(FoxNews.com)
Any person who has ever gotten a flat tire while riding an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) out in the middle of nowhere is going to be thrilled about the latest innovation in the tire industry.
Off-road giant Polaris plans to unveil a new consumer version of an “airless” Non-Pneumatic Tire (NPT) by early 2014.
“For years, pneumatic tires — the kind you fill with air — have been a burr in the side of the ATV industry. Even on short excursions over rocky terrain a popped tire is not unexpected, and they often occur far from home,” FoxNews.com reports.
The airless tires are made from proprietary plastic and instead of the conventional rubber coating, is coated with a flexible web.
Polaris spokesperson Jason Difuccia said the tire “works very similar to a bicycle wheel.”
“[T]he load is carried in tension across the top of the wheel,” Difuccia said. “The bottom of the wheel is designed to give in to obstacles like rocks, curbs, and other terrain.”
If the technology is as solid as the folks over at Polaris claim, it could mean and end to tire punctures for ATVs.
Polaris has not announced how expensive the tires will be, but said the new product is about purchasing the peace of mind that they won’t leave you stranded.
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Comments (63)
Missouri Mule
Mar. 7, 2013 at 8:26amNot news. These have been on skid steer loaders for years.
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MellonCrib
Mar. 7, 2013 at 8:41amHere are these tires in 1920.
http://www.shorpy.com/node/5270?size=_original#caption
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Silvertruth
Mar. 7, 2013 at 10:42amVideos of Military vehicles using these same tires have been on YouTube for years now. They have horrible side to side deflection issues.
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armyofnibiru
Mar. 7, 2013 at 4:18pmwait a minute,i see air in those tubes.
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BenzinVasser
Mar. 7, 2013 at 7:20pmMeloncrib: That’s awesome, what a joke they haven’t been using these already, prob. due to money, maybe they last too long. Thanks for the info. my friend.
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DougHuffman
Mar. 7, 2013 at 8:24amDo they “work” beggars the meaning of work. They will suffer the same problems of all other airless and flatless traction system. Antique tractors still have airless flatless steel tires and wheels – so do caterpillars. What is old is new again to the children.
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jlancecombs
Mar. 7, 2013 at 10:49amNot the same. Unlike the others you mentioned, these are made to “behave” like rubber, pneumatic tires. The honeycomb design and the softer plastic make the difference. Still, I would chalk this up to “interesting”, rather than “amazing”.
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termyt
Mar. 7, 2013 at 12:50pm“Polaris has not announced how expensive the tires will be, but said the new product is about purchasing the peace of mind that they won’t leave you stranded.”
In other words, yes, they are going to be very expensive.
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N37BU6
Mar. 7, 2013 at 4:50amI saw a news report about these on Discovery Channel, a good 7 years ago… and I read about them being tested at least 15 years ago.
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battles
Mar. 7, 2013 at 8:44amThe tire repair lobby seem to be alive and well!
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Chancellor
Mar. 7, 2013 at 1:33amLooks like they will suck in the mud. Those swiss cheese tires will fill with mud when they sink into it.
Rocks getting caught up in the webs will do damage also shredding the tire at high speed. and it has been tried before and hasn’t worked well on the factory trucks they did this to. If you get them get a warrenty with them for they usually don’t last.
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ICSPADES
Mar. 7, 2013 at 5:38amYou adapt covers to them just as you can spot weld covers on your existing wheels now. I cut a set for a guy that would fit his aluminum wheels and had lug nut holes so he could still get the wheel off. It kept debris out of his wheels.
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ICSPADES
Mar. 7, 2013 at 5:44amI am working on a design that might interest you.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.moirahay-illustration.co.uk/cartoony_images/inventingthewheel.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.moirahay-illustration.co.uk/inventthewheel.html&h=378&w=500&sz=56&tbnid=DUZgCdZIIBOaFM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=119&zoom=1&usg=__wMPa7DK3edmUXQETMeUg2J8Ns7k=&docid=dojN0522LKoLRM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=AG84UeTZA5Co9gSchIC4Bg&ved=0CDUQ9QEwAg&dur=2683
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WarMunger_Al
Mar. 7, 2013 at 7:07amProbably didn’t work on trucks, but ATV’s are much lighter weight and probably wont sink as much. Would love to see how they perform in those conditions.
