Airless Tires: The Tires of the Future?

Written By: USJ Staff  |  Posted: Thursday, July 30th, 2015

        Tired of filling your tires with air?  South Korean company Hankook has developed an airless tire that fits onto any traditional rim.  The Hankook iFlex is a non-pneumatic tire (NPT) that relies on geometric shapes instead of air pressure to give bounce to the tire.  According to Digital Trends, these inovative tires were tested for durability, hardness, stability, slalom (zigzag), and speed.   In all of the categories, the iFlex demonstrated that it could preform as well as conventional pneumatic tires.  Besides the convenience of not filling the tires with air, Hankook is boasting of the environmental benefits as well.  In a press release by Hankook, the company claims that the steps to produce an iFlex tire are half as many as pneumatic tires which significantly reduces pollution.  The iFlex is easier to recycle as well.

  "The Hankook iFlex's ability to deliver the perfect high-speed driving performance is the result of Hankook Tire's longstanding commitment to independently developing progressive, innovative tire technology. Aiming to strengthen our technological leadership in the global tire market, we will continue to develop cutting edge eco-friendly and future-oriented tires" says Mr. Seung-Hwa Suh, Vice Chairman and CEO of Hankook Tire.  With greater convenience and possibly longer tire life, coupled with a environmentally safer production process, these non-pneumatic tires could be the tire of the future.

Sign into your account to read the rest of this article. »