The next few years regarding electric mobility are starting to be worked out now. Beyond motors and batteries, tires have also proven to be a challenging task to accomplish. While several manufacturers focus on the conventional, Goodyear opted to go outside the guidelines and manufacture a model without their main element: air.
Yes, airless tires for electrified cars is the new proposal of the American company, currently being tested on a Tesla Model 3. One of the evident problems on sustainable cars with tires has been the friction caused by rolling, which causes energy losses and reduces battery life.
Now, Goodyear has introduced NPT (Non-Pneumatic Tire), which features a tread-supporting spoke structure with no sidewalls, giving the appearance of bicycle rubber. This design replaces completely the pressurized air featured in conventional models.
Related content: Tire Sensors Developed to Assess Condition Status
In this way, the tires do not fluctuate due to pressure and consequently, the life span of them increases considerably, to eliminate electric vehicle owners’ concerns regarding limitations when rolling.
Goodyear’s tests successfully overcame demands of up to 160 kilometers per hour; therefore, they moved to the next level by extending the tests through a Tesla Model 3. Trajectory changes at high speeds, braking and hard acceleration were part of the challenges faced by the NPTs with apparent success.
“We have demonstrated that Goodyear’s NPTs can achieve highway speeds while maintaining the dynamic driving characteristics required for the vehicles, which is a significant milestone,” said Michael Rachita, Senior Program Manager at Goodyear.
About Goodyear
Goodyear is one of the world’s largest tire companies. It employs about 72,000 people and manufactures products at 54 facilities in 23 countries. It has two innovation centers in Akron, Ohio, and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg, that work to develop leading-edge products and services that set the standard in technology and performance for the industry.
Written by | Ronald Ortega
