The Tweel, I say no way

[BlazerSpeed]

found this on another site, figured you guys might want to have a go at it. seems pretty odd to me. What I dont understand is how will it stop the need for gearboxes, transmissions, differentials and stabilizer bars?


http://www.racingfanatics.com/NAIS%20Home%20Page/tweel.htm

Derek

[zbugger]

Hmmm..... Okaaayyyy.... But how much power can they handle?

[MuscleRodz]

The idea is not new. Back in the twenties, a company took a wood spoke wheel, removed the wood spokes, and installed teardrop shaped leaf springs. Depending on the load, a different number of springs were used. I have advertisements and pictures of these wheels installed on antique aircraft with rigid landing gears. They still used a tire though. I don't have a scanner right now or I would post a pic. Interesting idea, but thats about it.

Mike

[nancejd]

Seems remarkably like a wire wheel to me.

[TonyHuntimer]

Hmmm...

Seems like an early April fools joke. :)

I wonder how far this technology will go. It will be interesting.

Tony Huntimer
RaceHome.com

[ZZ430]

I don't think I'm ready for it yet :pat:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2005/01/03tweel1-1.jpg

[TonyL]

what sucks is the've fuzed the tire and wheel together making far more costly when you want to change them. Dont like the tread? get new wheels AND tires. all they have done is created a way to take more of your money.

bleeecch

[CAMAROBOY69]

Very interresting and the first time I saw these on another site too. I dont think they would look as bad on an 18" wheel or bigger. But on that wheel they look terrible.
Those tires would be worthless in the winter. They would get packed with snow and the tires would be so out of balance the car would shake to pieces.
The Caterpillar looks tough with those.

[Fuelie Fan]

They're retreadable, so you don't need to buy new wheels.
I can think of some applications where this would be useful, but camaroboy69 brings up a good point, car owners put their vehicles through some extreme conditions. It remains to be seen how they'd survive.
It would be cool to be able to completely alter your suspension only through the changing of wheels!

[baz67]

Inovative, but worthless in a PT application. The statement that gearboxes, sta bars and the such are useless marketing crap. What about controling lateral weight transfer of the sprung mass? That is done with springs and stay bar. The only way tires play in this equation is in track width. That can be accomplished with todays tires. With the increased lateral stiffness, how does the tire respond to the camber change relative to suspension movement and body roll. Remember if there is no sta bar you would need to control body roll with stiffer springs. Again, useless marketing.

I wont even go into how this wonder tire would help keep the motor in the power band without a transmission. Just my.02.

Brian

[RobM]

i wonder what kind of slip angle somthing like that would provide. i would think under sever lateral stress it would get all destorted. also under hard acceleration the contact patch would probebly be poor. the only way a tire/wheel could keep a motor in the power band with no tranny is if it increased in radious as the car sped up. which would be the most impractical thing ever. one side of this is criminals in high speed chases with this tire wont have to worry about spike strips :drive2:

[Flynlo416]

What part are you supposed to Armor All :rolleyes5

[Piet]

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[ZZ430]

OMG!

......that's....gulp......MY car!..lol... :crying:

[zbugger]

Ouch!!! You gonna just sit there and take that?!?!?!


FIGHT!! FIGHT!! FIGHT!!! :enguard:

[Piet]

It was the quote below that inspired me. :rotfl:

I don't think I'm ready for it yet :pat:

I don't think they have grown on me yet.... I like ZZ's current rubber myself.

It is an interesting concept. The ONLY way I can see it catching on is if it is REALLY cheaper than regular tires. I wonder if they plan on retread-ing these?

[Fuelie Fan]

Inovative, but worthless in a PT application. The statement that gearboxes, sta bars and the such are useless marketing crap. What about controling lateral weight transfer of the sprung mass? That is done with springs and stay bar. The only way tires play in this equation is in track width. That can be accomplished with todays tires. With the increased lateral stiffness, how does the tire respond to the camber change relative to suspension movement and body roll. Remember if there is no sta bar you would need to control body roll with stiffer springs. Again, useless marketing.

I wont even go into how this wonder tire would help keep the motor in the power band without a transmission. Just my.02.

Brian

This is probably not something that would be easily adaptable to conventional suspensions. I imagine a car designed around these would probably be approaching a go-kart suspension: basically none at all. If it can effectively isolate road imperfections (ride) while still providing adequate tire-to-road contact (handling) then it has done the job assigned to any suspension system. Tire spring rates, as I understand, are a significant part of the overall spring rate of an F1 car, so it can be used to one's advantage.

However, anyone here who's driven a kart would be very nervous about such a vehicle released to the public, as karts are not what I would describe as "forgiving". I'm not saying they will "work as planned", just that that's how they "plan on working".

And I also have NO clue how it eliminates transmissions.

[Piet]

And I also have NO clue how it eliminates transmissions.

I was reading on the page... It is not the displayed tire that eliminates transmissions, but Michelin Active Wheel™

Michelin Active Wheel™ is an integrated module comprised of a conventional tire, plus an active electric suspension, a disc brake and an electric motor to provide traction and much of the braking power. Its compact size offers automotive engineers considerable design flexibility.

NOTE:
The “Tweel” uses flexible polyurethane spokes and promises to last two to three times longer than traditional radial tires, and when it does wear out it can simply be retreaded.

I wonder if this will become an "enviro" thing.

[bnickel]

i might go for a set of those on DD jeep cherokee, but i doubt i'd ever put a set on the 69 stang. also since my wife drives an 01 explorer i might feel more comfortable about the rollover aspect of it with a set of these on it