Never Get a Flat Again With These Air-Free Tires
- Posted on December 8, 2011 at 12:25pm by
Liz Klimas
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(Photo: DigInfo)
Could compressed air pumps at gas stations someday become as obsolete as pay phones? Bridgestone Tires recently showed off its new airless tire design at the 2011 Tokoyo Motor Show, and although the prototype is only scooter-sized, some think the technology could have a future with normal cars.
Here’s how the new tires work:
CNET reports that the idea of airless tires has already been used by the U.S. military and that Michelin also has a similar tire called the Tweel, which hasn’t taken off commercially due to heat, vibration and noise issues. But CNET notes that Bridgestone’s Airfree design is different than Tweel and the company will at some point test the design on cars. As it is though, the technology can only hold a single passenger and a total of 330 pounds.
Thermoplastic resin composes the support structure. (Photo: DigInfo)
In a press release, Bridgestone says that these tires are part of its mission to create a non-pneumatic tire with less of an environmental impact.
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Comments (102)
Tickdog
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 7:38ammmm hmmm … watch ‘em fly apart at only 50 mph..
Report Post »Vechorik
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 9:17amI would hate to have to clean/wash those suckers!
Report Post »bccrane
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 9:39amAs the Amish make a great leap forward in technology.
Report Post »Problem with this WINTER and MUD. Imagine setting in water and then freezing what kind of ride you will get not to mention mud and stones. In our area these tires would work out for only 2 maybe 3 months of the year.
SgtB
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 10:07amJust start looking up the tweel on youtube or your favorite search engine. There are multiple companies making airless tires and the US military is fielding such technologies on combat vehicles because they don‘t stop rolling just because they get shot and they don’t even stop rolling if you happen to have a quarter of your “wheel” blown away by an explosion. This technology is superior and WILL replace pneumatic tires in the not too distant future.
My favorite thus far is the ERW or energy return wheel. look up this stuff. I’m sure that when pneumatic tires came about, there were a few naysayers like you who said that they would never ride in a car with explosive tires and would always prefer their wood spokes and rubber band.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 10:43amYou do know that no new technology comes fully developed and ready for heavy industrial use at the prototype reveling, right? It’s a weird fear many on the right have of new tech, that really confuses me. Except for military, where they seem quite comfortable with it. Odd.
1890: “Announcing the new horseless carriage!”
Report Post »Right: “Not nearly as pretty as a horse, and I don’t have to have tools for my horse. This new thing fails”
Bill in Texas
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 11:02amExactly, lets see them on a real car or truck. Not a scooter.
Report Post »Brents Torts
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 11:10amI totally agree ghost. Some people aren’t happy unless they are tearing something down. Time will tell if this tech will work. I think it’s exciting.
Report Post »SmoothCrimiNole
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 12:17pmthis technology has been around forever… Michelin calls it the Tweel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqRJ9GfIJtI
Report Post »toddgibbs
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 2:50pmMy scooter won’t do 50mph…
Report Post »chris3
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 8:30pmare we keeping to much air in our tires?,or are we not paying enough for tires?their “mission”says it all!
Report Post »random357
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 10:26pmI wonder how these stupid tires will work on my 95 Formula Firebird.
I bet I could have 2 flats in just a few seconds.
Why can’t they come up with something a little more practical?
Report Post »JayCee
Posted on December 10, 2011 at 8:21am“Why can’t they come up with something a little more practical?”
Like flat free tires are impractical? Who cares, I’ve got AAA?
….and, and, …. we never got no dang flats on our covered wagons by doggies!
Report Post »JayCee
Posted on December 10, 2011 at 8:28amand, and and …………Fred Flintstone never had a flat dad gummit!
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on December 10, 2011 at 10:37amGuarantee they NEVER see the axle of a production car, as we know them.
Report Post »Unkn0wn1
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 7:36amcapitalism will not allow this.
Report Post »Countrygirl1362
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 7:44amMaybe not, but willing to bet the way things are going that the govt. will try to force them on us the way they have the new light bulbs.
Report Post »Ampleforth
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 8:41amBut a free market will.
Report Post »The Voice of Libertarian Reason
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 8:57amI would LOVE to have a set of tires like those (obviously once they perfect them). They offer so many benefits over pneumatic tires.
But its ok with me if all of you nay sayers want to contiue to FEAR what you dont UNDERSTAND.
Live and let live.
Report Post »sWampy
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 9:21amHas nothing to do with capitalism, maybe crony capitalism won’t.
Report Post »mullet
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 9:35amCapitalism promotes advancement in technology and weeds out the failures. I’m guessing you were one of the failures?
Report Post »RejectFalseIcons
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 11:58amCapitalism Won’t? Really?
All they have to do is get it to the point where they are large enough for use in trucking. Trucking will convert to these for the reliability factor alone. When you consider not losing time to change a front flat, and the reduced weight of no longer having to carry dual tire axles, you open up about 2000 more pounds of cargo weight in the trailer and remove the potential for delay. Even if they cost twice as much as regular tires, you’re making your money back on them almost immediately.
