Wheeling through 2020!

MARCH 2020 $4.95

NEW TIRE TECHNOLOGY IS KEEPING PACE WITHTHE RAPID EVOLUTION OF VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY.

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WHEELINGthrough

2020

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NEW TIRE TECHNOLOGY IS KEEPING PACE WITH THE RAPID EVOLUTION OF VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY WHICH MEANS A BETTER MARRIAGE BETWEEN YOUR CAR AND THE PARTS THAT KEEP IT MOVING.

By Kenneth E. Seaton

IMAGINE IF YOU

WILL, THAT IN

THE NOT-TOO- DISTANT FUTURE, IT’LL BE POSSI- BLE TO DRIVE IN A WORLD WHERE FLAT TIRES EXIST ONLY AS A MISERABLE UNPLEAS- ANT MEMORY, THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A TIRE BLOWOUT, WHEELS NO-LONGER DETACH FROM VEHI- CLES TO BECOME AIRBORNE AND TIRES NO LONGER SHIMMY, SHAKE AND/OR VIBRATE WHEN TRAVELING AT FREEWAY SPEEDS.

Historians generally agree that it was in Mesopotamia, around 3500 B.C., that the earliest wheels first appeared. They were made of stone and primarily used for milling, or as a potter’s wheel. It took man another 300 years or so, to realize that they could be used for other things. Things like wheelbarrows for transporting items or for moving people.

Wheels have had a long and illustrious history and today’s tires – tip of a lug wrench to tire founding fathers Edouard and Andre Michelin, John Boyd Dunlop, Charles Goodyear – and those tires that are still pinned to drafting boards can only be described as mind blowing. From a tire rubber that can be produced from dandelions, to using 3D printers to customize replacement winter and summer tires. Tires and the tire industry are making some extraordinary advances.

RUBBER ONCE RULED THE ROAD

Back in 1839, when American inventor Charles Goodyear accidently created the process to vulcanize rubber, no one could have predicted the trips that his discovery would take drivers on. His original process was further developed and used in the modernization of the old, heavy leather-rimmed solid iron-clad wooden

wheels.

Over time, those wooden wheels evolved into wheels that were made from solid rubber and these in turn morphed into the more modern pneumatic, or airinflated radial tires that are still in use today. Ever moving forward, the tire industry rolled out bias-ply tires, steel-belted radial tires, non-pneumatic tires, carbon fiber wheels, and others.

However, everything that has been done to and about tires pales in comparison to the recent advances that have been accomplished resulting from the contribution of new tire technology. Shrewd tire manufactures are paying close attention to ongoing changes to government regulations and to prospective customers, who are demanding greater fuel economy and safer vehicles.

ROLLING ON THE NEW TECHNOL- OGY HIGHWAY

As new vehicles drive out of the showrooms and onto the highways, there are a lot of techy things going on in the engine, on the dashboard and in the tires. As vehicles develop a greater reliance on artificial intelligence and become more widely connected, the next evolution will be the trend towards “Smarter Tires”.

Today’s drivers have the advantage of using Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) to monitor their tires. There are two types. The first is Direct TPMS and it monitors tires by measuring air pressure via wheel mounted sensors. If the air pressure drops below 25%, it triggers an alert via a dashboard light. And there’s another type of TPMS called Indirect.

Indirect TPMS works with a vehicle’s Antilock Braking Systems (ABS) via wheel speed sensors. Tires with a lowered air pressure roll at a different wheel speed than fully inflated tires and this information is picked up by the sensor. It then via the car’s onboard computer, also alerts the driver by way of a dashboard indicator light.

Tire sensor technology is advancing past simple TPMS to the point that it can signal drivers when it is time to change a tire. It can monitor tires and report details

about uneven and/or dangerous tire conditions. Additionally, it can even distinguish between different road conditions and aid in preventing vehicles from slipsliding across road surfaces.

Tire manufacturers are hard at work producing new technology that best enables sensors to collect real time data. This data is forwarded to the vehicle’s onboard computer. Then, the computer, will evaluate and assimilate the numerous aspects of the tire’s performance and road conditions. Lastly, adjustments are made which will allow the tires to run at the most optimal performance levels.

