Tires

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by jester

Remember, alot of military vehicles use "runflat" tires. So that would lessen the need for some tire need. And tires and also be scavenged from other vehicles, I mean if you blow the front of a humvee to bits with say a 30mm, there is a good chance the two rear wheels will still be good to go.

Run-flats will only get you so far. They get hot fast once flat, the flat tire will shred and eventually fall off if you drive far enough on the run-flat part, and then you get rim damage, which in a Twilight 2000 context would be very hard to repair. Some run-flats basically get you only far enough to get you to the nearest tire store in a city, and most will only get you out of a jam if you're on a highway within a reasonable range of a garage. Military run-flats are rated for in some cases as little as 50 miles, and some may go as high as 500 miles. You'll be driving at 50-80% speed at max, and the vehicle (depending upon how many wheels it has) will pull to the side that is flat, increasing driver fatigue and making steering more difficult. And the ride will be rough, making life difficult for the passengers as well. Run-flats may save your life in an ambush, but you won't run very far.

[kalos72]

Long term this question is down to a few options. You either find a source of new tires through salvage or you find a source for rubber and start cottage industries to retread tires.

With all this talk about oil, I think it will be the smaller things that will stop the mechanized soceity that we live in today. The spare parts for crucial, seemingly insignificant now, systems, the highly specialized production of those parts and the foreign companies we deal with to get them.

Perhaps an trade route to Sri Lanka or Malaysia for new tires in exchange for oil?

I believe once rubber is hardened, it cant be melted down to it pure liquid state again...