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The Future of Airless Tires for Cars
If you’ve ever popped a flat tire while driving, you’ve probably wondered why your car’s tires have to be rubber filled with air. It seems counterintuitive to make tires out of a soft material that can be easily punctured, ripped, or damaged. But what other choice do you have right now?
Well, an alternative to traditional air-filled rubber tires is being developed. Airless tires, or non-pneumatic tires, replace air pressure with a dense poly-resin spoke that supports the weight of the vehicle without the tire falling apart.
Airless tires are sometimes used on golf carts, ATVs, construction equipment, and lawn care vehicles. The main benefit is an airless tire can’t “pop” and go flat. While airless tires aren’t completely immune to road damage, it’s much more difficult for them to suddenly fail while on the road. This means no more spare tires, jacks, and roadside tire changes. It could mean far less rubber has to be used in constructing new tires.
Sounds great, right? So why don’t we have airless tires for passenger vehicles? Why are the current tires the way that they are? Who manufactures airless tires?
Airless Tires – The Problem
To understand why developing and implementing airless tires is so difficult, we need to look at the brief history of pneumatic tires. Air-filled tires were originally created and patented in 1847 by Scottish engineer Robert W. Thompson … for bicycles. Bicycles had previously used wheels made of solid rubber that were heavy and uncomfortable. Rubber is far more stiff than air and the rider would immediately feel bumps or irregularities in the road.
As the tire was further developed and eventually used for vehicles, it became standard for it to have a rubber outer shell protecting an inner tube inflated with air. This design was cheap, optimized for road comfort, and efficient to fix and replace. If a tire was punctured, it was fairly easy to repair, patch, and, if necessary, replace.
An effective airless tire solution would need to address the issues of road comfort and ergonomics without being overly expensive. Large tire manufacturers Bridgestone and Michelin are developing airless tire solutions (Tweel airless radial tires for utility vehicles) that look impressive with very unique inner web meshes that can bear heavy loads without uneven weight distribution.
However, these current iterations have a few issues:
- Airless tires need to be much larger than air tires in order to support the weight of a vehicle. More road contact means more resistance and worse handling and gas mileage.
- Airless tires have ride comfort issues similar to the solid rubber bicycle tires of the 1800s. They don’t do well on uneven surfaces or bumpy roads.
This video from Insider explains why we don’t have solid rubber tires for cars and consumer vehicles … yet. And they show some innovations in air free tires.
Because an airless tire is entirely constructed of rubber, heat that’s created from road friction can’t be as easily dissipated as it is with air tires. While your airless tire may not pop, it could overheat.
Road debris can easily be caught in the complex spokes of airless tires and tear or weaken the tire from within.
That said, airless tires are being actively researched and tested, and a solution may be found within the next decade. Airless tires will likely require little to no maintenance for the first 30,000 miles or so. They will also cut down on the amount of rubber that’s scrapped from punctures because airless tires are expected to be reparable. Michelin estimates this could save as much as 200 million tires that are scrapped each year.
Safer Tires
If the most enticing thing about airless tires to you is not having to deal with blowouts along the side of the road, there are a few alternatives currently on the market that may appeal to you.
Run-flat tires allow you to keep driving on a tire for a little bit after it’s punctured — no spare tire necessary. Run-flat tires have an inner structure similar to airless tires that can support the weight of a vehicle for a bit. You can’t drive on them forever, but they should hold up long enough for you to get to a mechanic or safety.
For the best tire performance possible, we recommend always buying new, unused tires that are the right size for your vehicle. We have a list of tires that you should never buy if you want to stay safe while on the road. We’ll show you how to spot dangerous, mismatched, or old tires before you make the purchase.
Finally, keep an eye on the airless tire developments in the next 5 years or so. New technology and advancements are constantly being developed that may solve all of the above issues that we listed.