome. And yes, I meant late 2012 indeed

You raise an interesting question: are flats still an issue today or not? As many other motorists, I haven't had a flat in a while either. For ATVs and skid steer loaders that may look quite different however.
That being said, I don't think that preventing flats is the main advantage of airless tires (though this is the most obvious to the user). As these tires are manufactured in a radically different way, they open up totally new avenues in terms of retreading. Imagine buying a set of tires that stay with your car for the entire duration of its life. Would make a lot of sense, both economically and ecologically.

I'm sure that there will be a market, and customers for this type of tire. The loader that you mentioned, harsh terrain industrial or military use. Police departments who would like some protection against having a tire shot out during a chase.

But for myself, I don't know. They seem to be an integral wheel/tire combo which would get in the way of choosing a custom wheel. I'd like to see how that hollow spoke idea works if you park in a five inch deep puddle over night and it freezes up. And I like to keep up with tires. My daily driver uses Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires, and when they wear out I'll look again for the most recent development available. Having the same piece of technology stay with my car for the entire duration of its life wouldn't be a selling point for me. However I can see that it might be of interest to non-enthusiasts who think of a vehicle as merely being an appliance.

Just my view.

-=Photon440=-

 

[jessipup]

I'll burn my cars and walk before I buy one of those. Even more crazy is that, it's not the first time that has been brought up here

 

[Roadcuda]

I work at a recycling center and we have a skid steer that has wheels like that. It's part of a system that also uses a harder compound that is supposed to extend the life of the rubber threads. These machines eat up tires because of the concrete surface and glass that they run over all the time. They are a similar design to the Michelin ad in the first post. So far I don't see that either parts of this system are working! The threads are still wearing just as quickly as before. I haven't operated that machine since these tires were installed so I can't say if that design helps the ride or not.