A support assembly for a vehicle includes at least two spherical tires travelling on a road surface and rotating relative to the road surface and the vehicle and a drive system magnetically driving rotation of the tires relative to the drive system itself such that no portion of the drive system physically contacts the tires or the road surface. The tires each have an outer tread layer comprising a material having a first stiffness when dry and a second stiffness when wet, the first stiffness being greater than the second stiffness.

Methods and apparatus are provided for warming a tire of a driven wheel of a vehicle, in which the vehicle includes one or more driven wheels and one or more non-driven wheels. The method includes determining a range of a transmission associated with the vehicle and determining a position of a throttle pedal associated with an engine of the vehicle. Based on the determined range of the transmission and the determined position of the throttle pedal, the method includes outputting one or more control signals to apply a braking force to the one or more non-driven wheels of the vehicle and outputting one or more control signals to drive the one or more driven wheels to warm the tire of the one or more driven wheels.

Methods and apparatus are provided for warming a tire of a driven wheel of a vehicle, in which the vehicle includes one or more driven wheels and one or more non-driven wheels. The method includes determining a range of a transmission associated with the vehicle and determining a position of a throttle pedal associated with an engine of the vehicle. Based on the determined range of the transmission and the determined position of the throttle pedal, the method includes outputting one or more control signals to apply a braking force to the one or more non-driven wheels of the vehicle and outputting one or more control signals to drive the one or more driven wheels to warm the tire of the one or more driven wheels.

A pressure gauge of which the presence or absence of a measurement error can be easily checked is provided. A pressure gauge includes: a piston; a first conversion mechanism converting a linear motion of the piston against an elastic force of a spring into a rotating motion about a first rotation shaft, the linear motion being caused by the pressure transmitted from a target to be measured; an index that is fixed to one end side of the first rotation shaft; a dial; momentum detecting means for detecting momentum indicating an amount of movement of the piston; and a pressure sensor measuring a pressure value or the pressure acting on the internal space of the cylinder. Determining means determines whether a difference between a first measurement value and a second measurement value exceeds a predetermined value, the first measurement, value being estimated from the momentum detected toy the momentum detecting means, the second measurement value being measured by the pressure sensor. Notifying means notifies a user if the difference between the first measurement value and the second measurement value exceeds the predetermined value.

A pressure gauge of which the presence or absence of a measurement error can be easily checked is provided. A pressure gauge includes: a piston; a first conversion mechanism converting a linear motion of the piston against an elastic force of a spring into a rotating motion about a first rotation shaft, the linear motion being caused by the pressure transmitted from a target to be measured; an index that is fixed to one end side of the first rotation shaft; a dial; momentum detecting means for detecting momentum indicating an amount of movement of the piston; and a pressure sensor measuring a pressure value or the pressure acting on the internal space of the cylinder. Determining means determines whether a difference between a first measurement value and a second measurement value exceeds a predetermined value, the first measurement, value being estimated from the momentum detected toy the momentum detecting means, the second measurement value being measured by the pressure sensor. Notifying means notifies a user if the difference between the first measurement value and the second measurement value exceeds the predetermined value.

A computerized tire heating system is provided for. The system features a carcass with a tread, a sidewall and a bead, an inner tube having an inner volume, a first layer of thermal insulation, connected to said bead, a second later of thermal insulation, connected to said tread, a power source, and a heating system having more than one heating coil located in between the first layer of thermal insulation and the second layer of thermal insulation, where the heating system is connected to said power source. The computerized tire heating system may also have a heating gel located in the inner volume of the inner tube.

A radial tire (1) for a motor vehicle comprises a crown (2) comprising a tread (3) provided with at least a radially outer part (3a) intended to come into contact with the road; two non-stretchable beads (4), two sidewalls (5) connecting the beads (4) to the tread (3), a carcass reinforcement (6) passing into the two sidewalls (5) and anchored in the beads (4); a crown reinforcement or belt (7) positioned circumferentially between the radially outer part (3a) of the tread (3) and the carcass reinforcement (6); a radially inner elastomer layer (8) referred to as underlayer, which is positioned circumferentially between the radially outer part (3a) of the tread (3) and the carcass reinforcement (6), which comprises at least one thermoplastic elastomer which is a block copolymer comprising at least one elastomer block and at least one thermoplastic block, and which also comprises at least one magnetic filler.

A radial tire (1) for a motor vehicle comprises a crown (2) comprising a tread (3) provided with at least a radially outer part (3a) intended to come into contact with the road; two non-stretchable beads (4), two sidewalls (5) connecting the beads (4) to the tread (3), a carcass reinforcement (6) passing into the two sidewalls (5) and anchored in the beads (4); a crown reinforcement or belt (7) positioned circumferentially between the radially outer part (3a) of the tread (3) and the carcass reinforcement (6); a radially inner elastomer layer (8) referred to as underlayer, which is positioned circumferentially between the radially outer part (3a) of the tread (3) and the carcass reinforcement (6), which comprises at least one thermoplastic elastomer which is a block copolymer comprising at least one elastomer block and at least one thermoplastic block, and which also comprises at least one conductive filler.

A decision support system initially determines in response to the creation of a customer ticket a customer's driving style in accordance with user responses and input regarding driving habits and preferences, and calculates a driving style algorithm. The system compares the driving style algorithm to car tire profiles and determines which tires are best suited to the customer's driving style algorithm. Upon said determination, the selected car tires are presented to the customer for final selection in a comprehensive service platform environment for creating, forwarding, performing, and completing customer tickets amongst front end devices comprising a computer kiosk and a customer's mobile device, and a back end device comprising an employee's mobile device. Tickets created via a front end device are forwarded for performance to the back end device, wherein upon completion of service the ticket is finalized and forwarded back to a front end device for review and payment.

A method for tread selection to select a tread to attach to a tread side of a tire casing when manufacturing a tire includes the steps of: a) measuring, by a tire condition measurement unit, at least one characteristic value indicating at least one of a tire condition and a vehicle running condition; b) predicting, by a casing life prediction unit, a remaining life of the tire casing based on the at least one characteristic value measured in step a); c) selecting, by a tread selection unit, at least one recommended tread in accordance with the remaining life of the tire casing predicted in step b) from among a plurality of treads attachable to the tire casing, using wear life information calculated in advance for each of the treads; and d) displaying, by a terminal, the at least one recommended tread selected in step c).