If the product is good, capitalism will DEMAND it. The question to be answered is whether or not they’re good enough to create demand.
Report Post »quasimodo1
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 7:34amI worked for a major US tire manufacturer in the mid 70′s. Two of their more exceptional engineers (I was not one of them, to be sure) designed, built and street tested an identical design. They got in trouble for the street testing without corporate approval. The whole thing was done mostly on their own in a back room.
Report Post »greensteam
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 12:54pmthese things do occasionally die off due to corporate backlash. i think these will make it to market eventually. when you have so much regulation for your business(like i do) you find yourself obsessing about staying in business. once your business lasts a while you never quite lose that sense of penny pinching. my theory is, that when the government is pinching you, you tend to get a little ruthless trying to protect yourself. if something came up that could put you out of business you wish you could squash it. giant corperations have the resources to squash something that threatens them. and there is alot of money that could be lost from tire and roadside assistance companies. my opinion is to not have all your eggs in one basket. it is not people who stop change, it is over regulated businesses who have been brainwashed into self preservation that do. and i dont blame them. it is so hard and so absurd what you have to go through to meet the state, local, and federal govt demands.
Report Post »Vietvet1
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 7:04amI think Michelin had this idea already, YEARS ago. The concern that surfaced was how can the vehicle with these tires be stopped with Police Puncture strips. A good tire for every highdollar badguy to buy. And, they would not be cheap. My question on tires like this… I wonder how they would work in sloppy, slushy winter weather if those holes got filled with the crap we have here in PA , froze overnight and then go to work at OH DARK thirty in the morning.? Does a buckboard come to mind?
Report Post »Patrick Henry II
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 7:18amThe sidew would have to be closed off. THey could not be open. Ice or eve mud and rocks would throw it way out of balance.
Report Post »wtd
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 8:57amColor me skeptical. Pot holes, anyone? Imagine crushing those tires into one at 55mph+ with seasonal temp. fluctuations mixing the ice, snow, mud, oil, debris of the roadway into those tires.
Report Post »td9463
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 9:35amwith the way this govt is going I hope police strips dont stop them..the police state in ths country needs to be GREATLY reduced..we need good tires not more laws or police
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 10:14amanyone concerned with these tires going out of balance from snow and ice should be more worried about their current wheels going out of balance when the mexican road crew has people driving over wet tar and broken asphalt (happened to me in Texas) for miles. When I got home I had to take a metal bar to the inner portion of the wheels and break off the tar and asphalt. At least snow and ice can melt.
Oh, I almost forgot. How many people already have problems with your wheels getting clogged with snow causing the car to shake violently when you get to highway speed for the first time after several days of running around town in slush and snow? Happened to my GMC last year, so how would the tweel be any different or worse? Please explain.
Report Post »Dawgnabox
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 7:01amI see a nice market for golf carts and riding lawnmowers. I can’t keep air in those tires. I always have at least 1 flat on my riding lawnmowers or golf carts. The cheap a** tires from China actually leak air out of the sidewalls after about 6 months. If there American made, I’m all for them.
Report Post »CLEttinger
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 9:28amYeah, maybe wheel barrels too. Never a car, cold and potholes would destroy those, I couldn’t trust my families lives to plastic spokes.
Report Post »bccrane
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 9:44amThis is not new, Popular Mechanics had a story on a tire similar to this decades ago and they showed it being used on a wheel barrow.
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 11:01am@ clettinger, How will cold and pothole take out these tires? Do you know that this type of wheel was invented for use on heavy equipment and military vehicles because it can resist bullets, shrapnel, and even still acts as an effective wheel when missing part of the “rim” and tread? Your skepticism is a undeserved. Have you even seen the other designs that have come about? It is obvious that this particular wheel was designed not for a car or truck but for a scooter. You cannot judge the entire technology on this one design.
Report Post »BuggiOlleo
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 6:59amnot gonna zip around in my Chevy truck with plastic tires..can you imagine the recycle mess of these thingamajigs..wait a minute, isn’t petroleum evil?! Another joke,huh. I thought we are supposed to move away from evil petroleum products..cmon, another hypocrisy is another dimension. Now, if we could just get our evil opposites to go fetch through the Black hole..nah, god forbid we trust em in the Utopian dimension either..Oh Well..Impasse is a good place..nothing will get done, and I MAY not have to drive around on plastic tires……….
Report Post »Secessionista
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 6:53amAnd apparently, the janitor is a nice young japanese feller….
Report Post »grannyrecipe
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 6:51amNot to be mean to the Japanese but they should just stick to reproducing and revamping and keep away from revolutionary concepts. As an American and being half German, I would come up with a light weight
Report Post »recyclable material whereby one could make our current tires solid. Or a tire composed of a honeycomb structured interior with an exterior sheath using the same light weight material.
Secessionista
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 6:49amWhen they get cold they will be as stiff as a wooden wheel, and in the hot summer, they will become soft and flimsy. That’s what rubber does.
The same thing, only better, could be accomplished with spring steel. I am surprised no one considered these facts. I guess they don’t have engineers at Bridgestone, just whoever was left after layoffs during the great recession. Maybe the janitor designed this.
