Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • European Rubber Journal
  • Plastics News
web
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • ITEC
    • Automotive
    • Tire
    • Non-Tire
    • Suppliers
    • Silicone
    • Latex
    • Coronavirus
    • Executive Action
    • Government/Legal
    • Opinion
    • Technical Notebooks
    • International Elastomer Show
    • Women in Tire & Rubber
    • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Goodyear recognized by Lockheed Martin as 'elite supplier'
      EV tire advancements to help secure future
      Lambillotte: Only question on AVs is timing
      CAR official says EV future brighter than autonomous
    • Goodyear-branded transmission belts set to return
      Hot topics at virtual CES: AVs, air taxis and drones
      Apollo to raise prices of Vredestein brand tires
      China's tire production up in 2020
    • Greenergy, Haldor Topsoe tech turns tires to fuel
      India decides against extending carbon black duties
      GRI expanding ag tire capacity at 3-year-old Sri Lanka plant
      Apollo to raise prices of Vredestein brand tires
    • NewAge Industries celebrates 15 years of employee ownership
      India decides against extending carbon black duties
      WCCO task force navigates pandemic, expands communications
      JobsOhio funding gives Sperry & Rice room to grow
    • Safic-Alcan and Arkema working together on distribution deal
      India decides against extending carbon black duties
      Biesterfeld to supply Denka acrylate rubbers
      Ace Products & Consulting partners with Wallace Instruments
    • Ace Products & Consulting partners with Wallace Instruments
      Safic-Alcan extends distribution agreement with Momentive
      Momentive aims to grow silicone presence in Asia-Pacific region
      IRP Medical solidifies portfolio with KDL deal
    • WCCO task force navigates pandemic, expands communications
      ASTM cancels April meetings as COVID-19 continues impact
      Paycheck Protection Program funding reopens Jan. 15
      Detroit Auto Show canceled; alternative event being planned for September
    • ARP Materials adds technical sales manager
      Jack Murphy joins Akron Dispersions
      Adriano Alfani named Versalis CEO
      Maroon Group adds to Southeast sales team
    • India decides against extending carbon black duties
      Hot topics at virtual CES: AVs, air taxis and drones
      Paycheck Protection Program funding reopens Jan. 15
      Taiwan tire makers propose settlement of import duties case
    • Column: Pandemic looms over everything in life, business in 2020
      Column: Lessons from the 2020 Best Places to Work
      Editorial: Silicone hit hard by pandemic, expected to bounce back
      Column: Still far way from normal
    • Effects of multiple repurposed materials for reinforcements of standard rubber compounds
      Impact of peroxide blends on the cure rate and aged properties in HNBR
      Techniques to detect long chain branching in polymers
      A comparative study looking at effects of curing kinetics and batch variation on SBR injection molding and numerical analytics
    • Rubber Division seeks abstracts for 200th Technical Meeting
      WORD panelists say evolution, authenticity keys to success
      IEC keynote: Communication key to logistics
      IEC speaker: Specialized elastomers may reduce spread of life-threatening pathogens
    • WORD panelists say evolution, authenticity keys to success
      New video celebrates women in rubber industry
      ITEC panelists say women can thrive in tire industry
      Rubber Division planning second Women of Rubber event
    • Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Faster Access to Your Polymer Compounding Experts Around the World
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Take a walk thru a HEXPOL Lab
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      HEXPOL offers a unique selection of High Performance Elastomers to match your application requirements
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      It’s what you can’t see that makes the Difference at HEXPOL
  • Blogs
    • Products
    • Wacky World of Rubber
    • New Products: MonTech introduces 1,500 kN lab press
      New products: 3M introduces new durable, pliable medical adhesive
      New Products: Lanxess launches energy-efficient PU elastomer
      New Products: MonTech automates bale cutter for safety, productivity
    • Wacky World of Rubber: How Trelleborg, teens sealed a spot in the world record book
      Wacky World of Rubber: Of chicken and feet, but not chicken feet
      Wacky World of Rubber: Time to go mattress shopping
      Wacky World of Rubber: Because nothing says football like 'frunk' shrimp
  • Newsletters
    • Rubber in Automotive
    • Silicone News
    • Latex News
    • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • Goodyear-branded transmission belts set to return
      Hot topics at virtual CES: AVs, air taxis and drones
      Apollo to raise prices of Vredestein brand tires
      China's tire production up in 2020
    • Ace Products & Consulting partners with Wallace Instruments
      Safic-Alcan extends distribution agreement with Momentive
      Momentive aims to grow silicone presence in Asia-Pacific region
      IRP Medical solidifies portfolio with KDL deal
    • Jack Murphy joins Akron Dispersions
      Synthomer optimistic, raises earnings forecast
      Top Glove reopens COVID-hit factories with enhanced precautions
      Malaysia electronics group to enter rubber gloves sector
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Photo Galleries
  • Directory
  • Resources
    • Classifieds & Mold Mart
    • Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Sponsored By HB Chemical
      The Company Behind the Inventory
      Sponsored By French Oil Mill Machinery
      Process Improvement, Cost Reduction with Custom Press Systems
    • Sponsored By Uncountable Inc.
      Cooper Standard deploys lab informatics platform to synchronize R&D
      Sponsored By Elkem
      LSR Select™: A solution to improve your financial impact in molding applications
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Peroxide Cureable Silicone Injection Molding
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Understanding and Selecting Performance Additives for Rubber Compounding
  • Data
  • Events
    • RPN Events
    • RPN Livestreams/Webinars
    • Industry Events
    • Past Events
    • ITEC Library
    • International Silicone Conference Library
    • 2021 Healthcare Elastomers Virtual Edition
      2021 Rubber in Automotive Virtual Edition
      2020 International Silicone Conference Virtual Edition
      2020 ITEC Virtual Edition
  • Advertise
  • DIGITAL EDITION
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
December 04, 2014 01:00 AM

