COLMAR-BERG May 22 — Airless tyres that never go flat or need to be inflated: It’s a decades-long dream that manufacturers hope to turn into a reality soon, but for truck drivers first.
The thin layer of rubber gripping the asphalt has a gargantuan physical challenge to meet: Supporting the weight of the car and absorbing shocks as well as standard pneumatic tyres for thousands and thousands of kilometres. He said a second generation of airless tyres that are lighter, quieter and roll better are in the works.Michelin has released the Tweel, but it is for construction vehicles rather than cars where the demands in terms of driving performance are much greater.
But Michelin’s CEO Florent Menegaux doesn’t expect airless tyres to squeeze out regular tyres anytime soon.Goodyear, which submitted its first patent on airless tyre technology in 1982, has recently put its food down on the accelerator in terms of research and development. Bridgestone also hopes to have an airless tyre ready within a decade, having already tested early versions on utility vehicles.
Airless tyres could prove to be environmentally beneficial as they could last the entire lifetime of most vehicles and could then be recycled or retreaded for a second life.
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