There are tire nflation valves that display pressure now; just use an ambient vehicle vibration pumping effect to gradually pressurize tires to omptimize MPG
just thinking the US: amusingly each mpg of efficency is the equivalent of more than ten million vehicle fuel supply-- beanangel, Dec 17 2007 like this [gtoal] but eentsy at the valve self-inflating_20tyre [beanangel, Dec 17 2007] Tweel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TweelThe tire uses no air and therefore cannot burst or become flat. [ed, Dec 17 2007] "Problems With Tires" http://auto.howstuffworks.com/tire5.htm [BJS, Dec 17 2007] [+] The whole concept of inflatable radial tires seems a bit 20th century to me. But until the Tweel takes the stage, perhaps this could work.
When you say "vibration" do you mean oscillating a weight up and down as the tire rotates? It might make wheel balancing difficult.-- ed, Dec 17 2007 What is the last paragraph supposed to mean?-- BJS, Dec 17 2007 'Optimum MPG pressure' is the same as 'maximum pressure'. Just pump them up and be done with it.-- Texticle, Dec 17 2007 It's dangerous though, to over-inflate your tires.-- BJS, Dec 17 2007 Indeed, but most people wouldn't know overinflation if it slapped them in the face.-- Texticle, Dec 17 2007 Treon! Deeply welbode! Longly manytimes no see!
I do like the idea, if I understand it correctly. Instead of using vibration, just use the flexing of the tyre - some sort of strip which ran either across the tread or around the circumference (but inside the tyre, obviously) and pumped air in a pulsatile manner as the wheel turned.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 17 2007 This is a great idea, but it would have to be self setable and auto bleeding, so that the tires stay at the correct pressure for the car, not the max of the tire, in hot and cold weather.-- MisterQED, Dec 17 2007 random, halfbakery