Why Airless Tires Kinda Suck

Video Description

They really aren't the answer - but why is everyone talking about them? Here’s a question... if normal road cars can beat some supercars in a traffic-light drag race, avoid crashes for you and even drive themselves, why on earth are we still using tyres that are full of air that can get punctures and can leave you stranded by the side of the motorway? You pay hundreds of dollars for some new tyres, and they could be instantly rendered completely useless by a nail, some glass or even clipping a kerb in the wrong way. And we’ve been promised a road version of these sci-fi space tyres that NASA are using - but that was nearly ten years ago - so where are they? And why can’t I get some fitted to my Volkswagen? --- Now, before we get into these fancy, new squishy tyres - we should talk about what we have now. Even though tyres may seem like just boring black doughnuts of rubber, they're actually very well designed. On average they last around 30’000 miles, varying on whether they are on a driven axle or not - but that’s pretty good. And they produce less noise than ever, they have very good suspension characteristics, are most comfortable, and are very predictable to drive. And by that - I mean that when you get near the limit of grip, they break into a slide gradually. This means that the average driver can feel this happening and correct it before things go wrong. ⭕ Why New Cars Keep Failing the Moose Test https://youtu.be/qIN8CyhYREM ⭕ How Tesla Made the Model X Impossible to Roll https://youtu.be/Ur4S-5dw6go 🔴 Would you like to be featured in a video with your car? Submit it here 👉 https://forms.gle/ZWMfzqCyDTBwJsqX8 🏁 We're Hiring! Are you a brilliant writer with an understanding of cars and engineering? Check the job here! https://driver61.typeform.com/to/M9ZZa9f0 #AirlessTyres #MichelineUptis #Engineering