Would you run Michelins anymore? Or any tire that uses recycled plastic?

[Burla]

With all that complexity during the manufacturing process, I'm shocked we don't pay more for tires. Shh, I never said that out loud.

That was a cool video. The video in the link below adds a few more details to the manufacturing process.

How a Tire is Built

Check out the complexity and components that make up a tire. It's a bit more complicated than most people think. Hopefully this video helps showcase the tech...

www.youtube.com

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good find, so plastic in tires become elastic when they have that process of heat/water/stretching.

 

[Fuelie]

I won't say either way. I will say I go thru a set of tires every 14 months or so. On my 21 Limited I was disappointed with Michelin tires. My first set had to be replaced under warranty due to tread wear, my second pair with 30K wasn't looking good when I traded in for my new 23.
My 23 Limited has Perellies (SP) they are wearing very good at 23K on them and they are quiet.
I will put a new set on at beginning of winter and I will try something different this time.
Tom

 

[RamDiver]

good find, so plastic in tires become elastic when they have that process of heat/water/stretching.

It almost sounds like smoke a mirrors. I'd bet they discovered most of this process after a long liquid lunch, late on a Friday afternoon.

Hey, let's see what this does. Hold my beer and watch this!

.

 

[Burla]

Hydrolase

So under their classifications I do not see anything on plastic bonds but many other bonds they break. Maybe wiki will have it breaking plastic bonds to make plastic bonds someday, since it is new maybe not out in the ether yet.

However, Hydrolase secreted by Lactobacillus jensenii in the human gut, so maybe the answer has been in our stomach all along. So this enzyme will break up the plastics and I guess they found a way to put them back together and that bond is as good as when the yogurt cup was first made.

The first round of tires according to them comes from yogurt cups...

The first Michelin tires to be made up of recycled yogurt cups and PET bottles will be hitting the road by 2024. According to Michelin, around four million PET bottles will be recycled every year to be used as raw material for tires. The Michelin teams at the IAA targets to collect enough plastic for the first 100 tires during the event.

The science 2020.

 

[RamDiver]

How It's Made: Car Tires

Stream Full Episodes of How It's Made:discovery+ ⺠https://www.discoveryplus.com/show/how-its-madeScience ⺠https://www.sciencechannel.com/tv-shows/how-its-m...

youtu.be

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On a side note and FYI, I just thought I'd mention... I'm not certain if I have Canada's C11 bill to thank for this but, I had to use a VPN to see this video.

This happens much more than it once did.




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[ramffml]

This reminds me of Toyo(?) who put ground up walnut shells in their winter tires for traction. Always wondered if that was gimicky or genius.

 

[RamDiver]

This reminds me of Toyo(?) who put ground up walnut shells in their winter tires for traction. Always wondered if that was gimicky or genius.

The Toyo tires I had installed on a Hyundai Elantra GT were fantastic in the snow for such a lightweight vehicle.

I had also previously installed them on the former's previous car, a Saturn. I'd lean towards a genius move.

.

 

[Burla]

This reminds me of Toyo(?) who put ground up walnut shells in their winter tires for traction. Always wondered if that was gimicky or genius.

that's nuts.

 

[Docwagon1776]

I wonder why they ever used synthetic rubber in the first place, maybe poor rubber supply? Clearly, they can't use synthetic rubber to make the tire without layers of real rubber, at this point.

Diversity of supply chain, as I mentioned earlier. US military has been especially interested as there is zero significant supply of natural rubber domestically available. Imagine a military that can't source rubber gaskets, tires, etc. Now see where rubber can grow and is harvested.

The trees are picky about where they grow. China tried to plant huge swathes of them and they couldn't make them succesfully live despite massive resources put into the attempt. People have been trying to grow it at different lattitudes since vulcanization was discovered, if not sooner, but it's picky. The trees are also closely related genetically, a diseases that affects one will affect them all. Imagine a Dutch Elm disease or Irish Potato Famine equivalent running through the rubber plantations in SE Asia. How would that affect the global economy?

