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Altering Tire Rolling Resistance
It occurred to me today that I might lower the rolling resistance of my tires by cutting the tread blocks across the tread so that they were, by say, 1/2 or 1/3 as long, along the direction of travel. By doing this, I submit that the work of bending the tread as the tire enters and leaves the contact with the pavement would be reduced. I would propose to cut them to the depth of the tread. I think this would accelerate the wear rate during acceleration and braking, but then I am no tire engineer. I know we have actual tire engineers on this site, what do you guys think?
Since I got my Ohatsu Negotiator 155/80R13 tires that are rated for 51 psi, I have been able to get 64.6 mpg out of my '81 Diesel Rabbit. Since then I put on a four into one header, with a 2 1/4" system with a Flowmaster 50 series muffler. That was the most spectacular power increase I have ever seen, the top speed went up at least 10 mph! WOW! Inlet work and a new tall geared tranny are next. I should be able to lower engine speed at cruise by ~30%. Anybody got a spare long legged 020 VW tranny?
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