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  • Airless the future of tires? Michelin Uptis puncture proof tires

      • Airless the future of tires? Michelin Uptis puncture proof tires

        Published on 06-08-2019 05:31 PM
        5 Comments Comments
        They say you can not reinvent the wheel but you certainly can reinvent the tire. The Micheline Uptis is certainly a new take and as you can see in the photo it is not a traditional tire design which is inflated with air.


        What is the benefit?

        Quote Originally Posted by Michelin
        Through Michelin’s expertise in high-tech materials, Uptis is a significant development in existing airless mobility technology. Uptis eliminates regular maintenance, such as pressure checks, and inspections for damage, such as punctures. This makes Uptis ideal for the vehicles of tomorrow, from self-driving shuttles to all-electric vehicles.
        Michelin will be able to 3D print these tires in the future. That means reduced cost due to less materials and the ability to create tires quickly.


        The BoostAddict question is, how do they perform? For autonomous city cars or buses we can see the use but will these tires outperform a traditional high performance tire? Doubtful.

        Lower costs, no blowouts, and less maintenance sound great. You will not be able to change the pressure though so this is one size fits all and not for everyone.

        Expect to see applications in the real world as soon as 2024.


        This article was originally published in forum thread: Airless the future of tires? Michelin Uptis puncture proof tires started by Sticky View original post
        Comments 5 Comments
        1. Eleventeen's Avatar
          Eleventeen - 06-08-2019, 10:34 PM
          Do they come in white wall?
        1. martymil's Avatar
          martymil - 06-09-2019, 03:44 PM
          They showed this type of design around 10+ years ago and nothing came of it, sounds like a publicity stunt but let's hope something comes of it.
        1. subaru335i's Avatar
          subaru335i - 06-13-2019, 01:13 PM
          The production version will for sure need some sort of sidewall to keep rocks, mud, sand, ice out of there which will damage the supports and cause huge imbalance and wobble at high speed.
          Also the downside is way more unsprung weight so this will only really be useful for low speed stuff like mentioned where durability and reliability are the biggest factor (slow around town electric busses, fork lifts etc etc).

          But like you mentioned, not being able to reduce tire pressure to get better contact patch would rule these out for even slow speed off road usage where you might be tempted because they are immune to puncture.

          These are honestly already used and available on fork lifts and skid steer loaders and tele handlers
        1. kylerwinterd's Avatar
          kylerwinterd - 06-14-2019, 03:06 PM
          Imagine the drag these tires will cause. Your gas mileage would be totally hit.
        1. LessIsMore's Avatar
          LessIsMore - 06-17-2019, 09:42 PM
          These wont work for normal cars for many reasons. Waiting to see the cornering video ...