List of Low Rolling Resistance Tires

[NeilBlanchard]

My tires are 185 60 15, and I am not sure about the rim width. I get the Nokian H tires on Thursday the 15th of April.

[morkys]

Gotcha. Running General Evertek 195/60R 14's H rated tires on 6.0" wide rims. Wider than the stock 175/65 and 185/65 but right in between both in terms of height. I'm paranoid they have more rolling resistance because of simple coasting things I used to do seem to get me less far, but I have to play with pressures to be sure. They are rated for 51 PSI max. I just swapped General Altimax Artic 175/65R 14 winter tires on my stock 14" x 5.5" steelies to these.

I am caught between two worlds. I want to mod my car for maximum fuel efficiency, but I also want better handling, and a part of me also wants performance and acceleration 'once in a while'. I'm leaning towards the fuel economy side of things. I am willing to give these tires a try by upping the PSI. You'd think an H rated tire should be fairly good and at least potentially have lower rolling resistance than S or T rated tires. It even has a very low # of blocks or interuptions on the tread itself. Infact, the middle of the tire is practically contiguous apart from thin sipes and "tire replacement indicator" writing. I think if I pump them up they should give me lower rolling resistance.

Here are my tires and a pic of the tread:

General Evertrek HP | Canadian Tire

By the looks of the tread, which is also asymetrical, it seems to have a design that isn't full of discontinuous blocks that will squirm. Anyhow, I guess I'll pump up the PSI and keep track of the MPG. I may get a scan-gauge at some point too.

What do you guys think of this tire tread?

[AeroModder]

Looks like these Yokos have less rolling resistance. In my usual coasting test using speed limit signs as a guide, I come to 45 before the 45 MPH speed limit sign, then let off the gas right when I hit it, and check the speed when I reach the 35 MPH speed limit sign a little farther down. Before the ecomods, I'd slow down below 35 when I reached the sign. After some aero mods, I came to 35. Inflated the tires, 36. Removed the AC compressor and power steering, 38. Now, I'm going 39 when I reach the 35 sign.

These tires also have better on-center feel on the highway, better steering response, and much better hydroplaning resistance compared to my old tires. I haven't gotten much rain since I got these on, but there was some water on the roads on the drive home today. I brought it up to 65 and tried going through puddles, and it still felt all there. I'm quite happy with them.

[NeilBlanchard]

Okay, I have driven on my new Nokian H tires for about a week and a half, and so far, I like 'em! They are probably *slightly* better rolling resistance than my Michelin X-Ice tires, which are already excellent. The Nokian H's are larger diameter, and the initial calibration measurement I did shows they are rolling 6% farther than my odometer reports.

I am about halfway through the first full tank of gas with them -- I drove about half a tank on the previous tankful. Here's a picture on them on my xA:



They are very quiet running, and they grip well in turns (coasting around some turns requires carrying some speed...). My one quibble is they feel a little squirmy on the rough surface of roads they are readying for repaving. Ride (with 51PSI) is slightly firmer than the X-Ice's, but it is not harsh.

[bandit86]

Originally Posted by MechEngVT

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.

to a point. if you get runflats that are super stiff they suck for FE. I lost 1 whole mpg

[orange4boy]

I have H envy

Actually what you want is a stiff carcass that deforms without losing much to internal friction and tread that deforms easily without wearing too fast. The idea that you want the whole tire to be stiff is, I believe, erroneous. My WRg2s have a soft tread but are LRR. They have a 51psi max though so they can have a stiff, low deforming carcass if you want. And I do.

I think I read somewhere that there is something to the cord design and material choices as well but I'm fuzzy on that.

I'm beginning to believe that good LRR tires are actually superior to regular tires in most ways contrary to popular belief. Perhaps that's just the Nokians talking.

[NeilBlanchard]

Follow up on my Nokian H tires:

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

I'm going to be buying some Nokian H tires:

Nokian H

I am very pleasntly surprised! They work pretty darn well on ice, believe it or not! We had a freezing rain on Sunday -- it was almost exactly 32F and the ground was frozen, so it was wet ice. I drove right up a hill on a narrow curvy road, where FOUR vehicles had slid off the road, and one guy was standing on the road and it was so slippery, he was holding on to the driver's door to keep from falling down.

There was only on lane (two cars were on each side of the road) and there was a car coming down the hill, who arrived at the 1 lane section ahead of me, so I slowed way down to let him pass through. And the guy was struggling to stay standing. I managed to just barely keep rolling (gotta' love those ecodriving skilz! ) -- and I just drove up the icy hill...

[orange4boy]

Wow, summer tires on ice.. That's pretty impressive. How has your mileage been since switching?

[NeilBlanchard]

My driving completely changed since last year -- no long commute, and much less driving overall. Most trips now are short; up to 12 miles or so. So, my FE is not quite as good as last year. Rolling resistance is excellent -- I can coast longer than with the old all season tires. The Nokian H's are the quietest tires I have ever owned, and they grip quite well -- coasting around corners is the exciting part of ecodriving.

They seem to be wearing pretty well, but I can't say how long they will last. And they ride comfortably and firmly at 51PSI.

[nimblemotors]

Originally Posted by 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.

I have a pair of 12in tires that were on my Geo that have LRR on them,
I assume that means Low Rolling Resistance, maybe not?