Retractable studs

http://blog.caranddriver.com/super-cool-retractable-stud-winter-tire-concept-provides-studded-grip-at-the-press-of-a-button/

Discuss.

Volume warning on the vid!

Edit: So here are my thoughts:

1. The actuation mechanism is going to have weight and add complexity, it's either electromagnetic or pneumatic.

2. When the tires wear down you're only going to have a choice between studs and longer studs.

Gimmick, imo.

Tread wear is the problem with the system, as I see it. The deployment cylinder is flush with the new tread. As the tread wears down, the deployment cylinder will extend beyond the tread. It's either got to wear down or get smushed down.

No way to adjust for wear of the studs when deployed.

Going to be expensive and probably really difficult to balance.

Gimmick for sure, but it sure would be neat for those back icy roads if money was no object

Pretty cool

Before I loaded the video, I was wondering if they could make one where the studs sub-flush at 35psi or so, but pump them to 60 psi and they all pop out.

With the Nokain R2s I dont see the need for studded snows unless you are ice racing.

Leafy wrote: With the Nokain R2s I dont see the need for studded snows unless you are ice racing.

Ive used Nokian snows for nearly 25 years now... first used them on the wife's 122S... best berkley snow tires ever built. if anyone can perfect retractable studs it would be Nokian....

This is true. But when the unstudded nokians beat half the studded snows on the ice tests I dont really see the need to deal with the stud noise or a complex stud retraction system.

I was pulling up next to a Hyundai Elantra in a border patrol checkpoint near Yuma, AZ last weekend and thought "wow, they sure have a lot of rocks in their tires!"

Nope, those are studs. WHY?!?!?! I suppose that person could have used these tires, in case a freak ice storm hit the southwest.

foxtrapper wrote: Gimmick, imo. Tread wear is the problem with the system, as I see it. The deployment cylinder is flush with the new tread. As the tread wears down, the deployment cylinder will extend beyond the tread. It's either got to wear down or get smushed down. No way to adjust for wear of the studs when deployed. Going to be expensive and probably really difficult to balance.

And when regular studded snows are worn, what then?

IIRC when snow tires are worn down to 7/32 they are considered to be equaivalent to new allseasons. I'm stretching out a third season on my current snow tires and they really, really suck (but are still better than all seasons).

Knurled wrote:

foxtrapper wrote: Gimmick, imo. Tread wear is the problem with the system, as I see it. The deployment cylinder is flush with the new tread. As the tread wears down, the deployment cylinder will extend beyond the tread. It's either got to wear down or get smushed down. No way to adjust for wear of the studs when deployed. Going to be expensive and probably really difficult to balance.

And when regular studded snows are worn, what then? IIRC when snow tires are worn down to 7/32 they are considered to be equaivalent to new allseasons. I'm stretching out a third season on my current snow tires and they really, really suck (but are still better than all seasons).

That depends on the snow tire. Some have the sticky compound all the way down, some have kind of an all season compound starting around 7/32-5/32 My WS60's hit 5/32 in the middle of this winter. I still kick the E36 M3 out of almost every other car on the road, but they certainly dropped off a cliff in between two storms, next year will be nokians.

They still have 8-9/32 on them. They're just heat-cycled out of usefulness.

I couldn't justify buying new tires because this car takes 14" and I don't know if that would fit over the brakes of next year's car.

And when regular studded snows are worn, what then? IIRC when snow tires are worn down to 7/32 they are considered to be equaivalent to new allseasons. I'm stretching out a third season on my current snow tires and they really, really suck (but are still better than all seasons).

Are you asking it for the studs & ice, or tread & snow?

When grasping for traction of sheets of ice, it's all about the studs (or chains). I wouldn't be surprised if a studded slick works as well or better than a good unstudded snow tire on smooth ice.

I think we're in agreement about snow tires. I've run some old and worn good snow tires, like Nokian and Gislaved, and they ran circles around various all season tires I'd tried to get by with. Chuckle, literally in fact. After the wife spun out one winter while I dawdled, I got my marching orders to come home and mount those snow tires of hers posthaste!

In reply to Brokeback:

Well, there was that ONE day we got an inch of show last February