Why airless tires are so tricky. These ties have no air in them. They were created by Michelin to stop flat tires and the large amount of resulting rubber waste #shorts
@@almostontimehero5415 With how inexpensive an all season tire is from Walmart, the gas savings alone compensates for the cost of maybe having to replace a tire early
@@curtisday7827I mean yeah like forecliffs and other major machinery meant to carry more weight lol but they don't do a whole lot of shock absorption primarily and when they do it's a t slow speeds not highway speeds
This was originally called the “twheel”(cross between a tire and a wheel). Michelin bought this invention from a guy nearly 20 years ago. They’ve mostly been sitting on it. They started using it for heavy machinery and have been intentionally slow about bringing it to the consumer market. I understand there are concerns about shock absorption and heat dispersal, but most of those issues have been solved years ago, long before they even got it. The truth is they’ve been trying to find a way to make these not last forever. Think about it most people only think about replacing their tires when they get a flat. Well these never go flat. So what happens to their profits when everyone is only getting tires once every 3-4 years when the tread wears out. That’s what they’re scared of.
I can't believe people still hate trump after biden has bled us all dry with high inflation and taxes. You must be one of those "14th amendment loophole" Americans who's worried about your pathetic parents inevitable deportation.
The also didn’t didn’t address the other issues. They just decided that they spent enough time and money on development and it’s now “good enough” to sell to you at a premium
They’re widely used on heavy construction equipment, lawn mowers, and landfill machinery. Just not cars. They’re also really expensive, that’s why they’re not widely used.
A company I do work for has dozens of pieces of heavy machinery and not a single airless tire. Forklifts yeah, cause they only roll on smoothe concrete floors, but anything that has to deal with roads? I don't think so.
@leoncaples2947 I have a skid loader that has Michelin Tweel tires on it -- same design from the video. They're popular for lighter equipment like mowers and skid steers.
A big problem is the tread. A lot of tires need to be replaced because the tread wears out. Most people see these and think they would never had to replace a tire again, but because of the tread they will end up replacing a lot of tires anyway. Because the airless tires use more material they will cost more and could generate even more waste/pollution.
I'd say the vast majority of tyres, at least in my country, are replaced exactly because of thread wear. Dirt roads are not common, here, even in the countryside. So, that mindset wouldn't be the norm. Yes, there are refurbished tyres, but people think they're less safe and heavier, only suited for agricultural machines/tractors. By the way, these must be a lot heavier than regular tyres.
No, like the other post stated they will be retreaded. The tire place will just send the used ones back for that. So less rubber is required. Any one that is damaged beyond repair will be recycled. Tires are my life. This has been in development for over 20 years and millions in research
They keep trying to get a balance between deformation and shock absorption -- between "too soft and gets bent out of shape easily" and "too firm and gives you a bumpy ride"
Dont forget about load distribution, air pneumatic tyres distribute the load along the entire wheel with the pressurized air while the airless tyre would trasfer it directly. This would greatly reduce the lifespan of the wheel itself.
thats why most airless tyres are more of a solid design. however the draw back is if u brake suddenly youll destroy the tyre and it will be all deformed having flat spots where u braked.
These things would likely wear out faster than normal tires. To top it off, if you want new ones you need to buy new rims as well. It wouldn't put anyone out of business.
I have heard of that happening, with Numerous companies... Honda bought Carabella (Mexico) back in the mid-70's to stop them from producing motorcycles that were out-performing their own machines, and selling them to their Largest market at that time, The USA.... Several other companies have done that, sometimes with favorable, and sometimes with disastrous results... Boeing acquireing Douglas, was perhaps one of the largest acquisitions that was notoriously riddled with serious quality control issues and unauthorized engineering and production practices... Many of their problems stemmed from the independant contractors who were not properly trained with the manufacturing and assembly techniques and the lack of adhering to standard policies & procedures... These acquisitions and Mergers, can make (or break) previously healthy companies... It largely and frequently depends on the upper management , and what their ACTUAL intentions are....
Also might be heavier overall thus a car fitted full on 4 wheels with these wheels might consume more and nobody say anything about how well they are handling under heavy breaking, in rain, snow or on highway speeds above 100 km/h..
