The TWEEL

[Tigerv8]

Michelin have been developing a new tyre called the Tweel.
It is not air filled. It is a see-through construction and cannot be punctured. So police road spikes will not work. Also the look is somewhat different.
From pictures I have seen, it looks really weird and doesn't seem to lend itself to a low-profile application. It will make tyre shine products obsolete.
I can't get a photo into this post so you will have to Google "michelin tweel" to see what I am talking about. The design was released in 2005 and apparently development is continuing, but I wonder if the public will buy them.
What are your opinions?:feedback:

[Vixen]

Here you go Tiger.
http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&q=Michelin+tweel&um=1&ie=UTF-8

[BlackOne]

Very interesting to say the least !!

http://www.myhonestmechanic.com/artman/uploads/tweel1.jpg

http://onemansblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/Tweel.jpg

[Pusser]

How are you supposed to smoke those up? :D

[Tigerv8]

To Vixen6,
Thank you, my sweet for getting some images into the post. You are magic! So is BlackOne.
How do you guys do this stuff? Guess I haven't spent enough time behind the wheel of a computer. I knew I shouldn't have been out enjoying life.

As to Pusser, they sure ain't going to go bang when you do a burnout, if you can do a burnout.
I can see them clogging with mud and going very out of balance. I bet someone will invent a special cleaning brush to clean these wheels, but it seems like just another maintenance chore.
I wonder how they handle?

[BlackOne]

Tiger I think the handle would be a little ordinary. See below photo showing an Audi.

What happens when you want to tow a trailer or caravan ?? With normal tyres you simply increase the tyre pressure. With this new 'tweel' do they expect you to have a second set of these especially designed for towing stuff.

http://www.carbibles.com/images/michelintweel2.jpg

[Tigerv8]

Good point.
At least with pneumatic tyres you can alter the car's handling characteristics and even fuel economy by varying the pressure. These things don't look too adjustable!
You can't lower the pressure to give improved traction if you get bogged.
But then you can't get a puncture either.

[BlackOne]

I certainly like to give these tyres a whirl though !!

[Purple_Power]

They're different. Did anyone notice, in the pics with the Audi, the left picture shows the... well, what do you call them? Spokes? The spoke- like things on the bottom are a bit bent. I wonder how long it takes them to regain their shape and/or strength?

[Tigerv8]

I certainly like to give these tyres a whirl though !!

Yes, me too.
You can't really pass judgement until you try them yourself.
But they look like crap.

[BlackOne]

You can't really pass judgement until you try them yourself.
But they look like crap.

I agree mate. I wonder how long it will be until they hit down under ??

And more importantly will these tyres places actually have a demo vehicle for you to test drive with these tyres on it ??

The other thing I'd love to see is how they actually get these tyres onto your rims. I wonder if you require 'special' rims to accommodate these tyres ?

Hmmm... so many questions. :lmao:

[MY sv6]

concept is great, but i personally like my side walls shiny clean and black, maybe if they could cover them up and not be see through it could work.

[VZCalais]

these would work great for rock climbing vehicles or wheel chairs of the such,..... but cars im not to sure on i for one wouldnt drive on the roads i do at the moment with these on they would be full of dust within 2 seconds

[VZCalais]

it also looks as if the bolt on part (the mag) is part of the construction of the thinga ma jig

[FAVSSS]

They have had enough dramas with the "run flat" tyres,imagine how bad these are gonna be

[GKW]

They'd never get a run with Ben. Couldn't blow them. LOL

[doka]

these would work great for rock climbing vehicles

They would be useless for rock climbing as they dont deform enough..usually run 18psi or lower (easily go down to 8psi with bead locks) for playing on rocks. :) The earthmoving industry which they are also being aimed at is a little different to recreational rock crawling of course.

My understanding is that they are not going to be a tyre you can just buy and fit to your car, as the suspension needs to be tuned/designed to suit the Tweel..