The rubber tires that we use on our cars today are the result of decades of research and innovation to make the tires last longer, wear more slowly, and keep passengers safe in poor weather. There is no doubt that the future of the tire industry will continue to see more technological advances. Continue reading to see what you can expect to find in your local tire shop over the coming years.
Arnold Chapman, Founder of ELDFocus.com.
Airless Tires
Dunlop has recently developed a tire named Uptis. It doesn’t need to be inflated and will hopefully be launched by 2024. Bridgestone, the biggest tire maker in Japan, is also working on its own airless tires.
Rubber Replacement
A rubber plant takes seven or more years to produce the needed raw material to create a tire. The biggest problem is how to recycle the by-product. Each year, 200 million tires are thrown away. However, the largest manufacturers in the industry have been working on replacing most of the rubber and creating eco-friendly tires.
Magnetic Levitation
Goodyear is working on suspending tires from the vehicle with the help of magnetic fields. The tire will be made with bionic skin, which is as flexible as the human skin. As a result, the tire will contract and expand the same way [your skin does] as the muscles in your body move. The tire will reshape itself, providing you a smooth [ride] in any conditions.
Less movement, fewer bumps
I think that more tires will have the ability to be airless very soon, with the launch on most vehicles by 2024. This will help a lot of people keep their tires working without the need for patches or fill-ups. Cars will have one less problem to deal with, which will save a lot of headaches for drivers.
Another great tire of the future is the ones that are able to move with the texture of the road so that there is less movement in the vehicle and fewer bumps. If your car can almost walk across a rock and not disturb it, it means that you will have a lot less [tire] damage.Michael Lowe, CEO of Carpassionate.com.Michael Satterfield is an award-winning automotive journalist, designer, and the founder of TheGentlemanRacer.com.
‘Smart Tires’
We will most certainly see the continued development and introduction of airless tires into the passenger car market. They are already being sold for industrial applications and may make it onto cars and light trucks by 2024.
‘Smart Tires’ is another development I expect to see in the near future. Embedded sensors in the tires will collect data on tire wear and send a warning message to the driver that they need to replace their tires soon. Smart tires will be important for the electric car market since consumers have less service contact with their dealers and may be unaware that they require tire replacement.
The importance of sustainability
A lot of people are finally realizing the importance of sustainability and are exploring ways to make this lifestyle easier for everyone. Though new tires will be all the rage in the coming years, I dare say that the old ones will have their own share of the spotlight as well. I see old tires being incorporated in sustainability projects, most of which can be done at home, including gardening activities and other hobbies. Sustainability has introduced a way to innovate old tires and still make use of them even if they’re way past their traveling years.
Simon Elkjær, Chief Marketing Officer, avXperten.
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