Makh: Fina-farking-lly

Yep. The technology has been there for quite a while to develop something in this direction, but it's just plain too easy to rely to keep making minor improvements on old technology. Look at hard drives based on spinning platters ;)

namatad: meh
those are way to narrow for my cabriolet
plus, the green would clash with the black paint



Disagrees.

/hot like superheroes in spandex

monty666: And that crazy flapper-ish dance you're doing, what is it called?

That's a seizure, you insensitive bastard.

If they're not made of thousands of telescoping rods I don't give a crap

This'll show those coppers and their stupid bank robbery getaway-ruining spike strips.

So what are the odds that they take the concept one step further and design the tire so that the tread is replaceable? If the core material lasts much longer than the tread, why not make a design that can be recycled many times. One set of tires could last the entire life of vehicle, with only the tread being replaced every 50 or 60 thousand miles.

Hector Remarkable: This'll show those coppers and their stupid bank robbery getaway-ruining spike strips.

But my master plan to get away with bank robbery was to find a small town with a limited police force, and slash all the cop car tires before I rob the First National Bank of Podunk. My plan is ruined!

We have had the technology (The tweel) for over 6 years.
They talked about bringing it in then...
The fact is, THE POLICE would not let it be used.

They argued that they need to be able to disable vehicles, by popping tires.

And so, tires like these have never entered the sales floor.
They will NEVER enter the sales floor.

Police State outweighs your vehicles evolution. Sorry, that is the contorted world we now live in.

newton:
We have had the technology (The tweel) for over 6 years.
They talked about bringing it in then...

...but they didn't because it's not as good as a normal tire at this stage. At highway speeds, they vibrate more, which means they're very loud and generate a lot more heat than normal tires. That means long-term reliability issues. There's also cost problems (it's expensive to make).

Police and spike strips? Nice off-the-cuff conspiracy theory you got there, shame it's so silly.

cirby: newton:
We have had the technology (The tweel) for over 6 years.
They talked about bringing it in then...

...but they didn't because it's not as good as a normal tire at this stage. At highway speeds, they vibrate more, which means they're very loud and generate a lot more heat than normal tires. That means long-term reliability issues. There's also cost problems (it's expensive to make).

Police and spike strips? Nice off-the-cuff conspiracy theory you got there, shame it's so silly.

Say it again when you get some Tweels, which you never will be able to.

P.S. 1938....

newton: We have had the technology (The tweel) for over 6 years.
They talked about bringing it in then...
The fact is, THE POLICE would not let it be used.

They argued that they need to be able to disable vehicles, by popping tires.

And so, tires like these have never entered the sales floor.
They will NEVER enter the sales floor.

Police State outweighs your vehicles evolution. Sorry, that is the contorted world we now live in.

oh for farks sake. I'm quite sure they are at the point they can just point a ray gun at your shiat and disable the electronics shutting off the vehicle

or they can do what they really love doing and just riddle your shiat full of bullets. (and you know they LOVE that shiat)

the lives that can be saved with this technology are too many to ignore

I see the problem being changing the tread. Part of what normal tires ad wheels have stuck around so long is you fat a wheel that typically lasts the life of the car, and replace the tires as they wear out. Replacing tires isn't hard nor expensive. With this design you are combining the wheel and sidewall of the tire for suspension purposes. But, how does the tread get changed? Does the entire structure press off the center? Forklift tires are press fit to the wheels, but they're also much more solid. They've had military tires that are solid, with holes to allow flex, for a while. But, they're still so solid they ride rough.

As with most things, the old technology sticks aroud because it's effective and the alternative doesn't solve enough problems to be worth it. There's no conspiracy.

Gosh, that seems like the hardened foam-filled ones we already have.

Never gonna make it in the U.S.

We have snow. Could you imagine what ice would do to that tire?

I'm sure southern states would buy them, but at that point, if half the market in the U.S. wouldn't buy them, you couldn't mass produce enough to keep them affordable.

Hiro Nakamura: ...

Any fark engineers care to explain the reason for the lack of a sidewall? Is it functional or purely aesthetic? Seems like keeping the same design but covering up the holes left would reduce wind noise a little.

I would have to guess that there are multiple reasons for the lack of sidewall.