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OBUMAURMAMA
Mar. 7, 2013 at 1:18pm@icspades.
Thanks, today I needed a good laugh. :)
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Budrow
Mar. 7, 2013 at 1:25amThis is “old news” Blaze, these things have been on You Tube for a while now, check it out.
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Susie
Mar. 7, 2013 at 12:36amWow ! They’re really cool. Can’t wait ’til they hit the market.
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ginger100
Mar. 6, 2013 at 11:50pmWho built that?
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Stoic one
Mar. 7, 2013 at 8:59ambathhouse barry
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SUNTZU
Mar. 6, 2013 at 11:49pmAll season-Nancy Pelosi
Mudder- Joe Biden
Slick-Obo
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stumpygrim
Mar. 6, 2013 at 11:29pm“Rubber coating”,what the hell are they talking about?Conventional tires are NOT, rubber coated,come on Fox, the Blaze, do you people not do any research at all,hell, the local quick lube kid could tell you tires arent rubber coated?! Seriously……..
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jman-6
Mar. 6, 2013 at 11:44pmGrumpy- wake up dude, there referring to the rubber coated tires like you find on forklifts etc.! Take a deep breath and make sure you know your facts before berating someone else! GOD SPEED!
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Steamtrains
Mar. 6, 2013 at 11:10pmTHE-Monk they tried your idea turned into a maintenance nightmare, c130s also have scales built in to the main gear struts for doing instant weight and balance only problem is they have to be calibrated after a hard landing which is almost every landing
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SmoothCrimiNole
Mar. 6, 2013 at 11:09pmThis is old tech…been around for years…google NPT tires…or non-pneumatic tires. Michelin has developed them a long time ago, you can youtube them and see that they have been put on cars, hummers, skid steers…you name it.
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munch
Mar. 6, 2013 at 11:08pmI hope they did better testing then the average manufacturer that used the same idea for control arm bushings and some motor mounts on cars. Those use thicker “webbing” and fail with minimal movement. Add the push and pull of a rotating tire…. hmmm.
Other problem I see….. very little flex in that “proprietary plastic” . There’s a reason people deflate,slightly, the tires on their ATV’s and “trail rigs” you want the tire to have some grip with good coverage. So it can “grab” the object its rolling over. Looks like it should be good for beaches though. Can only imagine what red clay will do in those honeycombs.
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Bruce1369
Mar. 6, 2013 at 11:18pmIf you have the engineering test data, post it. Otherwise, STFU.
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munch
Mar. 6, 2013 at 11:45pmOh no! The scary STFU no empirical data retort!
How about well more then my share of repairs performed in auto repair industry of which I am still employed, enough knowledge about what tires do on a vehicle in motion as been trained by a world leader in rubber manufacturing, tire maker. And many fun hours Rock Climbing, mud bogging, trail riding and plain country fun a lab tech such as yourself might not understand.
Engineering results are great. Real world results are final. Alway know Engineering creates, real world use gets you closer to perfect!
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Charleyhorse
Mar. 7, 2013 at 5:55amThanks munch for making this clown stfu. Well done. His comment was totally UN called for.
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DisposableWorker
Mar. 6, 2013 at 11:06pmCan anybody say HUMVEE tires ?
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Master_and_Commander
Mar. 7, 2013 at 12:37amHow about HUMBEEHIVE tires? Lol
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MaximumBobby
Mar. 7, 2013 at 8:27amA similar tire has already been tested on the HMMWV.
There are a number of videos out there.
The big drawback is that the airless tires cannot be deflated to match the terrain.
CTIS systems on Army vehicles allow the vehicle to depressurize the tire to ride better on sand.
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OzLinc
Mar. 6, 2013 at 11:01pmNot a new idea or even a good idea…….In theory its great but in practice……..go through a puddle, fill up one side of the wheel with dirt, water, mud or what ever and the thing is so out of balance that the thing just rips apart.
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MisterSarcastic
Mar. 6, 2013 at 10:55pmI’m not an expert so I can’t comment.
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The_Almighty_Creestof
Mar. 6, 2013 at 10:51pmThere can be only one reason why they are publicizing something now, that will not be released until early 2014…they want an old fashioned tire company to buy them out, make them rich…and then bury it forever.
