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Reinventing the Wheel
Michelin's new Pax tire earned some gearhead cred last year when it set a 223-mph speed record on Italy's Nardo High-Speed Test Track. (It had a little help from the Edonis supercar.) But to see the rubber meet the open road, you have to look to France, where 10,000 Renault minivans are riding around on the next-gen tire that runs even when it's flat and wirelessly tells the driver it needs repair. Goodyear has licensed the technology, and Rolls-Royce will roll out the Pax in North America this spring on its 2004 Phantom. Spare tires may soon be a thing of the past.
1. Flat-out Performance
Michelin's Pax system incorporates a hard-rubber support ring inside its regular steel-belted radial. If it gets punctured, you can drive another 120 miles at up to 50 mph – eliminating the need for a spare. Pax-certified service stations are now all over france, and Michelin has deployed a fleet of 483 trucks to rescue downed Renaults elsewhere in Europe.
2. Early Adopteurs
Michelin patented the radial in 1946, ushering in a new age of tire technology - at least in France. The radials had steel cords, allowing them to last up to 10 times longer than other tires. The French embraced the idea right away. But thanks to American protectionism, the radial didn't arrive in the US until 1967, when it was sold on Lincoln's Mark II. Michelin executives are confident the Pax won't take two decades to pick up momentum.
3. Lock and Roll
A standard tire is held to the rim by air pressure. The Pax tire is held to the rim by a built-in rubber wedge. Additional torque - say, from sudden braking - actually tightens the seal. If you have a blowout, the tire stays put. There's another advantage: The Pax sidewall is flat, an aerodynamic improvement that cuts rolling resistance by 12 percent.
4. Wireless Warnings
Each of the tire valves is equipped with a radio transmitter that feeds temperature and pressure data to your dashboard display. If a tire's air is low, the display tells you to get to a service center. It was no easy task to embed the 1.27-ounce transmitter inside a wheel generating 11,000 pounds of centrifugal force. To prevent the transmitter from warping the rim, the Pax was built lopsided - the side opposite the device has 1.27 ounces less metal.
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