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Michelin's airless tires are scheduled for market launch in 2024

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Re: Michelin's airless tires are scheduled for market launch in 2024

#91

Post by mpol »

jaclaz wrote: post #76
throwaway0a5e wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Connected: Reports tread status and configuration, e.g. to inform the driver that he should change to a winter tire tread. That sounds like everything that's terrible about printer ink but with the decimal moved once to the right. I can imagine a world where your tires stop working because you had them re-treaded with a tread pattern or the OEM won't honor a warranty item because you didn't use an approved brand of…

Don't forget fridges: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28478438 Will single tyres e-mail you singularly or as a group? I mean: Hi, I am your left front tyre and wished to tell you how ... or: We, the tyres of your car, have determined that ...

It might work similar to low pressure, where you see the wheel light up on the dashboard. Ofcourse the human part can make the decision on what to do about it, and if you want to replace tyres, how many at once.

Re: Michelin's airless tires are scheduled for market launch in 2024

#92

Post by ygra »

Jackim wrote: post #78
throwaway0a5e wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any noise a normal-ish passenger car is of no consequence compared to the noise of heavy trucks and motorcycles. You don't even notice it. It's only "blighted" because the people who self select to live beside a highway tend not to be the ones who care a ton about making their residence look nice from the street (manicured lawn, nice siding, sealed driveway, etc, etc) so the prices stay cheap, the rents stay low and…

I disagree. The difference that I and many other people noticed on city streets during the initial COVID lockdowns was enormous. Cities aren’t loud places, the continuous white noise from passing passenger vehicles is the loud part. 60 km/h traffic is 10 times louder than people having a conversation.

Even 30 km/h is far from silent. Especially around intersections and traffic lights. And when you have trucks or buses accelerating it almost doesn't matter that a typical small car doesn't make that much noise at that speed anymore.

Re: Michelin's airless tires are scheduled for market launch in 2024

#93

Post by N1H1L »

throwaway0a5e wrote: post #34
letmeinhere wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Road noise isn't just a driver aesthetic preference, it's a form of pollution that has direct impacts on human and animal health. I could still be convinced that the sustainability or safety (from fewer blowouts) gains of these would outweigh that, but it's important to consider beings outside of the auto cabin.

Rubber material properties (hardness basically) is a rounding error compared to tread design in terms of road noise and the dominant factor in terms of how long it takes the tire to wear down.

Not true absolutely. The rubber hardness is highly temperature dependent, and is modified by tinkering with your glass transition temperature. Winter tires have a lower glass transition temperature (are softer at lower temperatures), and as a result will wear down much, much faster in summer.

Re: Michelin's airless tires are scheduled for market launch in 2024

#94

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

StefanHamminga wrote: post #19

The concept looks interesting, but I wonder what will happen when a car or trailer with these drives a road with snow / and or grit? The open structure looks perfect for launching anything that will go into the slots into other traffic.

Yes, but that's a known issue that has nothing to do with it being airless.

Back when I used to go off-roading a lot it was common behavior to leave a lot of space between you and the truck ahead when you got back onto a paved road. The open tread pattern of offroad tires picks up lots of small rocks and sends them flying back at highway speed. Not good for the windshield on the following vehicle.

I live on a gravel road now. You learn not to follow other vehicles too closely!

Re: Michelin's airless tires are scheduled for market launch in 2024

#95

Post by coryrc »

ashtonkem wrote: post #27
tokai wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing snobbish about wanting silent tires. Tires are one of the main factors for road noise, and road noise causes adverse health effects and death on a large scale.

It’s also a decent chunk of what causes economic blight for housing nearby highways.

I would think it's the air pollution reducing your lifespan and causing asthma.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6203a8.htm

Re: Michelin's airless tires are scheduled for market launch in 2024

#96

Post by asciimike »

jaclaz wrote: post #45

>Through its Vision Concept, the company wants to make tires that are airless, rechargeable, connected, and sustainable. 1) airless, check. 2) rechargeable ?? 3) connected ?? 4) sustainable ??

