Latest Tyre Developments
Tyre design and manufacturing is a thriving industry, and researchers are always working to come up with the next big thing in tyres. As a result, there are some amazing innovations that may be appearing on our cars in the (hopefully) not too distant future. Who knows, one day the tyres that are fitted as original equipment may last the life of the car, although accident damage would probably require them being replaced. With inventions such as the tweel, punctures will be a thing of the past, and the adaptive tyre means the same tyre is suitable for different terrains and different weathers, so all that remains is to conquer tread wear!
The Tweel is an airless tyre that has been invented by Michelin. It is designed to be used in place of traditional tyres, but there are several features which make them an improvement on traditional tyres. For a start, there is no air in them! No punctures, no need to check tyre pressures and top up the air. The wheel part is deformable and the spokes are flexible, lessening the risk of curbing your alloys.
A tweel features a central deformable wheel, flexible polyurethane spokes leading to a sheer band, and the tread is attached to the outside. Instead of tyre pressure, you have the tension between the sheer band and the spokes, as well as the strength of the spokes themselves. Impacts are absorbed by the spokes, which bend allowing both the sheer band and the treads to deform temporarily. Different handling characteristics can be introduced by choosing a tweel with different spoke tensions.
Other researchers have come up with an ‘adaptive’ tyre which can adapt itself to different weather and road conditions. So no need to change your standard tyres to winter tyres – the tyres will actually adjust their tread automatically to suit the colder conditions. Whether you are driving on a smooth motorway, a rough gravel road, or in sunny, wet or snowy weather, the tyre will recognise the conditions and elastic components within the tread physically change the tread, in both the longitudinal and cross-rib directions. For those of us who have to change to good quality winter tyres each year, this would save us time, money, and get rid of the need to store the spare set of tyres throughout the season. Even more impressively, these tyres will be continually adapting throughout each journey. So you don’t need to worry about changing road or weather conditions and make compromises on which tyres to have fitted. Sadly, there is only one functioning prototype at present, so there will be more of a wait for this one!