Colac Car Show

Having its first design in 1935, the run-flat tire has gone through around eighty years of evolution and improvement, but so far has yet to achieve extensive use in customer applications. The tire has its share of implicit advantages over normal vehicle tires, but one or two vital problems have left it falling flat with average drivers.

The run-flat tire is a pneumatic automobile tire that is designed with a fabric or sponge rubber inner tube, giving the opportunity to resume rolling at lower speeds and distances even after a puncture. The tires were initially designed in the 1930s as bullet-proof tires for military and police cars and armored vehicles. The first nonmilitary application of the technology was not used until the 1950s, when Chrysler and US Royal experimented with offering them as options on a few models.

Michelin, Bridgestone and General Motors have spent enormous sums in the past hew decades to develop run-flat tire technology, and are always quick to sell the advantage points. A typical run-flat tire design allows continued operation of a vehicle for 100 to 150 miles at a speed of about fifty mph, even after air pressure has been depleted from the tire. BMW has continues to promote this as a safety feature, even guranteeing that you won’t need to carry a spare tire in a car of theirs that is featuring run-flat tires.

Even with its benefits, run-flat tires have not been able to earn popular appeal from customers. Most realistically, this is due to the high list price. Run-flat tires amount to $200 to $500 per tire dependent on design and size, largely relegating their use to luxury car companies like BMW. Due to the thicker sidewall on run-flat tires, their increased weight over traditional tires reduces fuel efficiency by up to 2 %, negating the advantages to fuel efficiency of not needing to carry a spare tire.

In the 17 years that run-flat tires have been widely available in the U.S., there has been no appreciable increase in market share among drivers. According to a Michelin study made public in 2008, only three % of drivers world-wide expressed any want for run-flat tires, and the U.S. market share is still less than one percent. Until the production costs of these tires can be significantly reduced, the technology is unlikely to gain broader appeal.