Michelin and GM's airless tires for passenger cars to launch within next five years

[midian182]

In brief: Airless tires aren’t something new, but it looks like we’ll finally see them arrive in production cars within the next five years.

These type of tires are normally made for military, slow-moving, and off-road vehicles, but GM and Michelin have unveiled a version designed for passenger cars. Michelin’s Unique Puncture-proof Tire System, or Uptis, was recently presented at the Movin’On Summit for sustainable mobility, and will undergo real-world testing on a fleet of Chevrolet Bolt EVs later this year.

“General Motors is excited about the possibilities that Uptis presents, and we are thrilled to collaborate with Michelin on this breakthrough technology,” said Steve Kiefer, senior vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain, General Motors. “Uptis is an ideal fit for propelling the automotive industry into the future and a great example of how our customers benefit when we collaborate and innovate with our supplier partners.”

The Uptis design is similar to Michelin’s Tweel concept from many years ago. It uses spokes made of composite rubber and resin-embedded fiberglass that sit between the outer edge of the tire and central aluminum wheel, removing the need for air. Unlike previous airless models, Uptis is designed to handle highway speeds and provide proper grip, writes autoblog.

Along with the obvious benefits of greatly reducing the chances of blowouts and flats, GM says the airless tires align with its vision of a world with zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion. Uptis lowers the number of tires needing to be scrapped, reduces materials, energy, and emissions associated with the manufacture of unnecessary spares, and lasts longer as there’s no risk of wear from over/under inflation.

Uptis should also be extremely useful in the area of self-driving vehicles, allowing them to run for extended periods without the threat of flats.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/80379-michelin-gm-airless-tires-passenger-cars-launch-within.html

 

[Hardware Geek]

Call me when they launch in earnest...been promised this tech for over a decade and it's always 5 years away. These will go well with the flying car I can buy in 5 years...

 

[kira setsu]

Neat idea, but why dont they test them on cars with actual power and weight? with everyone in the U.S. driving trucks and suv's I see someone missing some data and causing a bunch of accidents down the line.

plus with these being a new type of tire I bet theyll cost, people driving tiny ecoboxes wont and probably cant afford them, may as well just aim them at the top right at the getgo.

 

[wiyosaya]

GM says the airless tires align with its vision of a world with zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion.

There's marketing blather if I ever heard marketing blather.

 

[ShagnWagn]

I would be willing to test these.

"lasts longer as there’s no risk of wear from over/under inflation"

Uh, with TPMS I would say this is fairly rare these days. This is a terrible claim that they are using as bait to the average customer. Do they last longer compared to properly inflated tires?

How do they compare on gas mileage? With all of the flexing, I would assume less as it generates friction from compression/movement of rubber plus greater contact with the road also adding to friction.

Is tire height shorter than a standard tire with a load? It looks much shorter in the picture. If so, it would mean a smaller diameter, which means higher RPM and less gas mileage. This also means your vehicle's mileage would artificially raise and your speedometer would be off. It also means lower ground clearance for bad weather such as snow and offroad bumps and speed bumps. Hmm... I would be hard pass on this.

 

[Uncle Al]

Certainly been a long time coming, but worth the weight. I've got a version of them on my ATV and they perform great. Had them on there three years now and so far are not showing any significant amount of wear. Only problem so far, I heard a thunking one morning and found that a squirrel had somehow lodged himself in it ... poor fellow never had a chance the the tire held up nicely ......

 

[BorisMcKennedy]

There's an elephant in the room here - different vehicles have different tyre sizes AND different tyre pressures. Wouldn't each airless tyre have a specific equivalent pressure? What if I needed the same size with a higher pressure? Is that a completely different part? Huge number of potential combinations?

 

[cliffordcooley]

Is tire height shorter than a standard tire with a load? It looks much shorter in the picture. If so, it would mean a smaller diameter, which means higher RPM and less gas mileage.

This would only be an issue if you place a smaller tire on a vehicle designed for a larger tire.

While in production the gear ratio of the transmission compensates for different size wheels.

You also have to consider the strain of spinning heavier wheels. If these wheels weigh less they could save in fuel cost, even if engine RPMs are higher.

 

[Robertrogue]

Not sure why these have not been introduced prior to today anyway? The moon vehicles used tires that didn't have air in them. Sounds like its been a 50 year design in waiting!!

 

[stewi0001]

Not sure why these have not been introduced prior to today anyway? The moon vehicles used tires that didn't have air in them. Sounds like its been a 50 year design in waiting!!

If my memory serves me correct it is that there are legal hurdles that need to be dealt with. I can't remember exactly, but there is some legislation about tires having certain PSI ranges or something.

