You've got worse things to worry about than tyres in India I suppose they look alot different to the tyres we have now so people not being used to them they may look a little out of the ordinary. I wish they had some that could run forever
One more thing How firmly would the tyre have to stuck onto the alloy hub ...Thats seems a bit tricky
Read about these a long time ago. I can't remember where but it said Michelin was actually scared to release these because if something went wrong, they would be looking at class action suits against them. Some more info and pics: http://www.gizmag.com/go/3603/
Deformable wheel? Very re-assuring. I agree Stret, it does in the first picture, but in the photo pic is looks fitted to a rim. Possibly just to showcase the technology with a prototype.
It was a brand new £450 alloy wheel 17". It had been fitted by somebody I knew... and now know hes a cowboy It turned out that the bolts were the wrong size, and instead of telling me and ordering new ones, he just screwed them in about three threads. They were fine for a few days, then one day whilst out driving it, the front left was making a loud clunk every rotation. So i thought ok better get it home, and on the drive home it fell off I was going about 25mph, the car just slammed onto the road and skidded in a fairly straight line, ruining the disc break. The wheel went atleast 60 metres down the road, and actually stayed upright It came to rest against one of those green NTL boxes. It was lucky there were no pedestrians about, as the wheel was rediculously heavy. I couldnt lift it up with one hand. And, doubley lucky, I was coming home from the barbers and its basically a choice between driving through town, or driving on a duel carriageway home. Theres nothing in it. I chose the slow town roads, had i chosen the other route theres a very big chance id of been doing 70 mph + I got a full refund and free black diamond disc breaks, however I should have sued his company for all they were worth
So here we are, a mere 12 years later, and it seems these tyres may actually be ready to hit the market. The sight of a car limping along on a near-flat tyre, or a roadside wheel change are still common. So is the expense of replacing tyres that have worn out prematurely, perhaps because the driver may not have been checking the pressure as regularly as they should. Sometimes it's difficult not to feel tyres are a car's weak link. But is this about to change? Is it the end of the black rubber air-filled doughnut first used on vehicles in the 1890s - a product designed to be indestructible, and therefore not easy to recycle? On a test track in Luxembourg, a Tesla Model 3 is twisting through tight corners, accelerating rapidly, and doing emergency stops. Standard stuff. What's remarkable, though, is the car is sitting on four airless tyres - made by Goodyear, the US manufacturer. Special plastic spokes, support a thin, reinforced rubber tread. The spokes flex and contort as the car goes through its paces. Michael Rachita, Goodyear's senior program manager for non-pneumatic tyres (NPTs), is upfront about the limitations: "There will be noise, and some vibration. We're still learning how to soften the ride. But we think you'll be surprised at the performance." He wasn't wrong. Electric cars and autonomous mobility are changing tyre needs. Delivery firms and shuttle services want products that are low-maintenance, puncture-proof, recyclable, and have sensors that map road conditions. Car sharing and ride hailing, rather than ownership, are rising in cities. A car with a flat tyre, is a car not making money. Mr Rachita says: "While air-filled tyres will always have their place, a mixture of solutions is needed. As we move into a world where autonomous vehicles are becoming more common and many cities are offering transport-as-a-service strategies, having a maintenance-free tyre is hugely important." At Goodyear's labs, the tyres are tested for 24 hours at a time, under different loads and speeds. That's thousands of miles non-stop. Some spokes deform, some break, but the structures continue to perform safely, Mr Rachita says. "It's test-learn, test-learn," he says. "But we're at a stage that's given us a huge amount of confidence. This is the real deal." Goodyear rival, Michelin, has been working with General Motors (GM) on airless tyres since 2019. In February there were media reports that Michelin's Unique Puncture-proof Tire System (Uptis) could debut on a new Chevrolet Bolt electric car being planned by GM, possibly as early as 2024. Uptis tyres are made of high-strength resin embedded with fiberglass and composite rubber (for which Michelin has filed 50 patents) to create a mesh structure that surrounds an aluminium wheel. Cyrille Roget, a scientific and innovation expert at the French tyre maker, won't confirm the Bolt reports, but tells the BBC Michelin will have more to say later this year. Michelin has been a market leader in airless wheels. Its Tweel (tyre-wheel) has been around since 2005 and is used on slow-moving vehicles, such as farm equipment. Optimising the technology for road vehicles is, however, a totally different challenge, Mr Roget says: "We have 130 years of experience and knowledge in perfecting inflatable structures like pneumatic tyres. Airless technology is very recent." Uptis, though, is just a step to something bigger. The company that gave us the pumped-up Michelin Man logo, has a multi-year plan, to create a tyre that is airless, connected, 3D-printed and made entirely of materials that can be melted down and re-used. Apart from occasional re-treads, it would be zero-maintenance, according to Michelin. Could flat tyres soon be a thing of the past?
Tyres already cost a ridiculous amount (£210 last one I bought) so I doubt they could be much dearer. I'm sure the manufacturers would build in a certain amount of wear and tear so that the tyres need replacing after 20,000 (for instance) miles in the same way an F1 tyre only lasts a predetermined amount of miles. The manufacturing costs would be slashed too; no need for valves, steel belts or pressure sensors, and they would be easily recycled.
It’s not the cost really it’s the amount that they would be selling, I suppose we’ll have to wait and see, but I’d be surprised if they don’t come in at least double the price of a standard tyre.
The fact that (according to the article) so many manufacturers are working on airless technology certainly suggests it is going to come to the market regardless of any other considerations. I'm more concerned about handling and ride comfort than anything else.
By the looks of the picture included they will only appear on new cars anyway. I can’t see how you’d fit them on an old car.
