Can You Save Money With Lower Rolling Resistance Tires
Low rolling resistance tires are supposed to be more fuel-efficient and therefore save you money by improving your miles per gallon. The question a lot of people ask is, do they actually work, or is it just a gimmick that companies are using to sell more tires? That’s the question that has stumped a lot of drivers over the years.
What Is a Low Rolling Resistance Tire?
To answer that question, let’s first define what rolling resistance is. In areport by the National Research Council, rolling resistance was defined as the measure of force at the axle in the direction of travel required to make a loaded tire roll. What that basically means is that rolling resistance measures the amount of force required to get your vehicle to move. A low rolling resistance tire reduces the amount of force required to get your vehicle to move. If you can move a vehicle with less force, it will be more fuel-efficient.
Can Low Rolling Resistance Tires Actually Save You Money?
The answer to that question is yes, they actually can improve your fuel efficiency and save you money. Consumer Reports tested two different brands of all-season tires with low rolling resistance. They tested the Michelin Energy Saver AS and the Cooper GFE.
According to Consumer Reports both of these tires were more fuel-efficient thanstandard tires and in their tests, the Michelin tire performed best. According to their tests, you could improvefuel efficiency by up to 3 miles per gallon on the highway and that could equate to a savings of approximately $100per year.
A Couple of Things to Watch out for
It’s important that you do a little bit of research before you purchase your tires. Consumer Reports has tested some low rolling resistance tires in the past that did not perform well in some of their routine tests.
Some of the tests they performed in the past measured how long it would take for a car to stop on dry pavement and another test measured stopping distance on wet pavement. Not all tires performed equally but they did say that the Michelin tires performed exceptionally well, not only in improving fuel efficiency, but also in their wet and dry braking tests.
It’s also important that you keep your tires properly inflated. If your tires do not have the proper air pressure it will increase the amount of energy required to get your car rolling and effectively eliminate any benefit you get from purchasing low rolling resistance tires. If you do keep them properly inflated, you can see a marked increase in fuel efficiency.
Another point to consider is the cost of the tires themselves. You may be able to save $100 per year at the gas pump, but the tires themselves are going to be more expensive than a standard tire. You may be able to save a bit of money by using low rolling resistance tires but one other thing to keep in mind is your impact on the environment. Because low rolling resistance tires improve fuel efficiency, you will effectively be reducing your pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. So in addition to saving some money on fuel costs, you can also slightly reduce your impact on the environment.