The Changing Wheel (How Do You Change A Wheel?)

I have had a fascination with cars far before I was able to drive them. I put together models of cars complete with full paint jobs and all the decals, helped my dad when he was working on his car, or read about them in several of the monthly automobile publications to which I subscribed. That fascination led me to own and drive numerous interesting vehicles (to me anyway) that were not strictly efficient and utilitarian. It has also brought me to a time in my life where I spend every working day driving people from one part of town to another through the Lyft app, putting around 1500 miles on the car every week and hauling thousands of people. Unfortunately for me, doing what you normally love to do becomes monotonous and boring months after years of doing that one thing. But I digress.

Nowadays I get much of my interesting car news through the internet and just recently read an article that included the thoughts of Michelin and GM regarding the wheel. It's an update on that round conveyance device from Fred Flintstone's vehicle (or however it was utilized!) through the wagon wheel of horse and buggy days, to the wheels with the installed tires we used today that provide a bit more comfort. In this case it's a wheel and "tire" combined into one unit that has been affectionately called the tweel, for tire and wheel of course. That term rolls off the tongue a little easier than Michelin Uptis, the brand name that Michelin and GM are using that stands for Unique Puncture-Proof Tire System. Don't believe me? Take a gander over to the Michelin website and check out this page. It will give you the all the technical information you need, or possibly even more: 

https://michelinmedia.com/michelin-uptis/

I remember seeing these tires in brief articles from time to time over the past few years, but always thought it was some kind of April Fool's joke. Yet here it is in all its plastic splendor with an expected production date of sometime in 2024. Five years from now we might all be oohing and aahing over the strange looking contraption.

Michelin Uptis "Tweel"
Photo copyright by Overdrive

You can see from this angle that the outer layer of the tweel is rubber, much like today's tires. The goal is to get tires to last longer and who doesn't want that? The inner wheel hub is made of aluminum and also similar to the hub of a tire we see today. It's the part in between that is the puncture-proof part of Uptis and is made of composite plastic. Three different materials mated together into one tweel.

That finned area between rubber surface and the outside end of the spokes allows for compression when going over bumps or running into potholes. If you've ever blown a tire or bent a wheel going into a pothole you'll appreciate the sturdiness of this setup. And I used "sturdy" intentionally as there is little to none of the squirminess that tires go through when pushed hard around corners. Have you seen those low-profile tires on certain sports cars that look like rubber bands on a metal wheel? The idea of those low profile tires is that they are stiffer and perform better at speed and in emergency maneuvers. The down side is that they are no longer comfortable, even on the highway, and might cause you to think you are driving on a wagon wheel. This tire/wheel combination might give a car both performance and comfort, two things that are not often seen together.

When Jared was looking to upgrade his Ford Focus, he checked out the new-generation Ford Focus ST, a fast and fun compact car that had a manual transmission. That was a must for him. But in driving this car with the "skinny little tires" as he described them, he said it was so uncomfortable that he could feel every defect in the road. It was a fun car but since he was looking for better comfort instead of worse comfort, this car was now off his list.

2013 Ford Focus ST in Tangerine Scream
Photo by David Andreasen
Taken in the showroom of Rock River Ford in Rockford Illinois

Just to be clear, you won't be seeing this on any car tomorrow. Well, I suppose you may, but only because it is now being tested out in the real world on Chevrolet Bolts. The goal for production cars is said to be five years away and the technology still has to be proven and tested and safe. If they can make it similar to your driving experience now in performance, handling, and cost then we will see them incorporated into production vehicles in time.

I'm not really sure how I feel about them as they are rather goofy looking to me, but no doubt I will warm up to them in time if they make it to production. I'll probably just be happy that I'm still able to drive a car instead of an autonomous car driving me. But that's another story for another day.

Until next time,

Arktander

(aka David Andreasen)