cc Bob Jagendorf
Little-known fact: for gas mileage, tires matter. New research from the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute (summarized here) shows that tires with low “rolling resistance” boost gas mileage by up to 8.3 percent.
Over time, that can add up to substantial savings. According to the authors of the UMTRI study: “The difference in the cost of fuel consumed usingtires at the two extremes of rolling resistance is $147 per year.” And what’s especially good news here is that low rolling-resistance tires are cheap: the California Air Resources Board estimates that they cost between $0 and $50 per tire more than a typical tire—costs that are easily made up by the long-term fuel savings.
UMTRI’s findings aren’t that unusual. There are plenty of other studies over the years that have yielded very similar results. (See, e.g., here.) And as far as I know, there’s no evidence that low rolling resistance has any adverse impact on tire performance.
So why aren’t these tires ubiquitous?
My only relevant tire-buying experience comes from a few years back, when a tire salesman tried to tell me that tires have no bearing on fuel efficiency. Back in 2010, Consumer Reports noted that only one tire buyer in 50 pays attention to fuel efficiency when buying a tire. And it didn’t help that the US congress banned any federal rules that would have informed buyers about the efficiency impacts of their tire choices.
Still, that ban was reversed, and a federal consumer information rule is now in place. But I’d still wager that most people don’t really think too hard about fuel efficiency when buying new tires.
What we may have here, then, is a case in which giving people more information may not be helpful. Perhaps it’s simply a case of information overload: faced with a decision they make only once in a blue moon, and where there are dozens of choices and factors to consider, many consumers simply shut down, and use some simple heuristic—purchase price, or the recommendations of a salesperson, or brand reputation—when a more nuanced decision would yield a better result.
A behavioral economist of the world might say that consumers need a nudge to point them towards a smarter decision. But from what I’ve seen over the years—all the research into efficient tires, all the articles in the automotive press about money that consumers can save, and all the continued indifference by tire buyers—I’m less and less interested in giving a nudge to tire buyers, and far more intrigued by giving a shove to tire manufacturers.
Wells
Well, if all you aim to achieve is an 8.3% improvement in mileage, screw you. FYI, “PLUG-IN HYBRID” should be Sightline’s ONLY discussion about fuel efficiency. Going from Hybrid to Plug-in Hybrid DOUBLES effective mileage. Hello?
Their single, suitcase-size battery pack best
matches photovoltiac rooftop solar energy panels.
All-BATTERY & Hydrogen fuel cell EVs lull
motorists to WRONGLY believe that driving,
can be carried out as usual, as far as we please,
like chickens with our heads cut off.
Exotic flights across the nation and globe.
Shipping and trucking goods from afar,
with unsustainable, uninhabitable fuels,
burned and burned to generate electricity,
instead of rooftop solar panels.
Tires should be matched to need.
Frickinggoddamncars are insanely replicating,
andshitting on the world.
Steve Erickson
Believe it or not, there are a lot of motor vehicles already out there. And a lot of people driving them who cannot afford 10s of thousands of dollars for a new car of any sort, gas, hybrid, or electric. You see, many people never ever buy a NEW car. Someday, the vehicle consumer feeding chain will be sufficiently loaded so that used EVs filter down to the large class of us at the bottom of the economic pyramid. But until then . .
And anyway, why are you talking about cars, you retrograde! Mass transit only. And until then, do’t go anywhere or do anything that you can’t do on foot, with a bicycle, or pack animal.
RDPence
My concern with low-rolling-resistance tires has been tread life. In 2010, the factory original tires on my Prius were shot at 50K miles. I replaced them with Michelins at Costco for about $500. For that price, I had a choice between the LRR tires with a 50K treadlife, or the non-LRR tires with a 90K treadlife.
I did the math, and the fuel savings did not offset the shorter lifespan. I was money-ahead to go with the 90K tires, which I did. However, I have heard that the newer Michelin LRR tires have a significantly better tread life expectancy, so hopefully the math has changed for the better.
Clark Williams-Derry
Interesting! I’d love to know if that’s a common experience.
There was a study about a decade ago that didn’t find much of a correlation between tire traction, tire wear, and rolling resistance. Instead, it found a wide variation in tire quality — some tires had low rolling resistance and good tread life, and some had high rolling resistance and poor tread life. There were 3 tires that had very good overall performance, even though they had high rolling resistance…but other than that, there was no apparent correlation between rolling resistance and tire quality in other areas.
Still, that’s an old result. I’d be curious if other people have had the same experience as you!
RDPence
Well, like you implied in your piece, most people don’t do the math, or at least not very much of it. If they are low-income, they buy the cheapest tires. If price is less of a concern, they buy the longest-lived tires.
My concerns were lowest overall operating cost per mile, plus keeping used tire carcasses out of the landfill. And I would discount any tire study as old as 10 years. There have been so many advances in the industry, there is little value there today.
JA Roberts
Another issue, especially for those of us east of the Cascades, is slick weather performance of LRR’s. I would love to ban studs (doesn’t seem to be the political will to make that happen) but we still need a tire that can grip 3 out of 4 seasons. When I switch to my winter tires (studless but still considered traction tires by WADOT/ODOT) my milage suffers significantly. So something like this may not math out if it’s just used part time and has limited life.
J. Trupin
It would also be nice if putting air in the tires wasn’t a monumental pain in the butt. It’s like they haven’t updated those air pumps since 1952.
Farmer V
For Wells and Steve. I take it you two eat food. I’m an old farmer and I need to take some of my produce to market. I have to drive a van that holds way more than it should in order to get to the market. I’m old and can walk, but not very far. I live in the tules, with no mass transit. What do you suggest for people like me that can’t walk far, and can’t bike, (not enough air gets to my lungs.) I appreciate your comments for young, healthy people, but don’t forget about the geezers that still can work.
westomoon
Eleven years ago, my Civic Hybrid came with these low-R tires. I was worried about tread life and winter traction, but they’ve been juts fine for both. So a couple of years ago, when it was time to replace the tires, I went for low-R again. I swear they were actually cheaper than standard tires would’ve been. It’s all been quite a nice surprise.