chevysoldier Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 http://news.cnet.com/military-tech/?keyword=HumveeThe University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Wausau, Wis., company have come up with a 37-inch, bullet and bomb-proof Humvee tire based on a polymeric web so cool looking there's no need for hub caps. Resilient Technologies and Wisconsin-Madison's Polymer Engineering Center are creating a "non-pneumatic tire" (no air required) that will support the weight of add-on armor, survive an IED attack, and still make a 50 mph getaway. It's basically a round honeycomb wrapped with a thick, black tread. The military wants an alternative to the current Humvee "run flat" tires, which despite the name, still need a minimal amount of air pressure to roll and can leave troops stranded after being shot or blown out. "You see reports all the time of troops who were injured by an IED or their convoys got stranded because their tires were shot out," said Resilient's General Manager Mike Veih. "There's all sorts of armor on the vehicle, but if you're running in the theater and get your tire shot out, what have you got? You've got a bunch of armor in the middle of a field." In developing the design, the Wisconsin team studied other airless tires, like the Michelin "Tweel," but in the end settled on lessons learned from nature. The patent-pending design mimics the precise, six-sided cell pattern found in a honeycomb and best duplicates the "ride feel" of pneumatic tires, according to the developers. "The goal was to reduce the variation in the stiffness of the tire, to make it transmit loads uniformly and become more homogenous," said mechanical engineering professor Tim Osswald. "And the best design, as nature gives it to us, is really the honeycomb." This particular geometry also does a great job of reducing noise and heat levels while rolling-two common problems with past models.Costs per tire are expected to be the same or less than current units. Delivery is anticipated for 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max power Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 Those would look sweet on the Yota. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedytriple Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 Hey those come in crome they look like some 30" rims.LOL Good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmoosego Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 about freakin time!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAMBUSA Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 I've seen something similar on a BMW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevysoldier Posted January 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 I've seen something similar on a BMW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jporter12 Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 Michelin has had something like that in the works for several years now, called the Tweel. They origianlly showed it on cars, but what I'm finding on their site now is geared for the construction industry.http://www.michelin.com/corporate/actualites/en/actu_affich.jsp?id=17448&codeRubrique=58〈=ENAlso, do a google search for tweel, and chaeck out some of the pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jporter12 Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 Looks like they have a version of it going on the lunar rover:http://www.michelin.com/corporate/actualites/en/actu_affich.jsp?id=24569&codeRubrique=58〈=EN It says something about Michelin make the shuttle tires, and having a 20 year relationship with Nasa, or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gump Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Cool, now they'll need armor behind the tire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jermattak Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Cool, now they'll need armor behind the tire. the whole body is made of armor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gump Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Huh? My buddy said they had no armor when he was in Iraq. He welded on his own steel plates so i figured they'd skimp behind the tire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jermattak Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 an unarmored humvee? they are ALL armored, im 100% positive, i work for a company building them and suburbans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jporter12 Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 an unarmored humvee? they are ALL armored, im 100% positive, i work for a company building them and suburbansThe OP can chime in on this one, as he was in Iraq a few years ago, and worked on said humvee's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gump Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Maybe he added more armor then? I don't know? This was when the war started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevysoldier Posted January 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Huh? My buddy said they had no armor when he was in Iraq. He welded on his own steel plates so i figured they'd skimp behind the tire.an unarmored humvee? they are ALL armored, im 100% positive, i work for a company building them and suburbansThe OP can chime in on this one, as he was in Iraq a few years ago, and worked on said humvee's.When We got to Afghanistan/Iraq in Feb of 2005, we had NOTHING uparmored. We cut steel plates in place of windows, sandbags on the floorboards, yada yada. After a few months, we started to get armor kits and bolted them on the trucks. Of course the added weight took a toll on the stock suspensions, so we had to get kits and beefthose up. Now all units going over or already there have factory built up-armored trucks. They are taken over there, and stay in country. Almost nothing, if any up-armored vehicles leave the middle east until troops and equipment are rotated out to turn the country back over, or when they are needed in another war-zone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hue jass Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Very cool. I'd like to see ballistics, like shooting at them from the side. Better have bullet proof brakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jermattak Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 When We got to Afghanistan/Iraq in Feb of 2005, we had NOTHING uparmored. We cut steel plates in place of windows, sandbags on the floorboards, yada yada. After a few months, we started to get armor kits and bolted them on the trucks. Of course the added weight took a toll on the stock suspensions, so we had to get kits and beefthose up. Now all units going over or already there have factory built up-armored trucks. They are taken over there, and stay in country. Almost nothing, if any up-armored vehicles leave the middle east until troops and equipment are rotated out to turn the country back over, or when they are needed in another war-zone.gotcha, i kinda remember hearing the phrase armor kits here and there, but ive never really worked on military stuff, just commercial vehicle modification, all day everyday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gump Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 When We got to Afghanistan/Iraq in Feb of 2005, we had NOTHING uparmored. We cut steel plates in place of windows, sandbags on the floorboards, yada yada. After a few months, we started to get armor kits and bolted them on the trucks. Of course the added weight took a toll on the stock suspensions, so we had to get kits and beefthose up. Now all units going over or already there have factory built up-armored trucks. They are taken over there, and stay in country. Almost nothing, if any up-armored vehicles leave the middle east until troops and equipment are rotated out to turn the country back over, or when they are needed in another war-zone.Ya, He said they did it because they were like sitting ducks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jporter12 Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Very cool. I'd like to see ballistics, like shooting at them from the side. Better have bullet proof brakes.They could always mount some circular armor plates to the wheels to cover a good bit of the openings in the the honeycomb. Or some sort of flexible, bulletproof cover.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevysoldier Posted January 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Ya, He said they did it because they were like sitting ducks. Yup, driving around sitting behind 1/4'' or so steel plating isn't the best feeling in the world but it beats fabric doors any day We knew it wouldn't stop much at all, just slow it down...some... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagr Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Hummer Hover pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jporter12 Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Hummer Hover picturesBuilt by Doc Emmit Brown! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevysoldier Posted January 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Hummer Hover pictures That use's the anti-gravity version of the flux capacitor right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevysoldier Posted January 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Built by Doc Emmit Brown! HAHAHAHA same thinking there!! damnit.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jporter12 Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 HAHAHAHA same thinking there!! damnit....Except I'm quicker AT REPLYING than you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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