Well, that makes sense considering when you’re a hot rod that’s supercharged and you’re the wine of the supercharger. That’s not the supercharger doing that that’s the belt cutting through the air as the RPMs are going up and it’s building boost.
The most important problems to be solved when engineering tires is safety, handling, cost, ability to handle inclement weather and rough terrain, and longevity. Flats are not a serious problem and it was solved a 100 years ago - you carry a spare. I have been driving for over 50 years and won't buy a vehicle that doesn't have a spare. I think I have had maybe 4 flats, mostly when I was young. So I get a flat maybe once every 13-15 years, change the tire, and off I go.
And also when it comes to Flats when I buy a car if it has a dummy Tire I'll go to the junkyard buy the right size wheel and go get the right size tire for a spare
@drwilsom1, my question is, given this will "defeat the purpose of spike strips", what will law enforcement have to come up with to ensure they can still disable regular tires and now these too without first having to "identify that the vehicle doing 100mph" actually has "airless tires"....
I just see an issue with snow or water getting in the middle and driving in those conditions can alter the way the tire flexes. As well as driving fast and turning. Without a sidewall that’s filled with air, that may be a hazard in those scenarios
I think they show it like that for visual purposes to show how it works but that a commercial tire would have rubber covering over the sidewall so that it would look no different than a normal tire. If they had it open like that it would pick up rocks and fling them, etc. Also, one can only imagine the pranks that would happen with people inserting sticks, etc into the open cavities.
@@newfie-dean5803even still it would technically be filled with air and the more the wear and tear the more exposure to the inside it would have. I hope they find a good way to implement this for the environment but I don’t see a way to do it reasonably
I had these on my John Deere mower Since 2015 and I wouldn’t put them on my car until they deal with the shock absorption issue. But they are excellent for landscaping
It’s called….a concept😮 the worlds first car couldn’t run more than 2 or 3 miles without the engine overheating, imagine if they had stopped there because of that💀 it’s a work in progress, all new technology is
@@adamstilwell4209 that wouldn't be too much of a problem considering that we have to switch between regular tires and softer more frost-resistant tires anyway. What I'm worried about is turning because when you turn you create a force that tries to push the inner section of a tire sideways, outside of the outer part that's in contact with the road, and these filaments holding them together don't look like they will like that type of strain
@@haze_2563 this shits like 15 years old. michellin perfected this tech over 10 years ago. its already in space. they abandoned airless rubber tyres in exchange for the style they put on lunar rovers now made from mesh.
the biggest reason is that they are too well built in the beginning. they needed to find ways to make them less durable, so we have to buy more when we buy them, derp
Oldsmobile in the 70's had a composite rim instead of steel, which heat and bumps deformed and cracked them creating an actual leak on the tubeless tire..it was an item ahead of it's time
I feel like this “airless tire” would malfunction immediately when you turn left or right tho, this is why we only see footage of driving straight forward
@@siloedspace I have a 2013 f150 and I’ve only on my third set. First set changed out at 85,000 miles, second set changed out at 165,000. Currently at 215,000 miles and going strong.
One application these are great for: city rental bikes. Vietnam's bike system uses these and they are really not bad at all. Wouldn't want it for my personal bike I own but for tourism and short trips around town they're just fine.
As a Canadian, my #1 concern was not even tackled... what about winter. If deformation is already an issues what will it be like when those holes are filled with snow or with water turning into ice. The expension will damaged those tires for sure and in a way that might be way more dangerous than regular tires!
A tire with air not only would be cheaper to manufacture, but it would offer superior performance. I wonder if Michelin might want to explore that avenue.
Last time Michelin tried to reinvent the wheel with their PAX tire system on the Honda Odyssey it resulted in lots of angry customers, extremely limited availability, high replacement costs, poor wear and performance, lawsuits, and finally a regular tire option.
The slits allow debris to get into the slits, which may fling out at high speeds. Plus, snow and ice will collect in them during winter months and severely make the tire unstable and throw off your alignment. They would be suitable in certain locations only, but not in northern climes or off road.
If I never have to change them out and they cost less than $1K per tire, then I'm all in. Better than paying $350 per tire everytime I need to get my tires changed.
