Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisgerman1983
Also a tire that is "aged" will also be slightly better. When you buy "fresh" straight from the factory the tire is not as cured as a tire that has sat on a shelf for a little while. I felt the difference between a brand new tire and last years stock and the older tire was firmer in the tread and and sidewall. It is also possible the the batch of rubber could be different but talking to my tire guy he said it is very common for an older tire to be firmer.
Capriracer - I look forward to your reply on this information (True or False)
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Part of what makes a tire work is the flexibility of rubber. As a tire ages, it loses flexibility - and it therefore is more prone to failure. That's why you shouldn't let tires 'age" - artificially or otherwise.
Plus, it isn't the aging factor that is the most important factor in a tire's rolling resistance over time. It's the loss of tread rubber. That loss of mass decreases the amount of energy consumed as the tire rolls through its revolution.
Besides, I don't think the harder rubber helps RR. If anything, the internal friction of soft, pliable rubber is less than hard, stiff rubber. The additional stiffness of the rubber only adds a small part to the overall stiffness of the inflated tire. Most tire stiffness is caused by inflation pressure.
And batch to batch differences? Not as much as you might think. Rubber batches are mixed with other batches many times. That spreads out any abnormalities over many, many individuals. Besides, there are QA controls after every mixing, so abnormalities are quickly isolated and not allowed to re-enter the process.