Donut Media has filmed a really entertaining and insightful video demonstrating the progress in automotive tire manufacturing over the past century. The crew sourced a set of vintage Ford Model A rubber tires and compared them against normal Toyo Proxes, as well as air-free Michelin Tweels.
The first challenge they encountered was a format mismatch. The ancient wheels and tires just didn’t fit onto a modern car, necessitating the installation of countless spacers. The same had to be repeated for the Michelins.
When everything was ready, the first test showed that the centennial Ford tires weren’t good at all at braking. The Michelin Tweels were middling at best, while the Proxes were good. The Toyo set proved the fastest for acceleration as well, with the Model A and the airless tires showing an almost identical result.
Watch the full video for another couple of tests and unexpected conclusions.