List of Low Rolling Resistance Tires

[johnpr]

i know that the two continental tires listed perform really well in incliment weather, the extreme contact is a great summer tire but it will work in the snow (just not that great), but then again, a vehicle which you would put that tire on shouldnt be in the snow to begin with.

i cant speak for the other tires though, i used to sell continentals and have a bit of brand loyalty because of the quality.

[chrislk1986]

I got a mint pair (two) of tires mounted on 16" wheels. I always filled them to 40psi because I thought it was the max pressure, but I looked at them a couple weeks ago and they are 50 psi, the 40 was for mounting.

Will they say LRR on the tire if they are LRR tires?

[johnpr]

what set of tires?

i dont think i have ever seen a set of tires which advertised (on the tire) low rolling resistance, although you never know.

[dremd]

I believe the Michelin energy Mx4's are being phased out as well.
I just got my second pair, and they were on closeout at tire rack.

[Red]

Would be a good marketing trick, selling tires as FE friendly.

[07b2300]

Thanks for posting this rolling resistance result from CR Daox.

Does CR have any ratings for low rolling resistance light truck and SUV tires too? All I can find on the web about rolling resistance are for old brands like the Michelin LTX M/S and the Goodrich Long Trail T/As. Both are supposed to have decently low RR but there are many newer brands that look like they would have less drag. Of course nobody lists RR figures...

[Daox]

Here are the light duty tires CR has listed as achieving their best rolling resistance rating. Again, higher overall rated tires are closer to the top of the list.

All-season
Bridgestone Dueler H/T D684
Michelin Cross Terrain
Continental ContiTrac SUV
BFGoodrich Radial Long Trail T/A

All-terrain
Continental ContiTrac TR

[Ophbalance]

I had those Long Trail T/As on my former Escape, and they were great in the rain and snow. I'm planning to put a set of them on my Sedona in a few months time.

[MechEngVT]

Originally Posted by zjrog

I must ask, how do these tires fair in inclement weather (snow)? And will they hold a wet road in corners? I'm going to guess that to aceive low rolling resistaqnce they are a harder compound and require a little higher pressure?

Really, I don't know how else to get lower rolling resistance... Is there a good website to see all these characteristics?

Sidewall stiffness, internal friction. Anything that prevents the tire from deforming as it contacts the ground will reduce rolling resistance. Harder compound materials do this by reducing how completely the rubber fills the "roughness" of the ground surface. A stiffer carcass (the guts underneath the rubber and tread) will deform less for a given load/pressure and generate less internal friction. Higher air pressure is just one method for reducing carcass deformation. Material choice will help, such as not using carbon black to color the tire but other materials that produce less internal friction as the tire does deform (I think Michelin pioneered the use of silicon in the MXV4 tires to do this)

Even tread design can help reduce rolling resistance since a tall/skinny tread block will squirm as it hits the ground and generate friction. Making the tread blocks themselves stiff and stable helps, and any design that reduces noise generation is more efficient since noise is just one other way energy is dissipated by tires.

[gasti_ako]

is there a more updated list?