See You Later, Flat Tires!

You’re driving on a hot summer day with your windows downand CD radio player on full-blast. All of a sudden you start to feel something seemsa little off and realize one of your tires is losing air. Whether you decide tofix the tire yourself on the side of the road or give AAA a call, even the bestNavigation Unit isn’t going to get you to your destination on time. Bridgestoneis hoping to end these situations all-together with their air-free tireconcepts shown here.

The color-choice of green would probably be customizable,but in concept form it alludes to the fact that the materials used are 100% recyclable.Its recyclable “thermoplastic” internal spokes are what gives these tires allof their strength and flexibility. The outer rubber on the tire offers a moretraditional tread surface required for use on our sometimes rough roads. Onecriticism has been the possibility of noise due to wind resistance incommercial use. However, if commercialized these tires are expected to besealed by a thin sidewall of rubber for these reasons. Each tire also only hasa weight capacity of up to 330 pounds, but innovations to this technology willundoubtedly be made in the future.

Benefits obviously include the recyclability factor, butthey are also safer and less wasteful because they eliminate the risk ofpunctures. Check out these tires in action on YouTube! (And by “in action”, Imean a girl riding a small scooter equipped with these tires five feet across astage).

Does this Concept Indicate Wheels of the Future?

The new SIM-LEI prototype brings an entirely new function toboth the front wheel hub and rear wheel hub: powering the vehicle. While I hopethat no car ever looks like this, the concept behind this Japanese vehicle isunique and worth taking a look at. Rather than having one motor in the front ofthe vehicle this electric car has four motors, one in each of the wheels.

We’ve all seen more electric cars around in the past fewyears as gas prices have crept up and people are becoming more concerned aboutthe environment. What makes this car unique is not only the LEI (LeadingEfficiency In-Wheel motor) concept but its performance in speed, power output,and battery life. This prototype can go from 0 to 60 in just 4.8 seconds and eachwheel delivers 65 kilowatts of power (260 kilowatts total). Compare that to theNissan Leaf which only gives a total output of 80 kilowatts. The SIM-LEI cantravel about 207 miles on one charge while the Leaf does about 100.  Having the motors located in each of thewheels also provides new possibilities regarding traction and stabilitycontrol.

I’m not a huge fan of the vehicle’s design, but the in-wheelmotors seem to provide more efficiency and I’m interested to see their future inelectric vehicles. SIM is expecting to begin production of its four-seat sedanin 2013 which will sell for roughly $32,000 a pop. While I can’t see these guyscruising around the streets of U.S. cities anytime soon, maybe they’re ontosomething?