03-06-2003, 11:24 AM
|
#2
|
|
Platinum Supporting Vendor
St. Jude Donor '11
Member Since: May 2000
Location: 877-522-8473 ext. 362
|
Re: What a 'Run Flat' tire? (conv90)
|
If you've ever been late for a date, appointment, or meeting because of a flat tire, you already know how frustrating it can be. If you've ever had to change a flat tire in the rain, after dark, or on the highway, you already know how frightening it can be. So while we enjoy the freedom that our vehicles provide, it's amazing how quickly that freedom vanishes when we're stranded by a flat tire.
Since the early development of the automobile, tires have played an important role in determining a vehicle's overall comfort and safety. However, there are few products that are placed in harms way more often than the our tires. During their life they will face extremes in temperature, exposure to the elements, and attacks by debris on the road. And while the tire manufacturers' continuous improvements to their products have improved durability and longevity, only recently have they developed tires which help maintain vehicle mobility using standard original equipment and aftermarket wheels. These tires allow the driver to be better able to decide when and where tire repairs are made.
Tires don't typically carry the weight of our vehicles, the air inside them does. There are three basic elements which determine the load capacity of a tire...the size of the air chamber formed between the tire and wheel...the strength provided by the tire's construction to hold air pressure...and the amount of air pressure actually in the tire.
Most flat tires (and tire "blowouts") are the result of slow leaks which go unnoticed and allow the tire's air pressure to escape over time. If we had a way to conveniently monitor our tires air pressure, we'd be half way there. If we had tires which could maintain vehicle mobility even after air loss, we'd be just about invincible.
Today there are three technologies being developed to help maintain vehicle mobility as a tire is punctured and after. Of the three, self-sealing and self-supporting tires are available today, while auxiliary supported systems are on the drawing boards for use as original equipment in the future.
|
|
|
|
Corvette Store