I have these Michelin tires on my lawn mowers. For a pair of 20” tires it’s $1,100 and for my 24” tires, they’re $750 each so $1,500 for a pair. They’re good for mowers but not sure how well they’ll be on a car.
Good God almighty what kind of a lawn mower do you have that putting on tires that cost thousands of dollars makes it worthwhile? Suddenly my 24 horsepower 52" deck Husqvarna riding mower seems inadequate, I may be suffering from deck envy here.
@@dukecraig2402lol I have a John Deere z920M 60” and a toro 52” grandstand. I do roadside mowing like highways and stuff so we were catching flats every other day. These tires saved a lot of time and money.
The twheel. I remember them. It is to eliminate the need for compressed air. To reduce rubber waste. Lets make them out of plastic. Like Germany. Oh, yeah. Goodyear had a law passed against manufacturing or import.
Only useful as an emergency spare. Cannot be used as a touring or performance tyre. Gas milage will also decrease, rolling resistance looks to probably be much higher. Best to be used in poor street quality situations or as an emergency spare, or on an offroad or construction vehicles.
i’ve seen a handful of lawnmowers and small vehicles with these tires, but the aforementioned issues is why they haven’t been implemented on cars yet since they’re subject to both increased thermal buildup and shock by comparison. if they can perfect them to to the point where they meet or exceed conventional air filled tires in this regard it’d be a huge step in the right direction not only for reducing waste but also in workshop safety. tires potentially exploding is a very real albeit rare hazard. an exploding tire can and has caused workplace injuries and fatalities in the past.
what? they've had "never flats" for years, if your willing to spend the money. this is just innovation. march o progress. in your world are these tires for police cruisers only?
How would you air down for a sandy/muddy area if there is no air? Also wouldn’t the crevices in the side of the airless tires get full of rocks/mud making them unbalanced?
@@professorfansworth4923 There's Pro's n Con's to these particular tire's my friend. Many people don't know but NASA designed these for their Rover's n also Military spec for Humvee's. But yes, they do have much downsides + a hefty price tag, but at least you won't need to carry an air compressor.. 👍🏻😎😆
I've seen these on construction vehicles like front end loaders and small cranes. The fiber spokes were alot thicker and instead of one set radiating out, they had a few that would criss-cross each other. It makes sense to use such tires for these environments. I saw in the construction zones lots of debri like nails what would puncture a tire.
Most tires on construction equipment like that have calcium filled tires, if you look at the wheels instead of having a normal tire stem with a Schrader valve in the tip they have a pipe sticking out of them with a typical cap on the end that looks just like the kind of pipe end caps you can buy at Home Depot that have typical NPT threads that all pipes and pipe fittings have. The calcium is a light grey color slimy liquid that won't freeze, exactly why that's used to fill tires on equipment like that I don't know basically because I never ask anyone in all the years I spent on construction site's as an ironworker, aside from it not freezing I don't know what the advantages are over just having pressurized air in them but I'm sure there's good reasons behind it.
To be clear, I've just seen it once on a couple of construction vehicles in a zone I use to walk by often. It definitely looked like the tires in this video: A rim surrounded by radiated "bent" spokes, wrapped in a surface with treads. Except, in my case, the radiated spokes was a radiated honey-comb pattern. I'm pretty sure of what I saw. One day, one of vehicles was parked outside a fenced zone. I was able to walk up to it. I touched the tire and spokes. The spoke felt like hard rubber, but I'm not sure if it is rubber I bent down and I could see through the tire. The vehicle wasn't an experimental vehicle for testing new tires. It was legitimately being used for construction.
@@dukecraig2402we fill our tractor tyres with water to get more weight on the ground for better traction. Makes a huge difference. In northern latitudes they have to use a liquid that doesn't freeze solid.
They already did. The new kind of wallet is just card holder with a clip so you can attach some cash on it. The main purpose is just to hold your credit cards. "Invisible best friend". Not actually invisible but digital. Ever heard of AI girlfriend/boyfriend? "Invisible vacation" is just your PTO get denied.