1. Show off the new tech
2. Need. It doesn't NEED a sidewall to keep the air in. Less weight, less material used
3. Cooling. The spokes will get a little warm from flex, I'm guessing.

BigBooper: ... If the core material lasts much longer than the tread, why not make a design that can be recycled many times. One set of tires could last the entire life of vehicle, with only the tread being replaced every 50 or 60 thousand miles.

TFA says that the corps is recyclable. Sort of how like the steel and/or aluminum of current wheels is recyclable with a replaceable tire. Trouble is, now you would have a 3 piece design with wheel, tire and tread instead of a 2 piece wheel, tire assembly. Likely less weight (unsprung, rotating) but more joints to fail.

AppleOptionEsc: ...ice ...

LOL, THIS. Imagine slipping a little bit into a snowbank or the slush against the curb and packing HALF the thing with ice, then getting on the highway. There would be some balance issues there, let me tell ya.

/not really an engineer, but they make me play one at work.

But will we need roads where we're going?

AppleOptionEsc: We have snow. Could you imagine what ice would do to that tire?

I imagine the ice would break up and fall out as the tire flexes. I give it about 0.1 mile before all the ice is gone.

That is if they don't have an actual sidewall covering, and those pictures are just for illustration purposes.

newton: They argued that they need to be able to disable vehicles, by popping tires.

They just call OnStar and bring you slowly to a stop.

YouPeopleAreCrazy: AppleOptionEsc: We have snow. Could you imagine what ice would do to that tire?

I imagine the ice would break up and fall out as the tire flexes. I give it about 0.1 mile before all the ice is gone.

That is if they don't have an actual sidewall covering, and those pictures are just for illustration purposes.

I think it is rather clear that it is for illustration purposes. Leaving it open so that debris of any sort could get inside the wheel would be pretty farking retarded.

What happens if you jam a stick into the spokes?

They have been pushing this for over 20 years, and it has never made it to market. It isn't as bad as the Moller Skycar, but it is trying to be.

namatad: newton: P.S. 1938....

hmmmmm
so if they cant get a patent for these new tweels, would they even bother coming to market with them??

seriously, everything but the material for construction is previous art.

Yep never gonna see them on the road.....

Can I make a set for my car and be DOT legal?

Dairy King: What happens if you jam a stick into the spokes?

Myth.... Busted

Article is useless with information on weight comparisons between regular tires with air, regular tires with nitrogen, and these. I suspect the weight will be too much, and they won't be able to met emissions or MPG standards with them. You'll also likely never see these on an electric or hybrid vehicle, so future applications seem really limited if the U.S. is heading to alternative transportation technology.

I'll put my money on "neat idea, but will fall flat in practice."

BigBooper: So what are the odds that they take the concept one step further and design the tire so that the tread is replaceable? If the core material lasts much longer than the tread, why not make a design that can be recycled many times. One set of tires could last the entire life of vehicle, with only the tread being replaced every 50 or 60 thousand miles.

Um, you mean like they do now?

Link (new window)

Peki: Article is useless with information on weight comparisons between regular tires with air, regular tires with nitrogen,

Dear God tell me I don't have to break out the science & maths on a Sunday.

What about drag? Wouldn't the open sidewalls add to the overall CoD of the vehicle?

I also wonder if they could angle the fins so that they create a lower pressure under the vehicle, making it stick to the pavement just a little better.

newton: We have had the technology (The tweel) for over 6 years.
They talked about bringing it in then...
The fact is, THE POLICE would not let it be used.

They argued that they need to be able to disable vehicles, by popping tires.

And so, tires like these have never entered the sales floor.
They will NEVER enter the sales floor.

Police State outweighs your vehicles evolution. Sorry, that is the contorted world we now live in.

Came in here to point this out. The police tactical/arms lobby would never let this pass muster. Gotta sell those tire strips ya know.

iaazathot:

newton: We have had the technology (The tweel) for over 6 years.
They talked about bringing it in then...
The fact is, THE POLICE would not let it be used.

They argued that they need to be able to disable vehicles, by popping tires.

And so, tires like these have never entered the sales floor.
They will NEVER enter the sales floor.

Police State outweighs your vehicles evolution. Sorry, that is the contorted world we now live in.

