Tires and Passenger Vehicle Fuel Economy Informing Consumers, Improving Performance -- Special Report 286 (2006) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 9-16
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From page 9... ...
Whether fuel prices will stabilize or fluctuate remains to be seen, but one apparent outcome of recent price instability is renewed interest among consumers and policy makers in vehicle fuel economy. Motor vehicles account for about half of the nation's petroleum usage, and about three-quarters of this fuel goes to the 220 million cars and light-duty trucks in the nation's passenger vehicle fleet (Davis and Diegel 2004, 1-17, 1-18, 3-7, 4-2, 4-3)
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From page 10... ...
This study examines the contribution of tires to vehicle fuel economy, the variability in energy performance among tires, and technical and economic issues associated with means of improving tire energy performance. The focus is on replacement tires designed for passenger cars as well as vehicles defined as light trucks and used mainly for personal transportation.
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From page 11... ...
Indeed, much can be learned from OE tires. Federal fuel economy regulations that apply to new passenger vehicles have prompted automobile manufacturers to demand tires that will exhibit lower rolling resistance when new equipment on vehicles is subjected to fuel economy testing.2 Moreover, because OE tires are designed specifically for the vehicles to which they are supplied, motorists may have an interest in replacing them with aftermarket tires that will offer many of the same characteristics and capabilities, including energy performance.
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From page 12... ...
requiring tire manufacturers to report the rolling resistance properties and fuel economy effects of replacement tires sold in the state. Charged with implementing the law, the California Energy Commission, with financial support from the California Integrated Waste Management Board, has been gathering rolling resistance information and other data on passenger tires.
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From page 13... ...
Such data are essential, however, in confirming relationships observed in past experiments and in characterizing rolling resistance levels in the current tire population and their association with other tire performance characteristics. Tires are designed and constructed in several ways that can affect their rolling resistance as well as other characteristics such as wear resistance and traction.
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From page 14... ...
Although the sampling was not scientific and the method of data collection was not fully satisfactory, the committee believes that the tire company data, when properly characterized and coupled with information from other replacement tire samples and information obtained by the committee on OE tires, provide useful insights into the rolling resistance and other characteristics of new passenger tires.5 With this information in hand, the committee sought to address the questions asked in the study charge. However, the data provided by tire manufacturers were not made available to the committee until late in the study, which limited the statistical analyses that could be performed.
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From page 15... ...
The committee decided that the most appropriate "average American drive cycle" is simply total miles traveled divided by total fuel consumed by passenger vehicles, since energy expended on rolling resistance is more a function of miles traveled than travel speed. The meaning of tire "performance" also required some interpretation.
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From page 16... ...
It examines the sources of rolling resistance, methods for testing and measuring rolling resistance, and the range and variability in rolling resistance among new passenger tires. The effects of incremental changes in rolling resistance on motor vehicle fuel economy and consumption are also calculated.
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