Could the next generation of energy efficient tires be solid?

The next generation of super efficient vehicle tires could be made from polyurethane.

At least that is the claim of inventor Richard Steinke, CEO of Amerityre Corp. in Boulder City, Nev. He says he's devised a manufacturing process for building passenger and light truck tires made from solid elastomer. The resulting tires will far outlast conventional designs, run flat at high speeds for hundreds of miles, and have a low rolling resistance to boot.

The rub, says Steinke, is that his design is so superior to existing technology that major tire manufacturers have steered clear of it. He has had trouble getting the $15 million it takes to construct a high-volume production line. But that is now changing. "The Chinese are interested," he says. "And we now have financial backers. This technology will come because developing countries need it. Where it normally requires about $66 million to construct a conventional tire factory able to put out a million car tires per year, a production line for the same volume with our technology will cost just $14 or 15 million, slightly more for a truck tire factory."

Steinke has been pursuing his novel tire technology for some time. Amerityre Corp. was founded in 1995 as American Tire Corp. Its first products were polyurethane foam tires for bicycles, wheelchairs, lawn and garden products, golf carts and commercial dollies.

In 1999 the company name changed to Amerityre Corp. In 2003 it began developing polyurethane elastomer technology to produce tires based on polyurethane instead of rubber. In 2004 a passenger car tire it designed successfully completed testing to Federal Motor Safety Vehicle Standard (FMVSS) 109 and in 2007 it successfully completed testing to the FMVSS 139 specification.

And that is pretty much where things stood until recently. But with its new capital infusion, "By the end of this year, we will announce that we are doing the car tire," says Steinke. "We have a new chemistry that makes the polyurethane resemble a racing tire material. It is almost impossible for it to go flat."

The tires Amerityre is devising do, in fact, have a small amount of inflation, but no steel belts. Instead, the tires use a proprietary nylon-type material that serves the same purpose but avoids the need for the adhesives normally used to bond tire rubber to steel belts.

These tires will last 60% longer and have 50% less rolling resistance than conventional tires, says Steinke. They should also be quite "grippy" because they will have a 61 durometer, close to that of racing tire material. "Even a four or five-inch nail cannot penetrate the tread. Without any air, they could go 200 miles. No other system today can go 400 to 500 miles with out air, and certainly not at 50 mph. But we've run tests at 70 mph under run-flat conditions and our tires are smooth and have no tread separation, so they are safe," says Steinke.

Steinke has also leveraged the material research done for his super-efficient tires to devise rugged material for wind turbines: http://eetweb.com/wind/windgenenergy-efficient-turbine-61311/

Amerityre: http://www.amerityre.com/index.cfm?action=company

Modern Tire Dealer also did a story recently on Amerityre:http://m.moderntiredealer.com/Article/?id=1018