Re 3: Michelin has a "track connect" for their track tires ( https://www.michelinman.com/auto/why-michelin/technological-...)

I haven't used it, and most serious track rats have a separate data system so the track connect features are potentially redundant, but I assume that it's an MVP of what a consumer product might look like in the future.

Re: Michelin's airless tires are scheduled for market launch in 2024

#97

Post by illegalsmile »

dntrkv wrote: post #89
OneEyedRobot wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

5) diverse ...and then you've got something. I'm actually surprised that I've never seen a tire with some kind of closed-cell super lightweight foam, some kind of aerogel maybe. I suppose the problem in that case is that you can't spread heat throughout the whole interior. Which makes me wonder, how do they radiate heat on this Michelin? Does it stick around the outer surface and that's it? Do the 'spokes' bear it aw…

In the off-road motorcycle industry there are these tubes called mousse bibs. I run them on all my bikes. They do replace the inner tubes, not the tires themselves. But they work great and are the best anti-flat solution out there. They sound similar to what you’re talking about. Michelin makes them too. https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/michelin-bib-mousse-tire...

I have something similar for my mountain bike, CushCore. They don't replace inner tubes (tubeless setup) but they do add a lot of protection, dampening and deflection.

Re: Michelin's airless tires are scheduled for market launch in 2024

#98

Post by ashtonkem »

throwaway0a5e wrote: post #43
ashtonkem wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s also a decent chunk of what causes economic blight for housing nearby highways.

Any noise a normal-ish passenger car is of no consequence compared to the noise of heavy trucks and motorcycles. You don't even notice it. It's only "blighted" because the people who self select to live beside a highway tend not to be the ones who care a ton about making their residence look nice from the street (manicured lawn, nice siding, sealed driveway, etc, etc) so the prices stay cheap, the rents stay low and…

“Houses nearby highways are low value because the owners are too lazy to manicure their lawns” is an explanation I don’t buy one bit. It’s too “just so” for my tastes, and it also contradicts my own personal experience of having my house value go up despite us purposefully killing the yard. Home values change for a lot of reasons outside the owners control; blaming it on the owners for not caring sufficiently about curb appeal doesn’t hold water.

A more likely explanation is that living near a highway sucks. Very few people want to hear traffic noise from their back yard, let alone smell exhaust fumes while trying to grill outside. People who can afford to will pay a premium for a quiet and peaceful backyard, and houses with traffic noise close to them will command a lower price to compensate for the lowered quality of life. The fact that we see a similar effect near airport runways is a supporting data point.

I would in fact argue that you’ve got causation backwards. The curb appeal of houses near the highway is low because the home values are low. The people who live there are aware that nothing they can do will push the home value up because of the highway, or they lack the time and resources to focus on a manicured lawn.

Re: Michelin's airless tires are scheduled for market launch in 2024

#99

Post by throwawaytire01 »

gbil wrote: post #30

That "Hit the Streets" is an exaggeration, the actual quote from the article on timeline: -- the company said they were on track for tires to reach the market by 2024. --

I am an engineer working in the tire industry (throwaway is needed here). The Michelin "Tweel" IP was actually acquired when Michelin bought BF Goodrich 31 years ago. Goodrich developed the concept as a replacement for compact spare tires, doing the initial R&D in the 1980s. Every 3--5 years Michelin has a press release like this, and the technology is always 3--5 years away from release. Currently the US DOT and it's equivalents abroad are still in the rulemaking phase regarding airfree technologies, so there's that, too.

Re: Michelin's airless tires are scheduled for market launch in 2024

#100

Post by fred_is_fred »

jaclaz wrote: post #45

>Through its Vision Concept, the company wants to make tires that are airless, rechargeable, connected, and sustainable. 1) airless, check. 2) rechargeable ?? 3) connected ?? 4) sustainable ??

#3 you'll end up paying $200/tire plus a monthly fee to use them. Upgrade to premium and get unlimited mileage plus insights on how you can be a better driver!
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