Report Post »tomloy
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 6:20amI’d love to see these on cars. No worrying about changing tires. Cars and trucks would no longer have
Report Post »to carry a spare tire.
RichNGadsden
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 6:51amDon’t count on that. After many years working as a traffic accident investigator a multitude of other damages happen to damage tires other than simply punctures. But, I have to agree that the design is interesting.
Report Post »GO-FOR-LIBERTY
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 6:06amI know! I know! Lets sell them to Obama so he can install them on that other wonder “The Volt”.
Report Post »seejanemom
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 5:47amHow is this “revolutionary”?
My BUSH HOG has no air tires.
They are hideous affairs with wrapped steel belting that looks like a kindergartener made them and if I put them on a car, I‘m sure they’d ride like an angry camel, but they are designed to never need replacing.
I wouldn’t worry about TIRES>>> its the PEAK OIL we have to worry about, cuz these things will be GREAT on a horse buggy…..oh wait, we’ve done that too. They were called “wooden wheels”.
Buy a horse folks, and a farm to put it on. You, too, will be ahead of your time here shortly.
Report Post »mmabri
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 6:02amThey are different then all rubber tires because they provide a smotther ride at highway speeds then all rubber tires. Its a nice idea, and it shows how the Japanese are able to think out of the box, but due to our over regulated govrnment we’re not allowed to anymore. These tires once perfected would be nice to have on our vehicles, but something tells me the tire lobby would do everything they could to prevent their implementation.
Report Post »BehindBlueEyes
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 5:36amFred Flinstone and Barney Rubble had the best tires. No flats and you only need 1 set, they lasted a lifetime.
Report Post »Tom W.
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 4:00amThis idea has been around for at least 20+ years……for bicycles. I purchased some for my son’s bike because he was getting too many flats. They wern‘t ’tires’ but inner tubes. They were very pliable and felt like a ‘real’ tube that was aired up to the proper tire pressure. I never had to change a flat again for at least 3 years, but it wasn‘t because of the ’tube’…..I had to change the tire. He would ride that little huffy over hill and dell and it saved me lots of headaches by NOT having to fix any more flats!
Report Post »This idea could REALLY WORK in an automobile tire!
RestoreCapitalism
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 3:38amI think perhaps a better approach would be to invent an appropriate type of foam for filling the tires.
Report Post »ZAP
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 3:35amThey should fix their gas pedals before moving on to tires
Report Post »On The Silent Wings Of Freedom
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 3:28amScrew those. It’s the 21st century. I want my Jetson’s flying car. (’n stuff).
Report Post »Workforit
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 2:09amOld tech… I saw these 10 years ago…It has been tried. The problem is the plastic spokes don’t last as long as a pneumatic tire… They loose flex after a short time compared to a standard tire, and they don’t have the cornering capabilities…
Next…
Report Post »ZaphodsPlanet
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 1:53amNeat idea but is see potential problems. 1) crap getting stuck inside the exposed spokes will throw them constantly out of balance. As neat as they may look with the spokes exposed…. they’re probably going to need to cover them up. And then…. they may loose some appeal and I’d expect the cost with use of more materials would make them more expensive than a regular tire. 2) From the looks of them I’d assume Lateral stability(how much they’d bend when putting a sideways force on them) would be lacking compared to a low profile tire you see on most sports cars, at least I‘d guess it would be as there’s so much distance between the wheel and tread. 3) Could they deal with a car/truck with some power? Or would the spokes get ripped? It’s a neat idea though. I like the idea of never having to worry about the tire pressure on my car…. or worrying about running over a nail…etc. It will be interesting to see if they can turn it into a marketable product…. they do look kinda cool.
Report Post »jollylama
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 1:11amreinventing the wheel… sure.. but can i put spinner rims on them for my low rider?
Report Post »Renalden
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 12:44amAnd anonymous, you are speaking from a weak platform, Ignorance
Report Post »Renalden
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 12:42amthey are not pneumatic, they are a form of spring rubber, or plastic/ IE memory plastic tech, allowing for the same mileage, or use of the cheap donuts, saves money, and are not subject to the inattention of the consumer
Dave
Report Post »rcw_68
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 12:39amHow would they hold up to the potholes of Indiana?
Report Post »Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 12:30amhow do you lower toyota with those things?
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on December 8, 2011 at 11:53pmThey are called pneumatic tires and are the same thing as the tires on your little red wagon. They are hard rubber and wouldn’t provide a smooth ride in anything as heavy as a small car. Even though they won’t go flat, they can still get torn to shreds by sharp objects, get flat spots if you skid too much on rough surfaces, and would not provide the “springy-ness” of air-filled tires when going around curves at high speed.
Report Post »sWampy
Posted on December 9, 2011 at 9:24amWe do have compounds that do behave exactly like air at various pressures we could put in automotive tires, but lobbyists have fought hard to keep them off the road, because properly filled tires would last longer and not require as much maintenance, etc. The stuff is expensive right now, because it’s not produced in quantity.
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