General Motors has announced plans to introduce airless tires on production passenger vehicles by as early as 2024.
The automaker has partnered with Michelin on the endeavour and will work with the French tire manufacturer to further develop its Uptis Prototype (or “Unique Puncture-proof Tire System”) in the coming years.
Real-world testing of the Uptis will begin later this year, with GM set to release a fleet of Chevrolet Bolt EVs with the special tires on them onto Michigan roads.
GM says the Uptis contributes to its future vision for zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion as it cannot suffer a blowout in the same way a traditional tire can. Additionally, the tires require less raw material to be produced, last longer and cannot be over- or under-inflated.
“General Motors is excited about the possibilities that Uptis presents, and we are thrilled to collaborate with Michelin on this breakthrough technology,” said GM’s senior vice president for Global Purchasing and Supply Chain, Steve Kiefer. “Uptis is an ideal fit for propelling the automotive industry into the future and a great example of how our customers benefit when we collaborate and innovate with our supplier partners.”
Michelin says these tires may be ideal for fleet owners and professional vehicle drivers, who are usually looking for a tire that is durable and long lasting. The Uptis can improve overall productivity in working environments as well, it says, reducing downtime from flats and requiring almost zero maintenance.
The tire company has actually been developing airless tire technology for quite some time and already offers an airless tire with similar technology to the Uptis on golf karts. The golf kart tire is called the Michelin Tweel and features a rubberized outside tread with high-strength poly-resin ‘spokes’. The Uptis is quite similar, comprising of an aluminum wheel assembly, rubber and fiberglass composite spokes and an outside rubber tread.
Look for Uptis-equipped Chevrolet Bolt EVs to begin testing soon.
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Comments
Cool but they may want to consider a flexible sidewall face. I see many who get these tires switch them out for air filled ones for looks alone.
I remember handling some of these tires in the early 90’s when they were first unveiled. We did work for Michelin back then.
I am still not convinced that these are very versatile for many applications yet. They were restricted to small applications and handling was limited.
Also I have a concern of mud or snow and ice getting into the spikes and creating a shake.
Cost is another factor.
Centrifugal forces will eject the mud and snow out of the airless tires as the do in complex aluminum wheel hubs now. As for cost, these are new. When they become common, prices will drop. I will put a set on my vehicles when they are on the market.
Even now some wheels gather snow and ice in the winter and centrifugal force does Not always work and they do not have pockets for wet snow.
As for new we saw the saw the same issues these will see as limited wheel selection and style. Higher cost , limited availability etc.
Even stop sticks will not work for police.
how about ice? If the car starts from a icy morning and there’s ice frozen in the spikes?
Looks like Michelin will become primary supplier to GM.
This announcement can’t be good for Goodyear (and blimp), and all other tire suppliers to GM.
Goodyear has dropped most OE tire lines due to little money being made . They have focused mostly just on some truck tires that they sell in high volumes, and some performance applications that GM is willing to pay for.
They dropped the cheaper lines and left the Corvette as they were not willing to spend the money needed on the Corvette and lose money on them.
I have family at Goodyear and I did work for Michelin and Bridgestone. You learn they all hate most OE sales.
Note most vehicles get older models or cheaper brands. This is why Hankook and some other lesser brands are now involved. Car companies generally don’t want to pay anything for tires and the older or cheaper models do little to enhance the image of their brands.
The last two GM cars I have had came with Michelin tires. One an o,d style Pilot that was horrible in the wet. The other on my Acadia that will only get about 24k miles. I love the tire but the wear is horrible. The Michelin dealer told me he will not even recommend them.
How good the tire is depends on the application and if GM is willing pay to put a better tire on.
They sure are ugly. And what happens when mud, now and ice gets in there 5-6 months out of the year when temps are below freezing?
It’s called a hose with hot or warm water! Now that wasn’t that hard to figure out was it? People will create issues for no apparent reason
You know how hard run-flats ride. I wonder about these.
It’s a vehicle version of the Tweel wheel. Wonder how long they will last and how durable are they. I have seen tweels last 2000+ hours on mowers…
The funniest part of this is it’s completely illegal to drive a car on the road without air in your tires so this entire agreement is basically hey we will give you cheap tires if you can lobby/bribe us regulators into changing the law so we can sell are new airless tires in the us