Why can't car tires be made of solid rubber, or some other solid material that won't puncture?

Question

it seems to me all you would have to do is to make the car tire solid with very deep treads so they will last a long time, and might also help with traction in bad weather. it would also end blow outs, and flat tires, and maybe some accidents. is this the wrath of the tire companies not to produce one?

Answer 1

Lots of forklifts have solid tires and they will ride rough and large chunks fly off if operated on rough terrain. After the chunks fly out they can't be balanced and therefore would not work for cars and trucks. On wet pavement traction is nearly non - existant and cornering at any speed is dangerous on solid tires.

Answer 2

Solid Rubber Tires

Answer 3

They used to be. But inflated tires make it possible for cars to have a smooth ride. If they were SOLID rubber, you probably could not stand more than about 20 miles per hour.

The next time you see an old Model T Ford, take a look at the wooden spoke wheels with solid rubber tires. Ask the owner how fast it will go. He'll tell you.

Go with HIGH Tech.... Air inflated Rubber tires.

Answer 4

Solid Cars

Answer 5

Because of costs, and difficulties in handling a vehicle, when you use hard tires the abs braking system is compromised, if you suddenly breake the car takes longer to stop if you have hard tires, but they last longer that smooth soft tires, but safety is an issue. I have Seat Leon which is like a combination between a VW GTI and an Audi A3 is not sold in the USA. I change the high speed soft tires for some hard ones and it takes longer for me to brake at high speed yet they do not puncture easily like soft tires, hope the information is useful.

Answer 6

If they were solid rubber, they would transfer any bumps in the road to the passengers, making a very rough ride. also each tire would weigh over a hundred pounds. This would give the vehicle much higher inertia, making acceleraton 0 to 60 in about 2 minutes, and stopping would be nearly impossible. the wheels would be big spinning weights, and in engines big spinning weights are called flywheels. they keep momentum. Youd have to replace your brakes every month. look up tweels instead.

Answer 7

Christ...imagine the weight!!!..I think you may find the performance of the car is so compromised that road deaths may be increased by huge proportions not helped. Originally car tyres were solid rubber...a hard and very bumpy ride...I think there is a huge ammount of technology already involved in the process of tyre making...if this was the case F1 would have already produced something similar. It would be the slowest F1 season on record mind you!!!

Answer 8

the best way I can explain it is make a soapbox buggy, (look it up) we used to race them, make a set of wooden wheels, then get a set of solid tires, no air just solid, then get a set of tires that need air, now take a test run down a hill, changing out each different set of tires / wheels u have .. make 3 runs... now take your experience and ask yourself which one you would rather drive around in on a regular basis

Answer 9

they dont use solid tires because they ride horribly. they dont soak up bumps at all and would rattle your car to death very quickly. the lack of absorbtion would also cause bad grip on the tires because they wouldnt have any give to them. overall a bad idea

they use rubber because of the very high coefficient of friction and low cost. its soft enough to grip and not be brittle, but strong and hard enough to deal with the wear of driving. overall a great substance for it.

Answer 10

I thought about that before as well, then I realized the whole comfort thing would be out the window. Also there wouldnt be any give to the wheel if you say hit a curb or something like that and road noise would most likely increase.