121 Ways to Save Fuel: Tires

1) Buy fuel-efficient tires

Getting the right tire at the right wheel position can improve fuel economy by several percentage points.

About 13% of each gallon of fuel consumed goes solely to overcoming rolling resistance. That can vary by the load on the tire, the tread pattern and of course, inflation pressure.

“The relationship between rolling resistance and fuel consumption is about 8:1,” says Rick Phillips, senior director of sales, commercial and OTR products at Yokohama Tire. “An 8% reduction in tire rolling resistance will result in a 1% savings in fuel consumption.”

Various wheel positions have different impacts on fuel economy.

“On a tractor-trailer combination, the steer tires contribute 15-20% to fuel economy, drive tires 30-40% and trailer tires about 40-50%,” says William Estupinan, vice president of technical service for Giti Tire USA. “The first priority for a fleet interested in saving a significant amount of money is to start moving toward fuel-efficient tires for the trailer axles.”

A tight rib pattern, thinner tread — 12/32- to 20/32-inch of tread depth — and advanced compounding make today’s trailer tires very fuel-efficient.
With drive tires, traction and durability are higher on the list of priorities. But traction hasn’t really suffered in a significant way in the quest for lower rolling resistance, manufacturers say.

Learn more at: http://www.truckinginfo.com/article/story/2014/06/121-ways-to-save-fuel-tires.aspx