These haven’t been shown to be better in many of the ways that matter like efficient rolling resistance (They tend to add rolling resistance, although doing so while adding traction by increasing the contact point space between the wheel and the road / ground surface, sort of acting like a tank tread) Because they obviously don’t have air inside them and traditional tire sidewalls that allow for air pressure to push against said sidewalls to add strength, causing a lack of structural and efficient circularity rigidity to the tire. These tire / wheel systems would likely be good in zero or low atmospheric conditions with environments of lesser gravity, like the Moon and Mars, where the tread deforming could add traction and allow it to deform over rocks and other potential debris and obstacles. Unlike the solid metal wheels on current rovers like Curiosity and Perseverance, which have been shown to rip off sections that are stress hardened over time and then made hard and brittle after time of ware and tear, as well as cycles of temperature extremes going in and outside of direct sunlight. Whereas, these tires could possibly retain their pliability. Granted, they would have to be made out of a substance that remains “rubbery” at the high and low temperature extremes experienced on the surface of the Moon and Mars, when traditional sunset would place them in or out of direct hot sunlight and very cold shadow (causing extreme variability in temperatures) and since having air pressure in tires surrounded by little to no atmosphere, is basically impossible due to little to no atmospheric pressure pushing against it, and causing for unintended expansion of the tire pressure in standard tires makes them unfit for these off Earth applications. It could possibly also allow for the regolith to pass through the connection struts of the tire, possibly allowing for a paddling effect in deep and loose sandy regolith. Possibly even utilizing variable pockets of air in bladders in the support strut structure of the tire that can be adjusted by removing or adding air in these struts to add a circular rigidity under certain circumstances and conditions, allowing for variable deformity of the tires for various conditions. There is still a lot to study and engineer / iteratively redesign and update with these, especially to use them in space, on the surface of the Moon or Mars and hopefully on Earth as well, despite those environments having drastically different engineering requirements and challenges.
@@shaggydog5409Lol, sorry. I’m just really passionate about engineering and specifically engineering applications that can be applied in space or off planet and I do believe these could have beneficial applications for such things. I hope it was at least understandable, as I have a tendency to go on a tangent trying to put my thoughts into word sometimes.
@@L33tSkE3t I'd bet you carry on some very interesting conversations. The kind this gal wouldn't mind sitting in on just to learn a thing or two. Have a good morning.
@@shaggydog5409Well, thank you. Yeah, I definitely did get a bit carried away with my run on sentences and seemingly infinite amounts of tech optimism (which rightfully seems to be in short supply these days) Anyway, again, I genuinely appreciated the constructive criticism and it was great hearing you say that my unyielding optimistic comment was genuinely refreshing for you. It’s always nice to hear that, so, thank you. 🙏 You have a great morning as well!
If the objective was to create tires that doesn't burst, why not merge the two as one and fill them with air to address the issue of bursting, shock absorption, deformation, etc.
They had to develop a device for cops to replace spike strips before releasing these tires to the public. That's the honest reason. These tires have been in development for decades by now. If it has really taken this long for Michelin to perfect them, their R&D department is lacking big time.
Soft and grippy tyres wouldn't last and they would be expensive. Hence why you only see them on performance vehicles. In what way do you tyres lose grip??
@@jesmondo5785he's talking about tread wear. Which is not the main reason tires get replaced. If it was, the tire industry wouldn't be designing tires that can last thousands of miles.
To be clarify, I was talking about wear and tear.. maybe I'm getting luck but honestly only had 2 punchers I'm my life time ( one of them was suspicious btw nail in side wall?? After being parked in town) so basically almost all my tire changes was because of wear and tear .. Lose of tread deapth essentially.. But as I said my experience may not be Typical ..
I remember these airless tires on the news 20 years ago and never made it to market. The big reason back then was that once you drive above 50mph, the tires become noisy. Don't know if fixed this but 20 years is long.
Why we dont use airless tires? Namely due to the fact that airless tires will absolutely destroy fuel economy. The 25 mile per gallon vehicle now gets only 12 miles per gallon. Unless said tires are made more solid. Then you'll feel every bump in the road, and if you drive where I do, you might get a free spinal realignment. No thanks.
