Polaris, a company specializing in All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) has come up with new “Airless” tyres, primarily for off-road use, which completely eliminates the possibility of a flat tyre which is a huge inconvenience especially while being away from civilization. This tyre was originally developed for military applications and later was even found useful for off-road use. Polaris will most probably launch this revolutionary Non-Pneumatic Tyre (NPT) early next year.
This Polaris Airless Tyre uses a special flexible web instead of the conventional rubber carcass where air is filled. The tyre is made of three layers, the road touching surface is the outer rubber tread band, with a solid inner steel rim being the innermost layer and sandwiched between these two is the flexible web. While also eliminating the possibility of a flat this open tyre also prevents any pebbles, dirt, gravel or tree branches from getting stuck in the tyre.
Polaris says that this new tyre lacks the typical bounciness that conventional tyres have which makes driving on rough terrain easier and more confidence inspiring. This tyre has more advantages, as it provides a much better ride on all surfaces and produces very less road noise when driving on tarmac, due to lack of an air filled cavity which amplifies the sound.
This tyre has been extensively tested and has been shot at with 0.50-caliber rounds and then used for more than 5000 hours of hard off-road testing. In another test, the vehicle crossed train tracks and a rail spike punctured the outer rubber tread band, but the tyre went on performing without any problems for over 1600 kms. Longer expeditions are now being carried out with two vehicles riding on conventional tyres and two with these airless tyres. Over the testing, the conventional tyres suffered three punctures, while the NPT’s were completely unharmed.
