Tire mousse is a component in certain types of off-road

run-flat tire A run-flat tire/tyre is a pneumatic vehicle tire that is designed to resist the effects of deflation when punctured, and to allow the vehicle to continue to be driven at reduced speeds - under – and for limited distances – usually , depending ...

s, designed to allow them to maintain functionality despite a puncture. It is a ring of flexible foam that is placed inside a tire before it is fitted on the rim.Run-Flat Mousse Tyres In Detail Motorsport.com
The original run-flat mousse, called Bib-Mousse, was developed in 1984 by Michelin, for use on motorbikes in enduro, rally-raid and motocross events. In 1987, Michelin debuted its ATS system (Appui Temporaire Souple, or Flexible Temporary Support) on the works

Renault 11 Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *' ...

s of

Jean Ragnotti Jean "Jeannot" Ragnotti (born 29 August 1945 in Pernes-les-Fontaines, Vaucluse), is a French former rally driver for Renault in the World Rally Championship. Ranking among his achievements are his conquering of the Monte Carlo Rally in 1981, w ...

and

François Chatriot François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

on the Acropolis Rally. It won the Technological Innovation Award in 1988.

Use

The mousse is compressed as soon as the tire is inflated. Once the tire begins being used, it heats up and becomes primed for use. In the event of an air leak, and subsequent loss of pressure, the mousse expands to fill the void, giving a pressure almost equal to that of a properly inflated tire. Mousse is used on cars and motorcycles in certain types of

off-road racing Off-road racing is a form of motorsports consisting of specially-modified vehicles including cars, SUVs, trucks, motorbikes, quadbikes and buggies racing in off-road environments (e.g. snow, dirt, mud, etc.). North America Desert racing Desert ...

such as the

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally (or simply "The Dakar"; formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally") is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal ...

.WRC: Pirelli's gravel tyre gets 'green light'
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Bib-Mousse

''Bib-Mousse'' is a Tire mousse made by French tire manufacturer Michelin. The Bib-Mousse was named after Michelin's well-known mascot,

Bibendum Bibendum (), commonly referred to in English as the Michelin Man or Michelin Tyre Man, is the official mascot of the Michelin tyre company. A humanoid figure consisting of stacked white tyres, it was introduced at the Lyon Exhibition of 1894 w ...

. It is a

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

butyl In organic chemistry, butyl is a four- carbon alkyl radical or substituent group with general chemical formula , derived from either of the two isomers (''n''-butane and isobutane) of butane. The isomer ''n''-butane can connect in two ways, gi ...

honeycomb

foam Foams are materials formed by trapping pockets of gas in a liquid or solid. A bath sponge and the head on a glass of beer are examples of foams. In most foams, the volume of gas is large, with thin films of liquid or solid separating the ...

with its cells filled with

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

. It has a smooth-molded outer skin that is designed to slip into specific size off-road motorcycle tires.

References

{{Tires, state=collapsed Tires Automotive technologies Mousse