Michelin Airless • Hacker News Board

Re: Michelin Airless

#11

Post by jcims » Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 2:51 PM UTC

skywal_l wrote: post #2

Is it only hype? What about road adherence, endurance, etc. As long as I don't see independent assessments by car journalists, I'll reserve my judgement. But if they live up to the hype, it will be a game changer indeed.

IIRC they have some interesting attributes. Lateral stiffness is incredibly high, but IIRC rolling resistance is higher and they are quite a bit heavier than standard tires. Seems like there might be some interesting capabilities to pump air one way or the other for aero purposes.

Re: Michelin Airless

#12

Post by mabub24 » Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 2:51 PM UTC

bb123 wrote: post #5

I always wonder how these things would stand up to stones getting caught in between the rubber “spokes“.

Completely guessing, but I wonder if they designed the "spoke" baffles to pinch in under the load and thus expel any stones that might fit between them, like a pebble squeezed between your two fingers and shooting out.

Re: Michelin Airless

#13

Post by bkanber » Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 2:53 PM UTC

Former automotive engineer chiming in. "Tweels" have been around a long time, but have always failed in terms of "NVH" (noise, vibration, harshness). Michelin is claiming that this generation of tweels are appropriate for passenger cars, which means that they think they've solved the NVH problem.

They seem to be marketing these alongside EVs, I wonder if they're only really intended for lighter, compact-style cars. (Edit: I'm talking about EVs like the BMW i3, which are on average about 1000 lbs lighter than the cars most Americans drive, ie, the CUV/SUV form factor.)

Re: Michelin Airless

#14

Post by alecst » Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 2:54 PM UTC

What technology finally brought this idea to market? I'm impressed and happy that it exists, but it seems like this should have been around years ago.

Re: Michelin Airless

#15

Post by bkanber » Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 2:54 PM UTC

bb123 wrote: post #5

I always wonder how these things would stand up to stones getting caught in between the rubber “spokes“.

These tires have sidewalls, the spokes are not exposed. Without sidewalls these tires would be very loud on the highway, and would have a much higher rolling resistance.

Re: Michelin Airless

#16

Post by Yizahi » Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 2:55 PM UTC

I don't worry about punctures at all, despite living in a country with a shitty roads. What I worry about A LOT is a catastrophic collision of tire with a 90 degree sharp pothole edge, often made by roadworkers before doing point repair, which potentially can destroy tire irreparably. I wonder if these tires are better protected against such impacts, and just looking at them it seems they are - no side walls which are cut in a strong impact. Looking forward to more impact tests of these tires.

Re: Michelin Airless

#17

Post by ptsneves » Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 2:56 PM UTC

chinathrow wrote: post #10

Do tire manufacturers really have the desire to develop tires with less tear?

Yes if they can charge a premium, and keep product loyalty. Given they are targeting fleet reliability and up-time i can see it happening.

Re: Michelin Airless

#18

Post by t3rabytes » Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 2:56 PM UTC

Michelin has been talking about these things for years and has yet to actually put them into production. All talk and no show.

Re: Michelin Airless

#19

Post by bkanber » Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 2:56 PM UTC

alecst wrote: post #14

What technology finally brought this idea to market? I'm impressed and happy that it exists, but it seems like this should have been around years ago.

They were around years ago; Michelin's first tweel was developed in 2004.

Re: Michelin Airless

#20

Post by ddlsmurf » Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 2:57 PM UTC

bkanber wrote: post #13

Former automotive engineer chiming in. "Tweels" have been around a long time, but have always failed in terms of "NVH" (noise, vibration, harshness). Michelin is claiming that this generation of tweels are appropriate for passenger cars, which means that they think they've solved the NVH problem. They seem to be marketing these alongside EVs, I wonder if they're only really intended for lighter, compact-style cars. (…

Complete layman here, every 6 months or so for the past decade I see an article claiming someone got air-less tires working. What are the chances this would be it ?