 

[TomSEA]

Not one word on how they actually drive and feel on the roadway. Or how much noise they make in comparison.

As wiyosaya mentioned - just a bunch of marketing blather.

 

[ShagnWagn]

This would only be an issue if you place a smaller tire on a vehicle designed for a larger tire.

While in production the gear ratio of the transmission compensates for different size wheels.

You also have to consider the strain of spinning heavier wheels. If these wheels weigh less they could save in fuel cost, even if engine RPMs are higher.

I presume you are talking about the circumference?

This article is not about wheels. That is called plus sizing, which does not affect circumference. If you change the diameter/size of the tire, it absolutely does change the final gear ration, and the speedometer will be off. I know because my vehicles have wider and taller/shorter tires than factory. You have to reprogram the computer to compensate.

Do you have evidence or an article saying they offset and cancel each other out? Otherwise I cannot accept your claim.

 

[Vrmithrax]

The Tweel lives! I wonder how they overcame the massive road noise issue, which was one of the big issues with the Tweel concept when they first were trying to make them a viable product? And seriously, the "manufacture of unnecessary spares" comment is a little weird - if you damage a fully mechanical component like a tweel, you can't just pop a can of fix-a-flat on it to limp to the nearest spot to get a tire repaired, or call AAA to come to your rescue, you are done until you completely replace the wheel. Spares will become mandatory pieces of equipment.

Is tire height shorter than a standard tire with a load? It looks much shorter in the picture. If so, it would mean a smaller diameter, which means higher RPM and less gas mileage. This also means your vehicle's mileage would artificially raise and your speedometer would be off. It also means lower ground clearance for bad weather such as snow and offroad bumps and speed bumps. Hmm... I would be hard pass on this.

I believe they are engineered to closely match the actual nominal tire flex/grip of a standard inflated tire, which is usually designed to provide a maximum balance of surface area for grip and power transfer efficiency. As long as the tire radius is the same as an air filled equivalent, there should be minimal impact on the odometer accuracy.

 

[gamerk2]

Not sure why these have not been introduced prior to today anyway? The moon vehicles used tires that didn't have air in them. Sounds like its been a 50 year design in waiting!!

If my memory serves me correct it is that there are legal hurdles that need to be dealt with. I can't remember exactly, but there is some legislation about tires having certain PSI ranges or something.

I can easily see where there's a requirement at state/federal levels that mandate certain PSI requirements that would have to be changed. That's one reason why we don't have dynamic headlights yet, as there's a legacy requirement that headlights have to have two separate light settings.

 

[mbrowne5061]

Lets not forget that compressing air takes up a ton of energy too. Yeah, the 'less wear and tear' argument leaves a lot of be desired, but it is no small secret that compressing a gas is one of the least efficient things you can do. This is where the real energy savings will be, far fewer air compressors running.

 

[netman]

Stupid idea!

 

[QuantumPhysics]

This makes sense for desert vehicles or vehicles in danger of running over jagged rocks and suffering blowouts.

It also makes sense for small/compact vehicles with low loads.

But I seriously doubt they have one of these that I can use on my Jeep SRT o r Hellcat - Z -rated for speeds over 180mph that will have enough wear life to justify my cash.

 

[toooooot]

Very cool. I always liked Michelins tires and hopefully can test these when the next few years

 

[toooooot]

Running from cops will be a bit easier with these too.

 

[wiyosaya]

Running from cops will be a bit easier with these too.

I would not count on that; perhaps if/when these hit the market and for a while afterwards, however, I bet the cops will at least try to come up with tire shredders instead of spikes.

 

[wiyosaya]

This makes sense for desert vehicles or vehicles in danger of running over jagged rocks and suffering blowouts.

It also makes sense for small/compact vehicles with low loads.

But I seriously doubt they have one of these that I can use on my Jeep SRT o r Hellcat - Z -rated for speeds over 180mph that will have enough wear life to justify my cash.

Hearing the problems of ownership of such vehicles makes me glad I chose to spend my money on a Prius.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Hearing the problems of ownership of such vehicles makes me glad I chose to spend my money on a Prius.

Life is too short to die boring cars.

When I'm on my death bed, I won't be reliving stories about driving 30 mph in the middle lane in some econobox Toyota.

I'll be bragging about all the times I exceeded the speed limits EXPONENTIALLY and even the few tickets I've gotten will be worth talking about.

 

[p51d007]

Will be fun to see the look on a police officers face, the first time he throws a set of stop sticks out
in front of one of these, and it doesn't work.

 

[Kashim]

This article reminds me of the promise of new battery tech with much higher capacity that is just around the corner!

 

[zigi1337]

Noise is gonna be a terrible issue I guarantee