You're driving on the freeway when you notice your car pulling hard to one side. Flat tire? Probably. Many of us have gotten a flat or had a tire blow out at the worst possible time and it's still a big inconvenience even if you have a spare. Now Bridgestone has a possible solution: airless tires that feature replaceable rubber "tread" and durable shock-absorbing resin (the blue bands pictured above).
Following the debut of its airless tire prototype in 2011, Bridgestone has come up with a new-and-improved design, which was put on display at the Paris Motor Show. Of course there are still kinks to work out, so over the next few years the tire tycoon says it will produce new air-free tire models with further enhancements.
If airless tires were ever brought to market, they would benefit commuters in a couple ways.
First, there's the issue of under-inflated tires, which are prone to cause underperformance and accidents if they blow out. Getting your tire pressure checked when you come to us for service will help prevent this, but if there was an air-free tire like Bridgestone's, the problem would be non-existent.
Second, the availability of air-free tires could mean that drivers wouldn't have to purchase new tires for longer periods of time (depending on the durability of the products). And Bridgestone's prototype features a rubber border - basically the tread - that can be replaced when it wears down. So depending on costs, it could be less expensive to solely replace the rubber surround, rather than full tires.
In addition, Bridgestone states that their prototype improves the recyclability of tires, as every part of the product can be recycled, unlike today's tires.
We're curious to see what Bridgestone's next prototypes look like over the coming years and hope they or similar products are made available in the future. But for now, make sure you treat your tires right by rotating, aligning and having them properly inflated! We'll take care of all these services for you at Bell Honda!
You can also purchase a new set of tires at our dealership in Phoenix if yours are ready to be replaced. We carry tires from a variety of well-known vendors, including Firestone, Yokohama and Bridgestone, among others!
