A modular tire is designed to keep its casing and replace only the tread when it wears out. UC3M’s ECOTIRE project has produced and tested a scaled prototype, but it is not a tire shown to be approved or available for purchase. The waste reduction is a design goal, not a measured fleet-scale result. Tire sensing is a related field, but the cited sensing systems are separate from ECOTIRE.
How a modular tire is designed to work
Conventional tires are made as integrated assemblies: when the tread wears down, the tire is generally replaced as a whole. ECOTIRE takes a different engineering approach. It mechanically interlocks a removable tread with a casing intended to remain in use, rather than relying on the conventional permanent chemical bond. The aim is to replace the wear-prone part while retaining the main body of the tire.
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Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) reported on 6 October 2026 that its ECOTIRE prototype uses a silicone tread and that the tread represents less than 20% of the tire’s total weight in the project’s design. That is the university’s figure for this prototype, not a universal proportion for all tires. It also does not, by itself, establish how much material or cost a fleet would save over a tire’s life.
What ECOTIRE testing has shown
Manufacturing a scaled prototype
A January 2026 paper in Sustainability describes the first manufacturing realization of the ECOTIRE concept: a reduced-scale prototype with a reusable casing and mechanically interlocked removable tread, made using a low-cost molding process. This demonstrates prototype manufacture, not a production tire approved for public-road use.
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Rolling behavior in a laboratory
A 2026 study in Measurement evaluated a reduced-scale prototype on a dedicated rolling rig. At a nominal pressure of 1 bar, the tread remained continuously engaged with the casing across the combinations tested. At 0.5 bar, localized and reversible separation occurred when high load, a small rolling radius, and a nonzero slip angle were combined.
During the study’s rolling test, the prototype completed more than 12,000 revolutions, corresponding to more than 7 km. Inspection found no visible external damage, and tread mass variation was below 0.1 g. These are results from that reduced-scale laboratory test; they do not establish road performance, long-term durability, or a service-life guarantee. The pressure-dependent interface behavior also means the result should not be simplified to a claim that the tread cannot detach.
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Would modular tires reduce waste?
Keeping a casing in service while replacing a worn tread could reduce the amount of tire material discarded per replacement. That is the logic behind ECOTIRE’s sustainability aim. But the cited reports do not establish a measured lifecycle carbon saving, commercial cost saving, or fleet-scale waste reduction. The project’s reported tread-weight share is not enough to calculate those outcomes: a full assessment would also need evidence about casing life, replacement frequency, manufacturing, maintenance, and end-of-life handling.
How tire sensing relates to the idea
Sensing tire condition or road conditions is a separate capability from making a tread replaceable. The cited manufacturer examples show that companies have explored sensing, but they do not show that ECOTIRE’s prototype includes commercially available road-condition monitoring.
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| Example | What the source describes | Evidence and status |
|---|---|---|
| ECOTIRE, UC3M | Mechanically attached removable tread and reusable casing. | Scaled prototype with laboratory rolling results; no retail availability established. |
| Toyo Tire, 2020 | Sensors and AI to estimate tire wear, load, and road condition. | Toyo reported test-course testing and said public-road data collection was underway; this is a separate sensing effort. |
| Bridgestone CAIS, 2014 | In-tire sensors and vehicle-mounted analysis to estimate tread depth and uneven wear. | A manufacturer-described sensing technology, not evidence of ECOTIRE’s removable-tread architecture. |
| Hankook HPS-Cell | A future mobility concept combining replaceable-tread ideas with tire sensing. | A concept, not a product shown for sale; Hankook notes that parts in prototype or mock-up illustrations are not actual production tire features. |
The examples are not interchangeable. UC3M’s work concerns the mechanical tread-to-casing connection; Toyo and Bridgestone describe sensing; Hankook presents a separate concept that combines ideas from both areas.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Can you buy an ECOTIRE tire or replacement tread?
The cited UC3M and journal reports document research prototypes, not a retail tire, compatible replacement tread, installation service, or service network. They do not establish that ECOTIRE is available to consumers. Hankook’s HPS-Cell is likewise described as a future concept rather than a product currently on sale.
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For a conventional tire, a tread-depth gauge can help check tread wear, but it cannot assess a modular tread-to-casing interlock or detect road conditions. Those tasks require capabilities not established for a consumer ECOTIRE product.
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