2-Tire Wheels Draw Double Takes : Shop Owners Hope Head-Turning Innovation Catches On
For Salvador Soto and Ray Lopez, the fun begins when they get on the freeway.
Passing drivers do a double take when they notice that Soto’s Mercedes-Benz and Lopez’s Porsche have two tires on each wheel.
But the two men are hoping the new concept for passenger cars will draw more than long looks. They recently opened the Auto Boutique in Cypress and became the nation’s first retailers of the twin-tire wheels.
The radical system, developed in Switzerland, uses special Italian-made wheels with mounting grooves for two British-made Avon radial tires, which together give the car an eight-inch-wide footprint. The small gap between the two tires allows rainwater to escape and cooling air to flow around the brakes.
Owned Porsche Garage
“Jerry Juhan (a Czech-born engineer) came up with the idea three years ago,” said Soto, 43. A native of Guatemala, Soto came to the United States in 1960 to race motorcycles and later became a racing mechanic for Vasek Polak, an Hermosa Beach auto dealer and race car owner. For 15 years Soto owned and operated a Porsche repair garage in Hawthorne. He sold it in October to finance the twin-tire venture.
Soto, who lives in Buena Park, has invested $200,000 in inventory in hopes of making the eight-wheelers a common sight on California roads.
Besides improved stability and cornering, the twin-tire wheels improve control on wet roads by preventing hydroplaning and allow a driver to press on without changing tires if one of the pair should get a blowout, said Lopez, a native of Cuba who lives in Inglewood. The increased traction apparently comes from a doubling of the amount of tire “shoulder,” or edge, that can grip the pavement.
“You’re always in control,” said Soto, explaining a German- and French-narrated video showing cars outfitted with the new wheels and tires racing through tight turns without slipping or skidding.
Not Widely Known
Also, because of reduced stress, each of the eight tires lasts longer than a comparable single tire, Soto said. And there’s no need to carry a spare, he said.
The twin-tire concept for passenger cars is so new that many auto industry analysts haven’t yet heard of it.
Bob Ulrich, assistant editor of Modern Tire Dealer, a monthly trade magazine based in Akron, Ohio, said that the publication’s correspondent in Europe did report that tests on the twin tires indicate advantages in handling and hydroplaning prevention.
If the system works as billed, it could find a market because drivers are becoming more safety conscious, said John Hemphill, an independent auto industry-consultant based in Westlake Village.
At $1,200 to $2,500 for a set of four wheels and eight tires, Soto and Lopez don’t expect great demand for the twin-tire wheels from owners of 1973 station wagons. But they reckon there are enough luxury and performance cars in Southern California to build a thriving business.
Limited Availability
The wheels are now only available for BMWs, Porsches, Mercedes, Audis and a few other cars. But, later this year, the Swiss company that developed the system, JJD (Jerry Juhan Development), will introduce twin-tire wheels to outfit Honda Preludes, Toyota Celicas and Volkswagen Golfs. Next year, the company plans to expand its product line to include wheels for Jaguars, Alfa Romeos, Ferraris, Chevrolet Corvettes and Pontiac Fieros.
The dual-tire wheel is one of a number of innovations in the tire industry, which has been dealt a combination punch in the last decade by aggressive competition from overseas and the shift to longer-lasting radial tires.
Recent developments in tires have been refinements of the radial tire, which lasts longer than bias tires because the radial’s flexible sidewalls allow more of the tread to stay in contact with the road during a turn.
Bridgestone Corp. recently introduced its Rolling Contour Optimization Theory tire, a radial with rounded sides that don’t compress on the road as traditional radials do.
“These tires are built in the shape it will be on the road,” said Al Goldberg, a spokesman for the company.
Tokyo-based Bridgestone, whose U.S. operations are based in Torrance, claims the new design offers greater performance and fuel economy.
Other new tire designs include “roll-flat” tires that stay on the wheel rim if punctured to allow a car to be driven 50 miles or more after a puncture. Perfection of the roll-flat tires could allow car makers to eliminate the spare tire, saving weight, expense and cargo space.