 

[Burla]

That is the best point for I've heard and that is what I am all about. That is why I don't understand childish statements such as global warming when it clearly isnt warming. What is the point of that? The point and should be the point, is that known reserves of petroleum are 40 years out, meaning 99% of all plastics will be gone with it. Now that is an argument, hearing about the united states "plastic" problem doesnt move the needle for me, but understanding be a stewart of resources I am all about it yes sir. Now, my question would be baby steps, I mean lets recycled yogurt cups into yogurt cups for a while, before we tackle tires. But I appreciate the heck out of that argument, and having a future military need does move the needle towards this exact issue imo. Military tech has led to so many consumer uses that enhance our lives it should be embraced.

 

[Docwagon1776]

That is the best point for I've heard and that is what I am all about. That is why I don't understand childish statements such as global warming when it clearly isnt warming. What is the point of that? The point and should be the point, is that known reserves of petroleum are 40 years out, meaning 99% of all plastics will be gone with it. Now that is an argument, hearing about the united states "plastic" problem doesnt move the needle for me, but understanding be a stewart of resources I am all about it yes sir. Now, my question would be baby steps, I mean lets recycled yogurt cups into yogurt cups for a while, before we tackle tires. But I appreciate the heck out of that argument, and having a future military need does move the needle towards this exact issue imo. Military tech has led to so many consumer uses that enhance our lives it should be embraced.

Known reserves of petroleum has been "running dry in a couple decades" for my entire life. The reserves don't run dry because known reserves continues to expand. The experts know that, it just gets lost in translation for laymen sometimes. New exploration opens up some, but more importantly new technology and higher prices make known, but formerly economically unviable options, exploitable. $20/barrel oil meant only easy to reach oil was profitable. $150/barrel an oil makes it worth while to get harder to access and lower grade (requiring more refining) and pays for more exploration. It's a moving metric. We'll never actually run out of oil, it will just become too expensive to extract vs alternatives at some point. When that point is reached, who knows? Will there be some new disruptive tech like fracking was?

Michelin doesn't give AF about yogurt cups. They don't have the luxury of governments and universities of being able to do proof of concept technology unconstrained by profit motive. They know oil is going to get more expensive and are responding to such. Same reason I invest so heavily in energy infrastructure to fund my retirement income. It's not going away before I die, it's only going to get more pricey.

 

[Shawn Burns]

Have run Michelins on various vehicies since the 70s. I doubt they would risk their entire reputation on bad tires that they are so publicly featuring as their way forward. Won't know for sure how good recycled tires are till we get some experience with them, but given their track record, I am willing to bet on Michelin being more right than wrong.

We live in a strange world. If companies only cared about producing a great product, profits, and reputation, how could you explain Bud light alienating nearly their whole market with one silly add? Social credit is a thing that influences a company's decisions, especially in France.

 

[RamDiver]

I personally replaced my michelins with cross tech michelins on the wife's car

Would those tires be the Michelin Cross Climate?

I would never use them on my truck but they might be useful on a car. I'm curious about people's experience using them.

Has Michelin Created The Best All Season Tire? Rain, Sun, or Snow!

Can One Tire Really Work In Every Climate? Michelin CrossClimate2 Is Made For Any Weather3-Peak Mountain Snowflake Tire That You Can Use Year Round - Sponsor...

www.youtube.com

.

 

[Dyeelitt]

I put the Crossclimate on my 2018 Explorer and they were terrible. Harsh ride, and noisy. after a month I went back and they swapped them for the Michelin X LT AS. this is what we had previously but thought I would try the crossclimate becasue of the 3 peak rating. I’m planning on putting on the Defender X LT As on my 2022 1500 limited.

 

[KingJ2]

Michelin has one of the best reputations in the business. I doubt that will change with this transition to recycled plastics.

P.S. I currently run Michelin AT2, and I am very happy with them

 

[Dean2]

We live in a strange world. If companies only cared about producing a great product, profits, and reputation, how could you explain Bud light alienating nearly their whole market with one silly add? Social credit is a thing that influences a company's decisions, especially in France.

If you fail to understand that large companies MUST react to the world around them, I won't be able to explain it to you. Every company would love to concentrate solely on making a great product and serving its clients well. That is no longer enough in today's world. Fail to grow, innovate and understand the direction things are headed and you go broke. There is a reason every major oil producer has a renwable enrgy arm now. Kodak never thought Digital would replace film, wrong. When is the last time you saw a VHS video, last time you used a pay phone and on it goes.