Consumers shrug as tire makers grapple with improved MPG

Lindsay Chappell,
Automotive News
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Low-rolling-resistance tires are proliferating on new models, including the Kia Soul EV. The tires reduce road friction, but critics say they can lack grip.

    DETROIT—The auto industry is putting improved tires onto cars these days, but consumers aren't so sure they like the results.

    It is a rare disconnect between industry ingenuity and consumer stubbornness—and neither the auto makers nor their tire suppliers can do much to correct it at the moment.

    Blame it on CAFE.

    Car companies have been pushing tire makers for decades to create more fuel-efficient tires that generate less energy-eating road friction. And now that the auto industry is under federal mandate to meet significantly stiffer corporate average fuel economy requirements, tire makers are delivering exactly what car companies want.

    But the resulting "low-rolling-resistance" tires that are now proliferating on new models from Ford, Nissan, BMW, Subaru, Kia and other companies can leave drivers unimpressed. Critics say the more fuel-efficient tires can lack road grip—something even their manufacturers concede. And some customers are underwhelmed by the very thing that the tires are promising—better fuel economy results.

    Reviewing the newly released Kia Soul EV in November on Green Car Reports, auto writer Bengt Halvorson praised the car—but added, "The only thing it doesn't have is much grip; in the tightest hairpin corners you'll notice that the low-rolling-resistance tires simply won't let you enjoy that to its fullest."

    The secret sauce for the tire concept is a reduced contact area with the road. Tire makers are doing that through new tread patterns and harder sidewalls. But reduced road contact has implications for braking on a wet road or taking off at a green light—especially compared to the wide, performance tires of the recent past.

    Fuel economy vs. handling

    The dilemma is this:

    • Auto manufacturers need every scrap of fuel economy gain they can gather to meet the EPA mandate of a 54.5 mpg fleet average by 2025.

    • Low-rolling-resistance tires potentially can add a mile or two to a vehicle's fuel economy numbers. And as a result, new-vehicle programs in all segments are pressing tire suppliers to prioritize low-rolling resistance, says Steve Rohweder, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. technology director for North America.

    • But tires tend to provide less in road-handling performance and wear out sooner. So when it comes time to replace them, the consumer is less likely to ask for them a second time, reports Brent Gruber, global automotive division director at J.D. Power and Associates.

    • And because tire makers sense that low-rolling resistance is not going to be popular in the replacement market—even though there is no real price premium over ordinary tires—they are less than enthusiastic about pushing the technology.

    "We don't believe the consumer will embrace that," says Joe Maher, passenger and winter tire product manager at Continental Tire. "We want to be competitive in rolling resistance. But we don't care to lead in that area in the replacement market. We think wet traction is a more important attribute for the Continental brand."

    Maher illustrates a sticky scenario that has become common in the tire business: A customer with worn-out tires drives to a retailer to buy a new set. The dealer appeals to the customer's interest in improving fuel economy and recommends a set of low-rolling-resistance tires. The customer has them installed and drives away—noticing on the car's fuel economy monitor an immediately worsening performance.

    Why?

