Fuel efficient tires have a lower rolling resistance than
conventional tires which translates into a greater fuel mileage for your
car and money saved at the pump for you. Their makers claim there are no
disadvantages of the revolutionary green rubber. If this is true then these
new economical car tires are a no brainer.
Fuel efficient cars and green cars are big business right now so its not surprising that tire manufacturers want some of the action. As well as saving you money tire manufacturers are also starting to heavily market the fact that these new tires will benefit the planet enormously. The biggest makers in the green tire market include Michelin, Hankook and Bridgestone.
So how do their fuel efficient tires work? Around 20% of a car's fuel use is due to friction from its tires. The rubber compound used in the new efficient tires contains silica which reduces friction between the molecules of the tire. Therefore less energy is wasted and you get a better fuel economy.
Michelin's efficient tire is called the Green-X and these tires already
account for 70% of Michelin's range. Green-X tires are available from 13
inches to 17 inches and for a wide range of cars. You could call Michelin
the innovator of this technology because they've actually been selling low
rolling resistance tires since 1992. Michelin say that in some cases their
fuel efficient tires have more grip than conventional tires: 'They get up
to operating temperature faster and maintain a more uniform temperature,
which is better for grip.' In Michelin's own case studies they found their
low rolling resistance tires saved between 4 and 8% on fuel costs and lasted
25% longer than normal tires.
Hankook's green tire is the Enfren. Hankook say the Enfren has 20% less rolling resistance than standard tires which results in a fuel saving of between 2 to 7.5%.
Bridgestone's low fuel consumption tire is called the Ecopia, available in 14 to 17 inch sizes. Bridgestone's testing reveals an average fuel efficiency improvement of 3.3%.
Thats what the manufacturers say about them but how good are these tires really? Well the first disadvantage to them is price. Fuel efficient tires cost around 15 to 25% more than the equivalent standard tires. So any fuel saving needs to be offset against this.
Drive.com.au have done some pretty thorough testing of the Bridgestone and Hankook tires. They found the Michelin low rolling resistance tire gave a 6% improvement in fuel efficiency and the Hankook Enfren registered a 4% improvement. They also found that grip and performance levels were comparable to standard tires. So eco tires definitely work, giving better fuel consumption for your car and saving carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. Lets see if these tires work out cheaper overall though factoring in their price. With an average car tire costing around $140 this means the low rolling resistance version will cost you around $170 on average. So it'll cost you an extra $120 to have four fitted to your car. Lets assume you get 25000 miles from the low rolling resistance tires. At 30 miles per gallon and a fuel price of $2.50 a gallon you'll spend a total of around $1970 over the life of the green tires on fuel. If you had standard tires fitted instead you'd spend around $2080. Thats only a saving of $110 and remember it'll cost you about that as a premium to have the efficient tires fitted in the first place.
The bottom line is don't expect to save heaps of money by purchasing
fuel
efficient tires however look at it like this - they are more environmentally
friendly so you can do something positive for the environment without it
costing you anything. Of course if fuel prices rise above $3 or you drive
a car that only gets 20 miles to the gallon then you will start to notice
some cost benefit. Also some fuel efficient tire manufacturers are saying
that they will last longer than ordinary tires. If this is true this is
another factor that would push the economics in their favour however no
independent testing has been done on their longevity.
More and more new cars are now being factory fitted with eco tires especially among environmentally friendly vehicles such as the Toyota Prius and Ford Fiesta Econetic. With green tires installed manufacturers can boast that over 10 years their cars will emit somewhere in the region of 3 to 6 tonnes less carbon dioxide. The trend of fitting fuel efficient tires to showroom cars is likely to increase as the tires gain more acceptance and trust amongst the public.