Has anyone seen these?

 

more pics

 

two more

 

They look pretty squishy, not sure how performance minded they are

 

The picture in planeguy's post says "deformable wheel" what's that all about?

interesting, anyhow.

 

I don't think I'd run them since the sidewalls are open. Stuff will get in there and throw the tire out of balance.

 

I want them just because they are so incredibly ODD!


here's a press release: http://www.michelinman.com/differenc...01102005a.html

 

I would hate to be behind somebody with those if for some reason they came apart. Worse yet, I can't imagine those being too stable if you had them on your car and you got a "flat"???? I have a feeling it wouldn't be as predictable as a standard tire.

 

"Michelin has also found that it can tune Tweel performances independently of each other, which is a significant change from conventional tires. This means that vertical stiffness (which primarily affects ride comfort) and lateral stiffness (which affects handling and cornering) can both be optimized"

This is a huge deal to MINI owners right? We hate our runflats rigid ride but love our car's handeling

 

Boy do those "tweels" give a good view of the suspension!

If these become affordable, polished coil-overs with brightly-colored springs may overtake big brake kits as the first priority appearance mod under the fenders.

Looks like I should put some of my 401K $ into KW stock!

 

That has to be one of the weirdest things I have seen in awhile

Love to see how they perform compared to current tires though, would be interesting to try them out.

 

Jus keepin it tweel, yall.

 

But give them time to improve. There's also a runflat with a big rib mounted to the center of the rim. With no air, the tire deforms unti it hits the rib. Looked heavy in schematic form, but I didn't see any numbers.

Matt

 

ya, and not only that, it looks like it's time to sell your big brake kit company stock, because you're not going to fit a very large rotor/caliper under those things

I think it's a very interesting idea, anyhow. It's good to see a company as big as Michelin thinking outside the box.

 

Think about how light they are compared to current tires.

 

...is the sound of wheel tramp induced by big-time imbalance if those got packed full of mud or snow!

I wonder if any test has been done to see how quickly and efficiently they can shed foreign material that gets in between the "spokes?"

Seriously, though, they do look promising. Weird-looking or not, if they perform with all the promise the press release boilerplate suggests, I'm in for a set!

If nothing else, this thread gives me a little more strength to hold off the urge to indulge in that BBK for a little while.

 

I would assume that if these things go in to production, there would be some kind of sidewall to keep debris out... It might "uglify" the package, but they could use a transparent material or whatever.

 

Practical jokes could be used on these open tires,

put bananas, fake body parts, doll heads, garbage into the wheels

 

badly photochop ..

 

I can't see your photochop

 

best "in action" tweel pic I've had yet.



Alex

 

So...do these require special wheels, or can they be mounted onto any wheel of the correct size?

 

Several questions:

1. Would kicking the tires no longer be neccessary?
2. Would you still need a spare?
3. Can you still use the old tires for swings?

I just want to know?

 

I agree this will revolutionize the tire industry, and for that matter, will change the car industry somewhat too. Cars will need to make the inside of wheel wells attractive, as now that is not a concern since the tire blocks any view. I thought I could detect in one picture a wheel that appeared to be rubber just like the tire, that would absorb impacts. That sounds real cool, plus will be lighter than a current tire/wheel combo. The tire may be heavier than a traditional tire (or not), but if combined with the rubber wheel should be lighter. I like that! I wonder how it handles on the curves? :smile:

 

I dont think foregien debris would be a huge issue. Because of the flex of the openings nothing would stay wedged, It would get squeezed each revolution of the tire and centrifigual force would also help. i doubt any mud or snow would stay. I mean think of think of light weight weel designs that are static, not a problem of debris there right?

Also I dont think that Big Brake Kits would not really change. It looks like there is still need for an alloy wheel "hub" that looks to be of similar size to existing wheels I don't forsee a problem there either.

However, MOST advances are developed at the competitive racing circuits. If this did not originate at the track, It originated as a cost cutting measure not a performance enhacement. If these don't show up on the race track then I will be suspicious