Green Seal has released another of their well-researched reports, this time covering “Low Rolling Resistance Tires“.
The reports presents previously unpublished data on leading tires that
have low rolling resistance. But what is rolling resistance exactly? It’s a measurement of how easily the tire rolls down the road —
minimizing the energy wasted as heat between the tire and the road,
within the tire sidewall itself, and between the tire and the rim.
Green Seal found that rolling resistance differences of 20 to 30%
are not uncommon among tires of an otherwise similar size, type, and
level of performance. This means an individual vehicle could save up to
6% of its gasoline use if it were fitted with very efficient tires,
paying for the additional cost in about one year.
In other words, a typical
compact car such as a Ford Focus can improve its mileage from 30 mpg to
32 mpg simply by using lower rolling resistance tires. For a car
averaging 15,000 miles per year the fuel savings is about $50 (at $1.50
per gallon).
Some of the tires which received top recommendations were: Bridgestone B381, Nokian NRT2 and Sumitomo HTR 200.
More info: Green Seal Report (PDF File)
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