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Michelin Tweel


JasonA

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While obviously not ready for automotive production, I think this is a fantastic idea, and may eventually be seen on road cars. I especially like the ability for the engineers to be able to tune vertical and lateral stiffness separately, something that really can't be done with conventional pneumatic tires.

http://www.michelinman.com/difference/rele...e01102005a.html

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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Cool, I just wonder how much snow or mud would build up and effect performance.

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Well....there is actually quite a bit of tuning of the lateral and radial stiffness of current tires.  I would think that the tweel idea would actually have less capability there in some ways.

Thanks for everyone's replies. I look at the Tweel in a similar light of when Cadillac redesigned the front suspension for the 1997 model year. They put the lateral bushing exactly in line with the centerline of the wheel, instead of where it was, slightly behind the wheel, to absorb some of the fore-aft impacts. The literature said that by redesigning it the way they did, they could isolate the bushing and tailor it more for its purpose -- absorbing lateral loads.

Obviously, tires aren't suspension bushings, and I'm no automotive engineer, but the Tweel makes sense to me when I think about it in the bushing context. I can see how, theoretically, they can make the spokes of the "wheel" soft and pliable to absorb vertical impacts, but possibly design the rubber stiff to provide good lateral performance. In my experience, a tire that provides great lateral performance ("performance tires") have to have a stiff sidewall to support that. Perhaps the materials of the Tweel allow more of a compromise there. I don't know...I just think it's neat to see something that's completely out of the current rubber tire box.

Again, this is obviously in concept form, but I doubt the very first conception of ABS or airbags lived through to production either. In my opinion, this concept, if it ever comes to fruition, may be very different in final form. As Bbobynksi said, it may not end up used for serious use either, although they indicated they are testing it in military applications (which I assume would be very specific applications).

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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A thought-provoking post! Thanks Jason.

1. From a fashion standpoint, this takes the current fad of whale-sized wheels and teeny-weeny tires to an extreme. Which of course - will appear to some folks - just because its differant (kind of a hemlines thing I guess).

2. From an engineering standpoint, One of the the first things I thought of was "propellers". :rolleyes:

When airplane propellers were first used, they were hand-carved from wood (and some probably still are)! Now, ariplance and ship propellers and of course chopper rotors are dynamically controlled during flight and made of an array of materials. :o As we all know, airplane wing shapes are also re-configured as required.

OK then, consider a "tweel" that could be re-configured by the vehicle as required by speed, terrain or whatever condition. The lateral and vertical strengths could be altered by a hub mechanism - in flight. Perhaps it can even grow spikes for ice (when ice is detected). Rocl- hard for high mileage and then soften as the suspension senses too much road action to dampen.

:)

Just one more input/output for the Caddy's computer to play with...

Add power to leave problems behind. Most braking is just - poor planning.
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Id imagine some type of insulation would be injected into the tire before the sidewall is put on........these would be heavier then a traditional tire right?

Would this tire design allow for an increase in the amount of actual tread??? Say a couple inches thick so the tires last a LONG time?

Its interesting....but like most things it will be years before we see them put to use.

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