I saw this on another forum. These are some sort of next-gen tires from Michelin. They are airless and can be tuned differently than current tires (ie, soft along one axis for ride comfort or drag launches perhaps; but then very firm in terms of side-to-side motion.) Will this replace current radials like radials replaced bias ply? In 2014, I will be ordering my RX-9 with these plus my liquidmetal wheels.

Note: keep in mind the sidewalls are left open in the article pictures probably because they aren't necessary (well except to keep dirt out maybe), and they want to show off the insides of the tire.



Article:

http://www.sportbilen.se/e_index.php...news.php?id=89 ;

 

What kind of material is the Tweel made of? Is it some sort of smart material, like an SMA? That's interesting how the Tweel can deform, and then still retain its shape. I don't understand how it can be adjusted for different conditions. Mind filling me in on that Baron?

Materials science is awesome.

 

Thats really cool but ugly as hell..................

 

It looks the same as a normal tire, how is it ugly?
I would be curious to see what it is made of too, especially given the lateral stability needed.

 

I really have no idea, this is the first I've heard of it. But hey, Dean Kamen is in on it, so it must be good.

I imagine thin sidewalls will be added to production models for the sake of cosmetics. No doubt the ricers will make their own modifications by cutting off the sidewalls to save .01 oz. per corner.

 

umm can u burn rubber with those??? seems like it'll go blad very soon....

oh and from the looks of it.... it seems to be able to replace the rim... imagine no rim on ur ride... just something like that... lol...

 

At least you won't need the soon to be mandatory tpms and the 8000 wheel balancing weights that come with it.

 

lol atleast youl know when you need new tread.

 

What an exciting technology!

I needed a Tweel tire last week when I bent my left front winter rim hitting a pot hole at 1mph.

 

You dont think that is ugly? I like to see rim, not tire

 

Looks like a malnourished wheel. I don't know if I could trust something like that. I think you can go about 1 inch before you get stuck with any snow on the road.

 

Maybe from a visual standpoint, it's ugly, but I think function was Michelin's target here. The only thing this new tire lacks is a sidewall, and air. Otherwise, it functions like a normal radial tire.

I'm sure we'll probably see this technology applied in heavy machinery first, then it may come down into production cars.

 

They will put side walls on these wheels, there are too many safety issues not to have that covered up. Did you ever shove a hockey stick into a bikes wheel?

 

Haha. I thought about that too. Maybe they're just showing the cross section. I'm sure you need a sidewall so people like BlueEyes won't actually jam a steel pole into a Tweel travelling at 90 mph.

 

I would think they would need a sidewall for lateral support. I really like the idea, although I imagine they would be much heavier than the standard rim/tire combo right now. Maybe if they were able to eliminate the rim outright and just run the tires they could save weight.

Or maybe experiment with different compression settings (think of sidewall flex in today's tires) for different applications. Or even some sort of progressive compression like in suspensions. Good find.

 

Well, it says they don't need a sidewall for lateral support, there is even pictures of them driving without them

 

Oops. I guess I should have read the article instead of just looking at the picture. My English teacher was right. :p

 

No worries, I do the same, see abbids sig, that is if he hasnt changed it :D

 

Another question to ask:

How would police spike strips work against this? It's like a solid rubber tire with flex. I'm sure the military would be intrested in this too. But then again the military may already use these.

 

i read some sci-fi book a few years ago that featured something like this. one of the charachters was a delivery person on a skateboard and the skateboard had wheels just like this. a bunch of pneumatic tubes that conformed to bumps and debris on the road. it seems everything comes from sci-fi nowadays

 

I wouldnt think spike strips would work to well with this type of tire. However, any car that would have this type of tire will have an electronic system, so the cops can just use an electronic immobilizer strip. They have little RC cars which shoot under cars right now and fry the electronics stopping the car, so same thing could be applied to a strip.

 

Imagining the spinner version.....ow...ow..ow..ow..ow..

 

I know that book " Snow Crash". the protagonist also had the same wheels on a motorcycle.

 

For some reason, I want a set of these

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/05/16/v...eel-in-motion/

 

Ahh a random bump but I'll toss in my few cents.. seen these on Future Cars on Discovery again last night. Was a pretty kewl concept needless to say but curious as to why they havent been given a release date.