University of Cincinnati School of Design students that designed the tires of the future.
When you think about it, tires really haven’t changed all that drastically through the years. But some design students at the University of Cincinnati’s School of Design are looking to change that. A class project has resulted in some serious possibilities for the future of car tires. The designs are so impressive that sponsor Hankook is keeping them under wraps until patents come through and it can show them off at 2012 SEMA in October.
“The students were asked to – and all did – change almost every aspect of the tire as well as propose concepts that more closely integrated the tire and rim,” said Professor Raphael Zammit.
To show just how innovative the new designs were, consider the winner. The entry, Tiltred, by Ben Zavala, uses three tires and rims where a single wheel would normally be. While we don’t know too many details, it is said to allow for greater road contact. With three tires instead of one, we can believe that is the case.
The second-place entry features a mechanized tire that would change for specific road conditions. The third-place entry is a replaceable tread that can be put on a tire. This would allow for the tread to be changed without disposing of a whole tire.
While there’s no way of knowing if these designs will reach production cars, they sure will be intriguing to see when 2012 SEMA rolls around.
Tags: tire design, tires
