Italian motoring magazine Quattroruote has carried out an endurance test on Pirelli’s ‘Seal Inside’ tyre technology.
A set of Pirelli Cinturato All Season tyres featuring the self-sealing material were fitted to an Alfa Giulietta 1.4 Turbo 105CV, and the testers then stuck a four millimetre thick nail and a self-tapping screw into the front right tyre.
The Alfa Giulietta was subsequently driven for close to five and a half hours at an average speed of 84 km/h. After covering 452 kilometres, the testers concluded that the damaged “All Season ran safely and quietly throughout the entire trip.”
During the journey, pressure within the damaged tyre decreased by only 0.1 bar compared with that in the undamaged tyres.
“The filling pressure in the pierced tyre was only slightly different even after several days,” reported Quattroruote.
At the end of one week the air pressure in the undamaged tyres were 2.24 bar, while that in the damaged tyre was 2.14 bar.
Pirelli’s ‘Seal Inside’ technology employs a layer of sealant underneath the tyre’s tread and casing. This layer is contained within a thin cover of nylon that prevents the sealant from dispersing and protects it from grime. When a foreign body penetrates the tyres and pierces the casing, the sealant immediately encloses it and hermetically seals the puncture, thereby preventing air from exiting the tyre.
At the same time, the sealant protects the steel belt against water and rust. Should the foreign body be ejected from the tyre, the tyre’s internal pressure simply pushes the sealant further into the puncture hole and closes it.
Pirelli already supplies tyres equipped with ‘Seal Inside’ to Volkswagen as original equipment for several models, including the new Touran and Passat.
Source: http://www.tyrepress.com/2015/07/pirelli-seal-inside-tyres-perform-well-in-endurance-test/
