Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Airless tyres claimed to provide a number of benefits for motorists. One of the advantages of using airless tires is of course that the driver no longer has to worry about the tires puncturing.
Without fear of leakage, it can make the driver feel safer when driving, even when hitting sharp or hard objects on the road.
There is no fundamental difference between airless tires and conventional tires. Shaped like a donut, black in color and made of rubber.
However, the difference is that an airless tire is not designed to hold air, so it has a hollow wall shape.
Airless tires have a unique structure on the wall that acts as a buffer between the tread and the rim. It can be understood from this structure that the tire will not use the air pressure.
The manufacturer that has openly announced the issue of airless tires is Michelin. The French company aims to produce Unique Puncture-proof Tire System (Uptis) tires starting in 2024.
Michelin is also collaborating with the automobile manufacturer General Motors to be able to sell this product to the public in 2025. In addition to Michelin, another tire manufacturer, Bridgestone is also developing a similar product, namely QuietTrack.
At first glance, the benefits of this airless tire are similar to those of a standard tyre Run flat technology (RFT) or some say run flat tires. However, there are obviously key differences between airless and RFT tires.
Launched by Bridgestone, RFT is a tire capable of continuing to perform even if it is punctured by sharp or hard objects on the road. In essence, the motorist can continue his journey after the tire has been punctured by a sharp object, making it possible to go to a garage or find a safe place to change the tyre.
Even so, there is a limit to driving when the RFT tire has a puncture. Drivers may only drive using punctured RFT tires up to a distance of 80 km with a maximum speed of 80 km per hour.
There are two main types of RFT tire systems, namely self-propelled systems and support ring systems. Most RFT tire systems are self-contained, as they have a reinforced sidewall structure that will continue to support the vehicle in the event of an air leak.
This construction allows for continued operation after depressurization up to the speed and distance specified by the manufacturer.
Meanwhile, the RFT tire support ring system uses a hard rubber ring or other structure that can support the weight of the vehicle in an air-loss condition.
However, not all vehicles can use RFT tyres. This type of tire can only be used on vehicles equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS).
The TPMS function warns the driver as soon as one of the tires is flat. Without this system, the driver might not even know that he is driving with a flat tire.
(dmr/mik)
