New Michelin Tyres..

[Robbo SPS]

I recieved this on an e-mail. Not sure if its a hoax, or not.



CHECK OUT THESE TYRES !

These tyres are made in South Carolina , USA .
 
SEE THROUGH TYRES
Radical new tyre design by Michelin.
The next generation of tyres.
They had a pair at the Philadelphia car show.



Yes, those are 'spoke' like connections to the inner

part of the tyre from the outside tread 'wrap!' The

next picture shows how odd it looks in motion....

 


 Makes you wonder how the ride feels doesn't it?

 


 

 


 
These tyres are airless and are scheduled to be out

on the market very soon.  The bad news for law enforcement is that spike strips will not work on these.
Just think of the impact on existing technology:
A. no more air valves...
B. no more air compressors at gas stations...
C. no more repair kits...
D. no more flats...
These are actual pictures taken in the South  Carolina

plant of Michelin.   
 
 
 
 
 

[mgmark]

No, it's not a hoax - Michelin announced the concept a few years ago (2005, I think), lots of military interest as it's a tyre that can't be "shot out", development beign funded by the US DofD.

MG Mark

[Paddy_NL]

Makes me wonder what would happen in a 150 mph emergency stop (then again, you'd have to live in Germay for that )

[Lord Pig-Pen]

Would they squeal going round corners? 

[smokie]

Makes me wonder what would happen in a 150 mph emergency stop (then again, you'd have to live in Germay for that )

At least you wouldn't have a  blow out...

I had one in front off side at about 90 mph in the Omega on the M4. I was lucky that the road was not very busy, and the car behaved really well.

[garyfrogeye]

They may work well but they look SH*TE
I'd imagine if they ever did go wrong, they'd go wrong in a big way.

[Lazy B'stard]

So in the winter, when the insides of your rear wheels gets full of crap what happens with these? Lots of lovely vibration due to inbalance? I'm sure someone did something similar for mountain bikes in the early 90's. They were rubbish by all accounts.

Not for me.

[nopanic - neil]

Ok - my 2 penny's worth.

They have to be flexible to give ride comfort,

So what happens when you put your foot down, and you exert a fair bit of torque on the tires, do they twist and absorb some of the torque or do they give the power straight down on to the tarmac?

Can’t see how you can have both.

Or may be I'm miles off.

Also - loved to know if they make a high speed whistle and certain speeds - that would be fun!

Dr S - ice is a good question, what about snow - even more fun!

[garyfrogeye]

or D*ckheads with scissors who think it might be fun to snip a few

[Snoring Rhino]

Very interesting concept and I guess it had to come. Interesting as to why they left the "Spokes" exposed, is it to explain the concept or for another reason. A Low duty cover over them either side would surely overcome the noise, crap, attention issues. Also how do you fit them, conventional tyres use the air pressure to seat them and help grip to the rim. They must have to Bond/glue them in some way, so does it mean that the wheel/tyre have to be supplied together. Could be a great concept but only for special applications, think of the cost of replacing tyre fitting bays equipment (if there is any thing for them) across the world or has someone come up with a world beater like the replacement of solid tyres with pneumatic ones?