@@darthvirgin7157 These 'airless' tires will flex, compress, and otherwise move around when enough torque is applied. That means when a driver steps on the gas pedal, more energy is expended to get said vehicle in motion, meaning fuel economy goes down. Way down. Inversely as a driver stops, this tire will generate more heat as said kinetic energy is displaced whilst stopping. Heat + Tires = Bad. Want a better example where said effects can be felt and realized? Get a good bicycle. Ride on good inflated tires. Now flatten them and go for the same ride as the first one. You'd be much more tired, as more energy was expended attempting to ride on a flat. The flat tires would also be damaged more. This is why tire manufacturers always stress proper inflation of tires, as over or under inflation leads to poorer fuel mileage, bad tire wear, and quite possibly catastrophic failures which could lead to an accident. The tires featured in this video are a novel concept but impractical due to their design. They would never work well on a road vehicle due to the energy and efficiency losses inherent to the design. Furthermore, the open sidewall construction is just begging to collect rocks, dirt, mud, and all types of foreign objects that will make the wheel completely out of balance, leading to tire damage, catastrophic failure and increased accidents. Tires of this design would be better suited for slow speed applications like farm implements which I've seen used before, and other related applications. But keep in mind the fuel economy still goes down for whatever they are being used on. Hope this helps. Have a super day friend.
@@Cline3911 you’re basically handwaving what you think the consequences are for both tires without the physical details. when you apply the same initial torque to both tires you get the same twisting effect. as to how much the axle twists before force is transferred to the ground is debatable, sure. but you didn’t say WHY a pneumatic tire is stiffer. the constant flexing of rubber due to road compression and road-tire friction does produce heat, for BOTH tires. but you also didn’t explain WHY pneumatic tires produce less heat. if the company is claiming that they have addressed such issues, i’m not just going to DISMISS them offhand. for one, they’ve spent millions and decades in R&D and have now come to a point where they’re justified in selling it to the public. are there disadvantages to these new tires? sure. but if the company is willing to sell them, they probably found more advantages to putting them to market. my biggest concern is the mounting. will these require new wheels? how does it do in sharp turns? other than that, i’d be interested in them myself.
@@osets2117 It must be a different one to the one I have seen. A contraption on the front of a police vehicle deploys two metal arms holding a net which then wraps around the rear wheel of a target vehicle bringing it to a stop ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ikp73-aH2UI.htmlsi=BllxPnAFoCv7O3ua
These haven’t been rolled out because Michelin bought the patent years ago and sat on it. The design is too long lasting, so Michelin needed time to reduce product lifetime. In other words, they’re rolling out a crappier design for profit.
Too long lasting? There is a lot of issues with this design. A lot of moving parts and exposed rubber. Tires are very important. You need to assess things like stopping distances and traction in a multitude of environments. Lifespan only comes after you can guarantee these arent going to fall apart the first time you slam on the brakes. Flats are an important thing to avoid but you can't give up safety and durability to achieve no flats.
@@supernova743 Nah, nah, just let him spread misinformation, it's totally because companies just love making their products worse than the competitors so no one buys from their brand... 🙄
When tires where invented they were built to last forever. Company said well we need to make them so they can fall apart and we can sale more! Greed runs everything in this world!! True story
No tire can last forever. It's a donut of rubber you constantly rub against the ground at high rotational speeds. Hell, even if you don't use the tire, the rubber will still breakdown and degrade. We don't have some super meta material to replace rubber yet, and we certainly didn't have a better material for the job before it.
Curb weight would let tires run the rim ,surface Temps in summer ie; heavy SUV/car. How are they on sun softened asphalt.Not to mention debris ejected from side of tire (stone chips,glass) SO, no gravel roads? ❤😊
I saw some of these on a zero turn yesterday at a garden center. I remember seeing these as a concept years ago and had no idea they started being produced. I thought it was neat to see them in person for a real use case and not just a staged display
If they aren't lying and production costs are actually slightly higher by like $4. It's only because the engineers had to make a new model. Once the model is made it's just injected again. So the price increase is so small it wouldn't matter and it would definitely not affect the market value. However they say that so they can charge you a lot more
Michelin have been diddling with these since the early 1980's. They are unstable at fast speeds and dangerous. They sell them for limited slow devices like fork lifts etc.
@@Argedis Slow devices. I worked at Michelin for a while and got to see the test videos where they worked for years trying to get them to work in cars and they made the car nearly flip and the ride was rough.
