If tires had the ability to communicate, they might demand greater respect. Perhaps you should quit allowing them to become under-inflated and worn out. Alternatively, they could notify you about a nail in the tread that will cause the tire pressure warning light to illuminate in a few days. They may even assist you in driving more safely, stopping sooner, and getting better gas mileage. This type of smart tire technology is already in use, with tire manufacturers installing unique sensors in specific tires. And, because the information tires can provide is so important, these technologies will eventually become commonplace, according to TJ Campbell, tire information and testing manager at online retailer Tire Rack. “If for no other reason than that his is the bedrock for totally autonomous driving,” he continued, “I firmly envision that occurring.” Continue reading He believes that self-driving cars will have enough random factors to deal with without having to deal with unforeseen tire problems. The more notice of a potential problem, such as an air leak or worn treads, the better. A self-driving car will also lack an experienced human driver’s sense of when the road surface is slick or when the vehicle is on the verge of skidding. Computerized tire technologies will be able to identify approaching traction loss more rapidly and precisely than most cars’ current stability and traction control systems. Computer chips are embedded in the tires of McLaren’s new hybrid supercar. While smart tire technologies exist, they are typically deployed on high-end performance tires or in fleets of work vehicles where fleet managers are seeking to save every penny. The Pirelli P Zero Trofeo tires on McLaren’s recently launched $225,000 Artura supercar will be integrated with computer chips. These chips will communicate data regarding tire air pressure and temperature to the car’s systems, allowing McLaren owners to get the most out of their cars on the racing course. Temperature and air pressure variations can have a significant impact on how tires, and thus automobiles, perform on a racetrack. Tires that are too cold may not grip as well as tires that are too warm. Overinflated tires will have less contact area with the asphalt, while underinflated tires will be too soft to provide effective handling. Michelin, a French tire manufacturer, offers Track Connect 2, a smartphone app that allows drivers to speak directly with sensors implanted inside the tires. The app may advise the driver to increase or decrease tire air pressures, or it may alert the driver to leaks. This system, for example, is compatible with the tires that come standard on the new Porsche 911 GT3. For the 14-foot tall tires used on mining vehicles, performance of a different kind is even more crucial. These massive tires, which may cost $50,000 each, are fitted to trucks the size of a two-story suburban home. “They’re running those operations 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Brian Goldstine, president of Bridgestone Americas’ mobility solutions and fleet management. “They’re also trying to increase the load and speed of those vehicles within the mine.” Sensors in the massive tires transmit data that can be combined with data from inside the truck, such as how fast it’s moving or how hard it’s turning, to get a sense of how the tires are handling the strains instead of relying on predetermined rules. “So they don’t have to use more generic industry standards around how fast the trucks can drive or how much load,” he said. “We’re feeding them real-time data from the real world.” This type of technology is also available from tire producers for smaller commercial fleets, such as delivery trucks. The information from the sensors in the tires can help fleet operators save money and keep the trucks running during important business hours, just as it can with mining trucks. Bridgestone frequently utilizes sensors that simply bolt onto the valve stem for activities like these. These sensors can’t do quite as much as the ones placed inside the tire, but they can still send important data, according to Goldstine. “Today, for example, [there is] the opportunity to detect a gradual leak as it occurs before the tire reaches that critical level, which may result in an emergency or a serious situation,” he said. Tire pressure monitoring systems are already standard in most passenger vehicles today, and they can alert the driver when a tire is running low on air. Low pressure warnings, on the other hand, are usually only issued when a disaster is imminent. Smart tires can provide more precise readings by directly sensing air pressure, allowing them to identify when air is being lost, even very gently, and provide earlier and more accurate alerts. Why would the Porsche 911 be the final Porsche model to go electric? In some cases, smart tires may be able to sense when traction is being lost. On wet roads, Pirelli’s CyberTire might do this by monitoring how much the tire’s tread flexes against the road surface as it rolls, according to Pierangelo Misani, Pirelli’s head of research and development. If the tread doesn’t flex much, it’s probably traveling on water and losing contact with the solid road surface. Because these sensors can’t directly measure tire depth, detecting tread degradation is difficult. Tire manufacturers are often working on solutions that involve analyzing how a tire is used — how many miles traveled, how many hard stops, etc. — or how it bends or vibrates, and comparing that to data acquired from the same type of tire in tests. “We have a good deal of wheel speed. We’ve gathered some data on vibration. We have some information on the footprint length and…. other tire attributes “Goodyear’s senior vice president of global operations and chief technology officer, Chris Helsel, stated. “From there, we can determine your state of wear to one millimeter accuracy.” Improved driving Smart tires can also improve the performance of so-called “driver assistance systems.” The true self-driving revolution will take years to arrive. As needed by US laws, modern cars already include electronic stability control systems. These systems function by recognizing when a vehicle starts to skid and applying brakes to particular individual wheels to bring it back into line. Tire firms claim that systems that detect traction loss from within the tire could help automobiles react faster and better. Anti-lock braking systems, or ABS, are another safety feature that is now standard on current vehicles. These systems rapidly “pump” the brakes to prevent them from locking up and skidding the tires across the road surface. According to tire makers, smart tire systems can allow ABS computers in cars to automatically adjust as tire treads wear out. “We’ve proved that we can recover 30 percent of the difference in stopping distance between new and old tires,” said Helsel of Goodyear. However, some type of standardization is required before these systems may be extensively used. According to Campbell, tire manufactures will have to work together to ensure that all of their sensors speak the same “language.” That means a car won’t have to use the same brand of tires for the rest of its life. Customers desire options, according to Campbell. He claims that the tires on most people’s cars will only start talking when these systems are replaceable. Continue reading