Came in here to point this out. The police tactical/arms lobby would never let this pass muster. Gotta sell those tire strips ya know.:

Why do you assume these designs would roll any better than a regular tire after going over tire puncture strips? Those shredders that prevent you from backing out of parking garages would take half the tweel off the rim, and so would a stop-stick at any speed over a crawl.

And if not, then stop-stick manufacturers would be *more* than happy to come up with a new design that DOES shred twels to sell to every podunk police department in the country, and every podunk police department would be happy to buy them to use up some of that sweet "homeland security" money. It's a win-win for the lobby.

The technology has issues that current tech doesn't, including being far more expensive. You don't need a tinfoil hat to see why it's not been adopted yet.

Peki: Article is useless with information on weight comparisons between regular tires with air, regular tires with nitrogen, and these. I suspect the weight will be too much, and they won't be able to met emissions or MPG standards with them. You'll also likely never see these on an electric or hybrid vehicle, so future applications seem really limited if the U.S. is heading to alternative transportation technology.

I'll put my money on "neat idea, but will fall flat in practice."

Uhm, I'm not one of those fancy engineers or nothin', but there's absolutely no way that the difference in weight between pure nitrogen and plain air has any appreciable effect on the MPG you get in a car. That's retarded.

Additionally, unless these tires weigh about a ton each, there's little chance that the weight of them will have anything to do with MPG either.

holy shiat this is a stupid idea

have you got any idea HOW SLICK THE ROAD WILL BECOME if its coated in thermoplastics?

holy crap these are morons

I thought they already made a tire you can run flat for 50 miles or so.

If you haven't lost the pursuing cops in that distance, you aren't going to.

Paging Hiro Protagonist and YT to the thread.

prjindigo:

holy shiat this is a stupid idea

have you got any idea HOW SLICK THE ROAD WILL BECOME if its coated in thermoplastics?

holy crap these are morons

The treads are not thermoplastic, only the spokes, the treads are probably the usual vulcanized rubber.

maxheck: vulcanized



/bike has airless tires
//solid rubb4r

newton ,
We have had the technology (The tweel) for over 6 years.
They talked about bringing it in then...
The fact is, THE POLICE would not let it be used.
They argued that they need to be able to disable vehicles, by popping tires.
And so, tires like these have never entered the sales floor.
They will NEVER enter the sales floor.
Police State outweighs your vehicles evolution. Sorry, that is the contorted world we now live in.

If one plans ahead, all that is needed is filling a tire with sand. Coyotes have been used this on the border.

Radial tires were invented twenty or thirty years (and commonly available in Europe) before they were released in the US. That time it was a patent issue and US makers waited until it expired.

namatad: meh
those are way to narrow for my cabriolet
plus, the green would clash with the black paint

The green color was my biggest problem, and they look narrow at least in the diagram. While I would love to have such tires, I would have to look like a dipshiat using them.

I would hate to look like a dipshiat using them *

Abner Doon: Uhm, I'm not one of those fancy engineers or nothin', but there's absolutely no way that the difference in weight between pure nitrogen and plain air has any appreciable effect on the MPG you get in a car. That's retarded.

Nitrogen doesn't expand or contract nearly as much as regular air in regards to temperature. If you are going to conduct an MPG test at a particular speed and tire pressure, Nitrogen would be useful for eliminating variables. In the real world, it's benefits are negated by the fact that tires need to be pumped back up from time to time because they leak, and pure nitrogen costs a lot more money then an air compressor.

32-35 PSI is pretty standard for most car tires. The difference in MPG between 32 and 35 PSI is probably in the single digit percentage range over the lifespan of the tire, so that could actually end up being a couple hundred bucks (since tires last so long), but you're getting that MPG by making the sidewalls stiffer, and the tires contact patch smaller. This means you have a rougher ride, and more dangerously, you have less grip on the road.

Lowering pressure below 32 PSI and you loose a LOT of fuel economy as the sidewall starts flexing more, leading to uneven tire wear and the possibility of damaging the tire.

TL;DR If you check your car tire pressure regularly you don't need nitrogen in them.

/Inflate your tires to their recommended pressure. which is probably 32-35 PSI.
//Don't inflate them to their MAX pressure which is probably 40 something.
///Unless you like the excitement of exploding tires.