Amerityre Corporation’s non-pneumatic (no-air) passenger car tyre has passed FMVSS 129 testing.
The tyre, made from a proprietary polyurethane elastomer compound, has been developed by Amerityre for prospective use as a temporary/spare tyre for compact to mid-size vehicles. FMVSS 129, is the applicable US safety standard for new, non-pneumatic tyres that must be met before the tyres can be offered commercially.
“This is a major breakthrough in tyre technology,” said Richard Steinke, Amerityre’s president and chief executive officer. “Over the past several years, a lot of companies have attempted to make a non-pneumatic tyre for passenger vehicles. Those attempts fell short, in large part, because they didn’t have the compounds to do it. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first company to have a tyre that completely meets the standard,” he added.
Amerityre has focused its development of the no-air tyre technology initially on spare tyres for small and mid-size vehicles (tyres that carry a load up to 1,250 lbs) because those tyres comprise a significant portion of the temporary/spare marketplace. For 2005, small and mid-size passenger car production worldwide is estimated to be approximately 20 million units, with a corresponding number of temporary/spare tyres required.
With the successful testing achieved, Amerityre intends to initiate discussions with vehicle manufacturers about making the product available to their customers as an original equipment temporary/spare tyre. In addition, Amerityre will continue testing prototype designs of the temporary/spare tyre for full-size vehicles, light truck and SUV applications.
Amerityre believes the newly developed tyres will provide consumers with a more reliable temporary/spare tyre. “Drivers won’t need to worry about losing air pressure in these tyres. They will always be ready in the event of a flat tyre,” said Steinke.