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BigDaddyTex
Mar. 6, 2013 at 10:45pmI think they’d be GREAT for ATVs………as long as you’re not going too fast. Get a small rock lodged in that webbing and it’d throw the tire out of balance. Not so bad if you’re off road. On a highway, pulling over to dig the rocks out cause your wheel is vibrating violently would get annoying, no?
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Patriot72
Mar. 6, 2013 at 10:42pmThose might not be a bad upgrade fr aircraft tires. There’ve been a few blown tire incidents that have left planes skidding or make potentially dangerous spark streams.
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The-Monk
Mar. 6, 2013 at 10:52pmHi Patriot72,
I’ve always wondered why Jumbo Jets don’t have motors attached to the tires to “spin them up” before touch down. That would eliminate a lot of “wear and tear” and the motors would not have to weigh so much. Too much damage caused by static tires hitting the runway at 180 or so MPH…
Just my opinion. : )
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Begbie
Mar. 7, 2013 at 11:27amMonk….that’s actually a really good idea. To expand on it, if they’re motorized then they could also offer resistance after touching down to save the brakes as well, similar to braking systems on some amusement park rides.
I would imagine the downside is weight and cost. Added weight comes at a premium for anything airborne. I bet there’s already been a cost analysis between repairs/replacement of brakes/tires vs. the same to an electric motor system.
Interesting, gold star for you!
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SpankDaMonkey
Mar. 6, 2013 at 10:41pm.
Seen tires like this before hit something hard enough to collapse the inner web and you are screwed…….
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Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Mar. 6, 2013 at 10:32pmThey don’t look like they come off of the rim, so, I guess the rim comes with the tires.
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Begbie
Mar. 7, 2013 at 11:28amProbably pressed on like solid forklift tires….if so, definitely not a DIY job.
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marine249
Mar. 6, 2013 at 10:25pmHey, if they work, I would put them on my Cad.
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Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Mar. 6, 2013 at 10:30pmI can’t imagine they would ride as smooth as a tire filled with air.
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Zorch
Mar. 6, 2013 at 10:22pmYes, yes, but it might very well be only the beginning of a new idea that is not only long overdue, but that might be felt in the auto industry as well. THINK about it. Rubber tires are no longer made of rubber and when a flat occurs, the tire is obliterated even before you can come to a stop. And now the lettering and numbering system has gone international, tires as we have known them are sky-rocketing in price faster than the Obama deficit. A new product like this might possibly bring us into the next phase of automobile suspension and comfort. BRING IT ON, POLARIS
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TheDHndrsn
Mar. 6, 2013 at 10:18pmNew technology and manufacturing processes. Price should eventually come down. Except, they are likely manufactured with byproducts of oil which soon is to be a scarce commodity on planet Earth. Not that oil isn’t there mind you, just that the globalbamistas will not permit its consumption. Cool stuff.
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Gumbercules
Mar. 6, 2013 at 11:02pm“Polaris has not announced how expensive the tires will be, but said the new product is about purchasing peace of mind that they won’t leave you stranded.”
I.e. An arm, a leg and another bunghole. . .
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retired_leo
Mar. 6, 2013 at 10:13pmNice; I would be willing to test them in the Colorado Rockies for them!
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Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Mar. 6, 2013 at 10:26pmRampart and 11 mile could give them a good workout. I wonder how they handle in the sand dunes.
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Wolfgang the Gray
Mar. 6, 2013 at 10:59pmI’d like a set of those for my dirt bike. I saw something similar to this a year or so ago called a Tweel. Wonder if these are from the same company?
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media-bias-steals-elections
Mar. 6, 2013 at 10:10pmIf the tires cost more than the warranty coverage for the vehicle, this would only be useful for people that live out in the middle of no where and are trying to survive hunting for organic meat that is NOT GMO fed cattle?
If they figure out how to make commercial truck tires they would save lives?
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sparkyrules
Mar. 6, 2013 at 10:24pm“If they figure out how to make commercial truck tires they would save lives?”
We’ve seen this before..But the only thing wrong is that people would drive EVEN THE TOUGHEST tire down to its last tread.And commerial vehicles have 6-18 tires plus.That why air filled tires are best for everyday use.Replace when needed.
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I_AM_HARRISON_BERGERON
Mar. 6, 2013 at 10:25pmIf they work well, then they will sell in quantity and come down in price. It’s not exactly an original idea, just the first time put into practical use. I can see it being a great heavy truck tire. It might also have some really nice potential for military vehicles.
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