Illuminated tires developed by Goodyear but were never mass produced (1961)

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Mr_WAAAGH@reddit

They never caught on because they were heavy, fragile, and expensive. These old ones used actual incandescent light bulbs, but LEDs could honestly solve most of the issues these had if someone with enough money wanted to try

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LokiPrime616@reddit

We need Tron wheels!

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tomato432@reddit

they were never mass produced because polyurethane tires had less grip, awful wet weather performance, no grip at high speeds, melt during hard braking and were expensive and impractical to manufacture, the lights were also very distracting for other drivers

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OrinFinch@reddit

Could have had a cap of tradition rubber for traction and then clear for the sidewalls.

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mechmind@reddit

Right, but how about the adhesion of the polyurethane to the rubber, is it solid enough

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adotang@reddit

I read somewhere that part of the reason was also Goodyear realizing that over time the tires would get covered in dirt, dust, and marks anyway, meaning you either cleaned your tires all the time or you just bought dimly-lit colored tires.

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McCaffeteria@reddit

“Hey sometimes it’s hard to see where you’re stepping when you get out of a car in the dark, we should lights under the-“

“Put lights inside the tires! Genius! Why didn’t I have this idea?? We will have to make a completely new translucent material to make tires out of but that’s no big deal, we’ll just tell the engineers to figure it out.”

“…Can’t we just put the lights under the car body itself? That would be so much-“

“What? No! Of course not, they need to be installed on the one moving part of the car so we will have to design a way to get power to the rims through the spinning axle. Plus, that way if you get a flat tire you’ll destroy your bulbs as well and you’ll have to replace even more stuff!! Leave the decision making details to me, trust me, I know what’s best.”

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foersom@reddit

My Skoda Enyaq has puddle light that are on the under side of the side mirrors.

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-NGC-6302-@reddit

It could be like whitewalls; show off how rich you are by hiring someone to keep them clean

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Shpander@reddit

Ooh shit never realised this about whitewalls

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-NGC-6302-@reddit

You can do DIY whitewalls pretty darn easily with some pinstriping tape and white (or other color I guess) Flex Seal. Only problem is it gets dirty within months and is not simple to clean. Being Flex Seal, you could also just add a new coat.

There are some youtube videos about doing exactly this. It's not super durable, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper than authentic whitewall tires.

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ProcyonV@reddit

You can also purchase rubber white walls and insert them between tyre and rim 🙂

White walls

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HandyCapInYoAss@reddit

I’m imagining a car that handles like it’s on skateboard wheels, which only grip if they’ve got suspension like a skateboard truck to keep them perfectly level.

Also skateboard wheels don’t grip very well on anything other than perfectly smooth cement and/or wood, and god forbid the wheel catches on a pebble

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sparrownetwork@reddit

Yeah, polyurethane is hard as a rock.

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Halorym@reddit

Halfway through that thought, they were already made illegal in California.

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_TheCheddarwurst_@reddit

You do know that the state of California is known to the state of California to cause cancer to the state of California, right?

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Traveller7142@reddit

They should’ve just coated them in radium paint

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OarsandRowlocks@reddit

They were limited by the technology of their time.

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x_x-O_o-x_x@reddit

Please, you might inspire someone, imagine all these behemoth pavement princesses with 10,000 Lumen tires.

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Busterlimes@reddit

Money isn't the issue, legality is.

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TacoRedneck@reddit

I imagine the tread would be covered in road tar and other dirt in no time, making that part not even glow. So I guess if you made the treads out of normal tire and just left the sidewalls to glow, it might work.

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Opinionatedcritic@reddit

Yo wait this would be a badass thing in a retro futuristic series, why haven't these been introduced in fallout or something?

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Scafidel@reddit

My Corvair never had tires like that!👀

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coltonkotecki1024@reddit

How much cancer did these cause? These just scream “extra double cancer” to me.

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Neat_Welcome6203@reddit

I remember seeing these at the Petersen and being mindblown

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dagogglesdonothing18@reddit

That looks like Kelen Coleman

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zachrywd@reddit

"Hey Murphy, how do we advertise this?"

"I know Floyd! How about we get dame to hike her skirt up so we can see her pretty little legs!?"

"...Damnit Murphy, you're a genius!"

Weird wheels from a weird time.

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logunleonov@reddit

Literal weird wheels

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No_Cook2983@reddit

Pfft. My brake rotors do that all the time.

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amongtheskies@reddit

Underrated comment. Don't stop... the good posts.

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Discretionaverted@reddit

*Wired

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shmiddleedee@reddit

Weird tires really

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_frombalkanswithlove@reddit

More like weird tires.

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Primary-Signature-17@reddit

Great photograph, though.

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nevemno@reddit

I was thinking more weird than great

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Primary-Signature-17@reddit

To each their own. :)

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youknow99@reddit

Most appropriate post this sub has ever seen.

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VelkaFrey@reddit

You know what, having a small strip around the side isn't the worst idea

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Graymetaldoor@reddit

The peterson automotive museum has this tire displayed in their history of the tire display, also check out klairmont collection for the car these are still currently on

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Whole-Debate-9547@reddit

It’s hard to market nuclear tires

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space-queer@reddit

honestly kinda fucked up that these aren’t made anymore, LEDs could probably work pretty well for this type of thing

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ThePurpleCookies@reddit

It’d be cool to see a modern version that tied to your brake lights and turn signals. Probably not very useful but cool.

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andychef@reddit (OP)

Right? Like the rears could glow red under braking

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Broad_Parsnip7947@reddit

Maybe just mounted on the rims

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jimmayy5@reddit

Honestly I rlly wish someone would make these they’d be very cool, like modern under glow

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TarzansNewSpeedo@reddit

Actually, during times with shitty weather, might be easier to see than some of these diminutive rear lights

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gtk4158a@reddit

Boy she has big feet...not a fan of the really big ones

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Von2014@reddit

Looks even better on the Golden Sahara. I believe as these guys were refurbishing it, they reached out to Goodyear to make the tires and did. They used LEDs inside that were far better (of course).

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Navalreaper@reddit

Reminds me of the concept car, Golden Sahara II, but not blinged out

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tetzy@reddit

For those wondering, the light wasn't just possible when the car was sitting, it lit the tires while in motion as well.

The lights were mounted to the wheel rim itself, and were powered by that cord seen hanging down in the picture. That power cord had a fitting that ran inside the ring attached to the hubcap.

As the wheel spun, the fitting would stay largely stationary providing steady(ish) power as the car moved.

Apparently, aside from public disinterest, one the reasons the idea was nixed was that as the fitting wore, it would intermittently spark and they worried about the potential fire hazard of a car with the possibility of starting grass fires as it drove down the highway.

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