The average tire lasts for 20,000 kilometers before it needs to be changed but let’s be honest, not every driver is keeping a precise count of the kilometers they’ve traveled since they last changed their car’s tires The Discolor Tyre addresses this issue with a rather simple idea – the tire changes color.
When a tire’s threads begin to wear down, the surface of ‘Discolor Tyres’ will begin to fade, showing up an orange hue. The orange rubber is a surface beneath the tire’s black casing, so at first a Discolor tire looks no different from a standard tire. However, after 20,000 kilometers or so, when the tires can no longer rub and have worn down, the orange will appear through the black casing, indicating to the driver that it’s time for a change.
Changing your tires at this time is important for your safety, first and foremost, and ‘Discolor Tyres’ allows you to keep an eye on the condition of your tires. Creating a little more vigilance on the part of the driver, the timely upkeep of tires will ultimately make for safer driving. The tire color change would also assist police in noticing any vehicles that are driving on dangerously worn down tires.
The designers of Discolor, Gao Fenglin and Zhou Buyi, have been lauded with the idea, winning the Red Dot concept design award. However, it doesn’t stand as a totally unique development. There is the already patented Colored Wear Indicator For Tires in the US, which changes to a multiple array of colors after time. Discolor aims to be a more effective update on an already proven method.
Irish journalist writing on business, tech and engineering.
