While TPMS, or Tire Pressure Monitoring Technology is already federally mandated as part of the TREAD Act, drivers are still required to actually service their tires once a warning is issued from the system. Furthermore, TPMS system don’t necessarily warn drivers as tires begin to slowly drop below optimal pressure – something Goodyear hopes to address.
The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company has announced that it is well along in the development of a self-inflating tire – in other words, a tire that monitors its own pressure and without any action from a human inflates itself to optimal pressure automatically.
This would happen from wireless sensors and a built-in pump located within the tire that would monitor and self-adjust accordingly. While intriguing, at first glance the technology may seem like an unnecessary added cost, but it has potential to save owners both in longer treadlife and improved fuel economy of 2.5-3.3 percent.
In fact, with current gas prices Goodyear estimates the average driver could save as 12 cents worth of gas per mile with these tires installed.
So when can you buy them and for how much? That’s not yet clear, but Goodyear senior VP and CTO Jean-Claude Kinn said that the company received a $1.5-million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Vehicle Technology with hopes of getting the technology to market as soon as possible.
