Airless Tires by Michelin

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Thu Mar 26, 2009 7:40 pm

Michelin is known to be one of the most environmentally friendly companies in the automotive industry. In addition, they have won many green awards for their retread programs, cost-efficient plants, and production of energy saving tires. From my narrow understanding, these tires will be made in South Carolina and are designed by Michelin. They have been referred to as the “next generation tire” and are scheduled to be out for the open market; however, no dates have been given.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Thu Mar 26, 2009 8:04 pm

Yeah and they wouldn't last very long.

Sir Sam · **Posted:** Thu Mar 26, 2009 9:20 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

Yeah and they wouldn't last very long.

You're wrong.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Thu Mar 26, 2009 9:40 pm

Sir Sam wrote:

tjkj2002 wrote:

Yeah and they wouldn't last very long.

You're wrong.

I doubt it,they would not last very long offroad with the lack of a sidewall.Plus those plastic or composite spokes will wearout faster then the rubber will with constant compression cycles it will be forced to absorb.Not to mention that you can not change the "air pressure" or resistance on them so it would be a jarring ride offroad compared to a aired down rubber tire and would lead to early suspension and steering components also.

DryBones · **Posted:** Thu Mar 26, 2009 10:19 pm

not to mention they are just fugly! :shock:

Sir Sam · **Posted:** Thu Mar 26, 2009 10:44 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

Sir Sam wrote:

tjkj2002 wrote:

Yeah and they wouldn't last very long.

You're wrong.

I doubt it,they would not last very long offroad with the lack of a sidewall.Plus those plastic or composite spokes will wearout faster then the rubber will with constant compression cycles it will be forced to absorb.Not to mention that you can not change the "air pressure" or resistance on them so it would be a jarring ride offroad compared to a aired down rubber tire and would lead to early suspension and steering components also.

We know nothing about the material properties of the "spokes", we know nothing about the number of cycles it wil go through before fatgiue sets in.

You saying "they wont last very long" is about as valid as me saying "they will last half the lifetime of a normal tire/they will last the lifetime of a normal tire/they will last twice the lifetime of a normal tire"

Powdrdaze · **Posted:** Thu Mar 26, 2009 10:50 pm

I saw this a while back. The research started for military applications for humvees. Last I heard of it until now.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Thu Mar 26, 2009 10:51 pm

Sir Sam wrote:

tjkj2002 wrote:

Sir Sam wrote:

tjkj2002 wrote:

Yeah and they wouldn't last very long.

You're wrong.

I doubt it,they would not last very long offroad with the lack of a sidewall.Plus those plastic or composite spokes will wearout faster then the rubber will with constant compression cycles it will be forced to absorb.Not to mention that you can not change the "air pressure" or resistance on them so it would be a jarring ride offroad compared to a aired down rubber tire and would lead to early suspension and steering components also.

We know nothing about the material properties of the "spokes", we know nothing about the number of cycles it wil go through before fatgiue sets in.

You saying "they wont last very long" is about as valid as me saying "they will last half the lifetime of a normal tire/they will last the lifetime of a normal tire/they will last twice the lifetime of a normal tire"

You missed the printed words there :roll:

.

KJ kyle · **Posted:** Thu Mar 26, 2009 11:27 pm

are you sure they dont just have the sidewalls missing for demonstration purposes?

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Fri Mar 27, 2009 12:33 am

Michelin is known to be one of the most environmentally friendly companies in the automotive industry. In addition, they have won many green awards for their retread programs, cost-efficient plants, and production of energy saving tires. From my narrow understanding, these tires will be made in South Carolina and are designed by Michelin. They have been referred to as the “next generation tire” and are scheduled to be out for the open market; however, no dates have been given.

ShockT63 · **Posted:** Fri Mar 27, 2009 2:34 pm

Is this supposed to be "green", or something stupid like that? I don't get it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it

Sir Sam · **Posted:** Fri Mar 27, 2009 2:36 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

Sir Sam wrote:

tjkj2002 wrote:

Sir Sam wrote:

tjkj2002 wrote:

Yeah and they wouldn't last very long.

You're wrong.

I doubt it,they would not last very long offroad with the lack of a sidewall.Plus those plastic or composite spokes will wearout faster then the rubber will with constant compression cycles it will be forced to absorb.Not to mention that you can not change the "air pressure" or resistance on them so it would be a jarring ride offroad compared to a aired down rubber tire and would lead to early suspension and steering components also.

We know nothing about the material properties of the "spokes", we know nothing about the number of cycles it wil go through before fatgiue sets in.

You saying "tthey would not last very long" is about as valid as me saying "they will last half the lifetime of a normal tire/they will last the lifetime of a normal tire/they will last twice the lifetime of a normal tire"

You missed the printed words there :roll:

.

Fixed, now do you have a rational and reasonable response?

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Fri Mar 27, 2009 2:52 pm

ShockT63 wrote:

Is this supposed to be "green", or something stupid like that? I don't get it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it

Actually, being green isn’t stupid. Being green is the intelligent way to save money. Michelin wouldn’t manufacture a tire if it didn’t exceed the current technology being used. This could be a very cost efficient and fuel efficient tire for on-road applications. Just think, there wouldn’t be a need for air valves, air compressors, and tire repair kits. And most importantly, there wouldn’t be a need for tire pressure monitoring systems, LOL. :lol:

Oh, and of course you wouldn’t have to deal with flats.

Guest · **Posted:** Fri Mar 27, 2009 6:11 pm

Would like to see some a-hole slash ThunderbirdJunkie's tires now!

:lol:

That being said...you have to wonder how the tire will structurally deal with a puncture that could otherwise be repaired on a normal tire. Does it have any sort of reinforcement belts? If so, they are obviously there to hold the tire so it's round and structurally rigid...so...in that case...said puncture could damage the belt... ever driven a car that had a tire with a separated belt? yuck.

Let's also not forget that Michelin tried to implement the TRX tires with metric wheels :roll:

Go try to find a 220/60-390 tire for a Mustang and then we will talk :lol:

501 · **Posted:** Fri Mar 27, 2009 6:33 pm

I would think here in the snow belt, the 'spokes' would fill up with snow and freeze, everything else does.
Also wouldn't work to well if you went through mud,, like some of the dirt roads out in the country.

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Fri Mar 27, 2009 11:51 pm

They offer a tire like this for skid steer loaders. They are marketed as puncture proof. Also they last as long if not a little longer than a normal skidder tire. Also saw a backhoe with front tires like this

djui5 · **Joined:** Tue Jun 17, 2008 1:38 am **Posts:** 536

I'd like to see someone take those muddin :lol:

I think it would be cool if we had good offroad tires built like that actually. How many times do people blow a bead or get a flat on the trail? Course you couldn't air em down though.

Inc · **Posted:** Sat Mar 28, 2009 1:41 am

Well if a similar design is good enough for the military, why wouldn't it work for us?

I am sure these go in lots of mud, snow and freezing temps so I would hope that the Michelin's would hold up in much the same way. Granted the military are off road tires, but the interior design is similar and that is what we are really talking about now anyway.

KW AV8R · **Posted:** Sat Mar 28, 2009 2:00 am

I've been in the military for almost 16 years now and I've never seen those tires on a HMMWV or any other military vehicle.

Inc · **Posted:** Sat Mar 28, 2009 2:11 am

KW AV8R wrote:

I've been in the military for almost 16 years now and I've never seen those tires on a HMMWV or any other military vehicle.

Have you seen every weapon and vehicle the military uses?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13639_3-10098240-42.html

Airless Tires by Michelin

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