Do companies like Bud Light make big expensive mistakes, absolutely, but so do the ones that don't adapt. Look at bricks and mortar retail, those with no online option are dropping like flies.

I could go on much longer but the fact remains, Michelin has a long and great history of building great tires. Not recycling is not going to be an option in the near future; if anyone is going to get incorporating recycled material into their tire right, I would bet on them.

 

[RamDiver]

If you fail to understand that large companies MUST react to the world around them, I won't be able to explain it to you. Every company would love to concentrate solely on making a great product and serving its clients well. That is no longer enough in today's world. Fail to grow, innovate and understand the direction things are headed and you go broke. There is a reason every major oil producer has a renwable enrgy arm now. Kodak never thought Digital would replace film, wrong. When is the last time you saw a VHS video, last time you used a pay phone and on it goes.

Do companies like Bud Light make big expensive mistakes, absolutely, but so do the ones that don't adapt. Look at bricks and mortar retail, those with no online option are dropping like flies.

I could go on much longer but the fact remains, Michelin has a long and great history of building great tires. Not recycling is not going to be an option in the near future; if anyone is going to get incorporating recycled material into their tire right, I would bet on them.

While I completely agree with your POV, I don't plan to volunteer as a tire-testing guinea pig and will wait until I'm convinced the bugs have been ironed out.

.

 

[Dean2]

While I completely agree with your POV, I don't plan to volunteer as a tire-using guinea pig and will wait until I'm convinced the bugs have been ironed out.

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Fair point. Lucky for me, I don't have to decide, won't need tires on anything I would use Michelin on for two or three years at least. Like you, I can watch others do the road testing and see if I am right.

 

[Burla]

\

Would those tires be the Michelin Cross Climate?

I would never use them on my truck but they might be useful on a car. I'm curious about people's experience using them.

Has Michelin Created The Best All Season Tire? Rain, Sun, or Snow!

Can One Tire Really Work In Every Climate? Michelin CrossClimate2 Is Made For Any Weather3-Peak Mountain Snowflake Tire That You Can Use Year Round - Sponsor...

www.youtube.com

.

Yeah, we love them a lot, best tire ever. So be prepared to lose a couple mpg's but only for the first month, yes they are that grippy. But then I swear you will see mpg's go up, because my wife's commuter car is on a schedule I know to the number her mileage because every week I have to add gas from the can to make her week, so we avoid a trip to the station this way. When we first got the tires it was nearly 4.5 gallons everytime and we would get the gas warning light. Now no joke it is 3 gallons and we have never gotten the light. Because my wife drives so much she really programs in to the strategy of just driving to work and then home, we drive the truck on the weekends and odd trips. We don't have a winter on the new grip level year 2, so ask me in january how it went, but the first winter was unbelievable, you could NOT get these to break traction and for the record this was the raineist coldest longest winter I can remember in nor cal, and she travels to a rain forest for work, the redwood grove area of nor cal, which is why we bought them in the first place. I personally don't want the plastic gimmick at this time, so I don't know what we will do when these wear out.

I thought about them for the ram, but I am glad to be a part of this forum and the guys said that was a nono.

Now my position has changed since I started the thread, because I appreciate that angle about synthetic rubber and future military needs, great point. But I don't want it on the wife's car who travels extensively so our family can eat and have a roof. But I do see the value as a resource. What pizzes me off to endless extent, my state forces high cost of bottled anything, doesnt give you close to full value when you recycle and I go once a month to recycling center, and then they take the bottles I recycled and throw them into the dump. It is rather tragically funny that the most woke state can't even get recycling right. I really hope this technology takes off for so many uses, and I sure wish we had a place to store used plastic, which is likely the largest challenge.

 

[LeeD]

I don’t know Michelin’s process for recycling plastics but there are many different ways plastics can be recycled.
Before I retired the company I worked for was researching ways to convert the plastic waste back into the basic chemical compounds they originated from. At that point there wasn’t any difference between “new” chemicals and the recycled chemicals. Since the company is a huge chemical and plastic manufacturer they have a large stake in recycling used plastics for environmental concerns.
We, in Houston, were just a small part of the process while they also had research going in Germany and Italy too. They were also sharing technologies with most of the other large chemical and plastic manufacturers.
If Michelin is using the back to basic chemicals recycling technology I wouldn’t have any concerns about using their tires.