That would be nice. If you like to take your car to the track it might not be so great if you like changing tire pressures. I hope when it does it the street they make an option to look like a standard tire and don't increase the weight over a standard pneumatic.

Sam

 

the issue with them is they are very noisy so far, and ugly. The look like they probably won't work very nice in climates with wide temperture fluctuations, such as the northern states, as plastic tends to get really brittle in subzero weather.

For uses other than cars, they would be ideal, I would think - such as strollers, wagons, trailer wheels, etc.

 

An awesome engineering feat. But to me they don't look good. I'm guessing that might push some people away from them.

 

It would make sense cover the tires with a protective wall so that rocks and other debris wouldn't get inside--this would make it look like a standard tire.

 

They will probably have some sort of membrane to keep debris out of the "spokes". The fully exposed view is good to demonstrate the technology.

 

a cover is deifintly a good idea. getting snow and mud packed in your wheels causes an extremly noticable vibration!

Now, for people who want the "look", how about a clear sidewall? Different colors? Transparent, with colored lights inside? Sounds like a future ricer trend! just remember you heard of it here first!

 

I wonder if steering response is up with something like that. I bet the resistance to deflection when turning is much higher than in a traditional tire....

mmm... what I would give to get to test/destroy a set of those babies.

 

I am very curious to see how much they weigh. It is hard to say but it seems that the tires&rims use less material than conventional ones.

 

the engineering advantage is side-to-side deflection is greatly reduced, so steering response would be greatly increased compared to the average passenger car tire, but steering response isn't a selling point in those markets, where a quiet ride is #1. The only market I see for these tires on autos is the performance market, and given the fact that they are inherently non-adjustable, I fail to see how the advantage of increased lateral stiffness is enough to succeed. On non-performance applications, where adequate performance in most conditions is acceptable, these things would be great.

They are an engineering marvel, and a great idea, but I doubt we will see them replace pneumatic tires just yet. I would think a pneumatic tire with the guts of one of these would be the best of both worlds - use air to provide the basic characteristics, but use the spokes to deliver lateral stiffness.

 

Interesting, I wonder if that's what the inside of Michelin F1 tires look like.

"Zero Air" does that mean there's a vacuum around those "spokes"?