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Auto Motives

A self-inflating tire from Goodyear is poised to pump up mileage and safety.

REMIE GEOFFROI

Goodyear’s new tires receive small amounts of air as they rotate; a regulator keeps each tire inflated to the correct pressure.

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Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) says its Air Maintenance Technology, or AMT, is well on the way to making tire air pumps obsolete. As the tire revolves, says Jean-Claude Kihn, Goodyear’s chief technical officer, a small amount of air is pumped into the tire, and a regulator keeps the tire inflated to the correct pressure.

Last year, Goodyear says, it accelerated work on the AMT thanks to a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to design self-inflating tires for commercial trucks, and a second grant from Luxembourg’s government to develop the AMT for car tires. Besides freeing drivers from having to check their tires’ air pressure, the AMT will prevent problems resulting from underinflated tires — which, according to Goodyear, will mean a 2.5 percent to 3.3 percent increase in fuel mileage, a longer tire life and improved vehicle performance and safety.