Burst tyre control with safety wheel
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• The Avon Rubber Co Ltd has developed a safety wheel — initially for cars and carderived vans — which will, in the event of a puncture, enable a driver to maintain adequate control of a vehicle and bring it safely to rest.
The company has re-designed and repositioned the wheel well so that, except for tyre fitting and removal, it is completely covered. When the tyre is subjected to sudden deflation, the beads or inner rim cannot drop into the well; consequently the tyre will not roll over the flange and off the rim. Extensive tests using saloon cars have, says Avon, proved the safety of the wheel with blow-outs at speeds of 70 mph.
The wheel will accept all types of tubeless car tyre and will fit existing hubs. No additional seals or gaskets are required and fitting/removal is similar to present methods.
The well is smaller than in the wellbase rim, and is positioned close to one rim flange. To remove a deflated tyre from the rim the band has to be unlocked and the well uncovered.