Say Goodbye to Pneumatic Tires and Hello to Airless Tires!

Say Goodbye to Pneumatic tires, Michelin plans to introduce its line of airless tires by 2024.  In collaboration with GM, Michelin plans to launch its new airless tires on a line of consumer vehicles by 2024.  Instead of being inflated by air, airless tires will be supported by a myriad of flexible spokes that will adjust to imperfections on the road.  

One major advantage over pneumatic tires is that airless tires can never go flat and require no maintenance such as constantly checking air pressure that is common with conventional pneumatic tires.  In addition, airless tires will last longer than normal tires due to them being airless.  Pneumatic tires go through a cycle of hell being constantly under or over inflated making their lifespan relatively short. 

One cannot complain about the looks of these airless tires, though it may take some adjusting to, but it sure beats plain pneumatic tires with branding on the sidewall.  The most important question is how these tires will hold up being exposed to real world driving conditions for a few years.  From hot blazing summers to cold freezing winters and rainy climates, no one on the outside knows for sure how these airless tires will perform besides the manufacturer.

We will find out quite soon how these tires perform when they are rolled out towards the end of 2023 on the Chevrolet Bolt EV which is likely to be the first production vehicle to use the new Michelin Uptis airless tires.