Airless tires.

[tig1]

Besides looking wierd, what keeps ice from forming in the slots of these tires? Balance problem. Seems to me they could rape the side walls with a thin layer of rubber or something to hide this awful looking profile these tires have.

http://www.cdecard.com/Featured%20Busine...20TIRES%20.html

 

[Colt45ws]

They are open only to show that they are airless. The real ones will have a sidewall.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: Onmo'Eegusee
They are open only to show that they are airless. The real ones will have a sidewall.


I googled this and can't seem to find where they will put a side wall on them. These tires are refered to as "see through tires". If you find info on this please post it here. Thanks

 

[chad8]

Just look up tweels. They have been around 10 years or more. Michelin has a production version ,but it is not quite ready for the street.

http://www.gizmag.com/go/3603/

 

[FusilliJerry82]

Seems like they're taking a lot of their own business away. A huge portion of tire sales is because someone blew out or damaged a tire and needs a replacement.

 

[AlanCanada]

Here is a more comprehensive article. Essentially, these tires do not have sidewalls, they are noisy and heat up over 50 mph. The manufacturers are targeting low speed, off-road and military applications at this time.

How Stuff Works: Tweal Airless Tire

 

[xxch4osxx]

How would they do in a high horsepower application? Launch those tires real hard and they would wrap up.

 

[mcrn]

Originally Posted By: FusilliJerry82
Seems like they're taking a lot of their own business away. A huge portion of tire sales is because someone blew out or damaged a tire and needs a replacement.


Im pretty sure they will find a way to compensate for this loss.

 

[LS2JSTS]

Seems that this type tire would be much more critical in the OEM tire choices. One could really alter the ride/harshness/handling charachteristics with a simple tire/wheel swap.

But wow, are those things ugly.....maybe for my tractor, but I think they would look silly on a car with no sidewall. They remind me of the way those huge 22's look on a mid size sedan.....Yuck!

 

[JT1]

Originally Posted By: FusilliJerry82
Seems like they're taking a lot of their own business away. A huge portion of tire sales is because someone blew out or damaged a tire and needs a replacement.


Not really, I've worked in a tire shop for the last two years and most of the tires we do is from Ijits who run there tires down to steel cords.

Maybe 15% of our business is from blowouts.

 

[CapriRacer]

JT1,

You brought up an interesting subject - causes for tire removals.

If 15% of your returns are "blowouts" (I'm assuming impacts and punctures), what percentage is your "worn to cords"? (I'm looking for something more precise than "most")

How about "Worn to wear bars"?

"Irregular wear"? (Commonly called cupping)

One sided wear?

Too little traction? ( But not worn to wear bars)

Any other categories I missed?

 

[JT1]

I can't give "exact" numbers but I will give you a rough estimate.

Another 15% is from people who "don't like there current tires" with things including low traction, uneven wear, excessive noise, etc.

The rest of our tire work comes from people running past there wearbars (below 2/32's).

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted By: JT1
I can't give "exact" numbers but I will give you a rough estimate.

Another 15% is from people who "don't like there current tires" with things including low traction, uneven wear, excessive noise, etc.

The rest of our tire work comes from people running past there wearbars (below 2/32's).


Thanks.

So the estimate is:

15% "Blowouts"

15% "Don't like traction / wear pattern / noise"

XX% "Worn to cords"

XX% "Past wearbars"

Could you please fill in the X's?