Continental AG is introducing two new tire technology concepts that it claims will make for even greater road safety and comfort in the future. The two systems support the continuous monitoring of the tire’s condition as well as situation-matched adaptation of the tire performance characteristics to prevailing road conditions.

Continental’s “ContiSense” will use tire sensors to measure tread depth and temperature and will alert drivers to any tire damage. The system is based on the development of electrically conductive rubber compounds that enable electric signals to be sent from a sensor in the tire to a receiver in the car.

“ContiAdapt” will continually adjust tire pressure and rim width to adapt contact patch to road conditions. It combines micro-compressors integrated into the wheel to adjust the tire pressure with a variable-width rim. The system can thus modify the size of the contact patch, which under different road conditions is a decisive factor for both safety and comfort.

In March, the Ford Motor Company announced that its 2020 Explorer will be the first car to come equipped with Michelin Selfseal tires. The tires contain a natural rubber sealant, which can either surround an embedded object or patch a hole that an object leaves behind. This is different from run-flat tires which will lose some or all of their air if they are punctured, but they will still allow the vehicle to drive on for a limited distance at a re-

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Tires and Treads

tinental, but researchers at the German company “embrace the flowering weed as a key component to the future of tires.”

French tire manufacturer Michelin and American manufacturer General Motors, have partnered to work on developing a prototype tire named Uptis (Unique Puncture-proof Tire System), this tire supports additive manufacturing technologies.

The system will be mounted on an assembly designed without air to avoid all punctures. The companies presented a 3D printed prototype at last year’s Montréal’s “Movin’On” summit on sustainable mobility. The manufacturers believe that this puncture-proof tire will eventually reduce the number of tires that are thrown away due to punctures and ensure better safety for motorists.

PROTECTING TECHY TIRES & WHEELS

Even though technological advancements in the auto industry are moving at warp-speed, old-fashioned wheel and vehicle theft remains a major problem. The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimates that auto theft cost Canadians close to a billion dollars a year. Vehicle owners often spend huge amounts of money on aftermarket rims, wheels, and tires.

There are many reasons why stealing

tires and wheels is so prevalent. Much like a racing pit crew, determined thieves armed with a jack and a battery-operated tool, can pull off all four wheels in under 10 minutes.

Wheels are usually untraceable and are easily fenced. The more expensive the wheels, the more money thieves can make selling them to unscrupulous tire resellers. Also, sometimes thieves steal them to sell to collectors, or they just dump them on scrap dealers for a quick cheap sale.

Once vehicle owners understand that they and their vehicle are extremely vulnerable, some simple needed steps can be taken for protection from parts-and-vehicle thieves.

ESSENTIAL STEPS INCLUDE:

Park in well-lit areas, where there’s lots of pedestrian or vehicular traffic. Thieves like to work in the dark and don’t like having any potential witnesses around. When leaving a vehicle for a long time, park it where it’s highly visible and whenever possible, park it in a lot equipped with surveillance cameras.

Turn the vehicle’s wheels to a 45-degree angle when parking. The wheels get tucked into the wheel well, thus making

it harder for thieves to get at the lug nuts. Since the steering column is locked and without an ignition key, it’s very difficult to straighten out the wheels. And when parallel parking, always park as close to the curb as possible. The closer a vehicle is parked to a curb, the less room thieves will have to place a jack under the vehicle.

Purchase lug nut locks and install an alarm with a sensor. Replace one – some owners replace all – of the tire’s original lug nuts with a lock.

The lock requires the use of a specially sized wrench for its removal. Install a car alarm that is equipped with sensors that attach to the wheels. The alarm detects when the vehicle is subjected to an angle change or gets tilted, and the wheel sensors can also detect if the wheels are being tampered with.

Be it for added vehicle performance or just aesthetic reasons, investing in aftermarket rims, wheels, and tires can represent a sizable investment and often have much sentimental value to owners. Spending the time and expense to get the wheels insured is often well worth the added piece of mind. And, if they do fall to thieves, marking them with some personal identifying mark may aid in their recovery.

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