Tires & Fuel Economy – Understanding Rolling Resistance
Tires & Fuel Economy – Understanding Rolling Resistance
Paul Bruggeman - Tractor Tire Pro - Discount Tire Shop
Tires play an important role in vehicle fuel consumption. When a tire flexes while driving, friction is created when contacting the road. The more a tire flexes, the more friction is created. The more friction that is created, the more the wheel and tire lose driving energy. This loss of energy is causes additional power to be directed to the wheels in order to power a vehicle at the same continuous speed. The loss of energy from the tire flexing is referred to as “Rolling Resistance.”
Significant research has demonstrated that a connection exists rolling resistance in tires and vehicle fuel consumption. In many cases, a ten percent reduction in tire rolling resistance has shown to decrease fuel consumption by two percent. The Alternate Fuels Data Center has found that as much as fifteen percent of vehicle fuel consumption is expended simply compensating for rolling resistance itself.
How to Reduce Tire Rolling Resistance
To reduce rolling tire resistance, here are a few tips and guidelines. First, when shopping for tires, smoother tire tread patterns (generally) produce lower rolling resistance. However, it is important to keep in mind that smoother tire tread often does come at the cost of tire traction. Second, wider tires have more tire surface on the road for grip and absorbs more bumps, do have a slightly higher rolling resistance on perfectly smooth roads. That being said, they have also proven better on poor terrain and road conditions as they absorb bumps (and keep the tire in contact with the road) thus reducing overall rolling resistance on average by eliminating the resistance bumps typically cause (remember the flexing discussed earlier). Finally, tire pressure is one of the most important variables that effects rolling resistance. Keeping tires at optimum pressure for the terrain and road conditions can produce the lowest rolling resistance possible in everyday driving.
For more information or help with your tires, contact Paul at Tractor Tire Pros Discount Tire Shop