    Because a set of older tires with worn-down treads has the lowest “rolling resistance” of its product life, Maher explains. New tires—even brand-new low-rolling-resistance tires—have their full treads and generate more road friction than the worn-out tires. Low-rolling-resistance tires indeed deliver better fuel economy performance, but over the life of the tires.

    Unhappy customers

    That creates the potential for an unhappy customer, Maher says. “And that creates a problem for the retailer. So they're a little bit reluctant to sell low-rolling-resistance."

    None of which lets the auto industry off the hook.

    IHS Automotive forecasts that original-equipment fitments of low-rolling-resistance tires increased to 25 percent of all models this year from 21 percent last year. In 2019, they will be on 30 percent of all new vehicles, and in 2020, on half, forecasts Bruce Harrison, IHS managing director.

    And that forecast doesn't change in light of the recent plummet in prices at the gas pump, he adds. The shock of rising gas prices in 2007 and 2008 may have triggered the industry's commitment to more fuel-efficient cars and trucks, but prices falling below $3 a gallon do not erase the resulting CAFE rules.

    “Auto makers are clearly clamoring for these tires as a tool for better fuel results,” Harrison says. “But that doesn't really translate to the retail world. The general population is more interested in other tire characteristics—like price and tread life.”

    Nissan wants to have low-rolling-resistance tires on all of its models in the coming years as they are redesigned and re-engineered for better fuel economy. This month, Nissan will introduce the new-generation 2015 Murano crossover, a vehicle intended to represent the brand as a prestige vehicle and woo marginal luxury buyers out of Lexus and BMW vehicles. Murano marketing materials list low-rolling-resistance tires among the crossover's technology enhancements.

    “Low-rolling resistance is spreading to different segments,” says Steve Monk, Nissan North America's chief vehicle assessment specialist, who makes sure new Nissans achieve their performance targets.

    “The typical trade-off is usually with grip. If your tire is very low-rolling resistance, it's freer to roll in steering and braking. But those requirements aren't relieved just because we're trying to get to better fuel economy. That's the challenge we create for ourselves.”

    Improvements coming?

    The consensus in the industry is that the tires will either get better and consumers will become more accepting of them, or alternatives will arise to solve the problem.

    The tires introduced on Kia's new electric Soul are being marketed as “super-low-rolling-resistance” tires.

    Steve Kosowski, manager for long-range strategy at Kia Motors America, says the tires are a step beyond what other auto makers have been introducing in the past couple of years. Manufactured by Nexen, the new "supers" reduce enough friction to contribute 3 to 5 miles of extra driving range for the battery-powered car. The Soul boasts a battery range of 93 miles, positioning it above the EV-segment leader Nissan Leaf, which claims an 84-mile range.

    Kosowski says the new Kia tires achieved a 10 percent improvement in rolling resistance from the existing generation of products. The Nexen tires incorporated a higher-density inner liner and a stiffer sidewall design.

    Tread design and material hardness are two of the biggest pieces of low-rolling-resistance technology. Rubber tires, by their nature, deform as they roll across the pavement, generating heat and consuming energy. Tire engineers like to point out that the ideal example of low resistance rolling is a steel train wheel on a steel track—but that is hardly something a consumer would find attractive on an automobile.

    Kurt Berger, consumer sales engineering manager at Bridgestone, believes the science of low-rolling resistance is steadily improving.

    “What defines that tire, versus a conventional tire, is a moving target—and a fairly rapidly moving one," Berger says. "A low-rolling-resistance tire of 2010 would not be considered a low-rolling-resistance tire today. We've really been pushed in a short time to reducing rolling resistance further."

    Bridgestone has begun supplying BMW's new i-series electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles with a more fuel-efficient tire technology it markets as “ologic.”

    Unrealistic expectations

    Consumer Reports, one of the leading influencers of market attitudes, has been tracking low-rolling-resistance tire values and also monitoring consumer interest levels. In 2010, the organization surveyed car owners to ask what sort of direct gain they would expect to see in fuel economy in return for switching to low-rolling-resistance technology.

    “The answer we got was they expected a 5 to 10 mpg improvement,” says Gene Petersen, Consumer Reports tire program manager. “Clearly, they have no idea how it works. Our tests indicate that for a 10 percent reduction in rolling resistance, you'll get a 1 percent gain in fuel economy."

    The issue continues to roil.

    Five years ago, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed introducing a national standard to gauge low-rolling resistance, to be used as a consistent consumer guide, similar to EPA fuel economy ratings. That standard has not been completed.

    California regulators also have proposed creating a low-rolling-resistance guide, but that plan has stalled. And California proposed requiring commercial trucks in the state to use low-rolling-resistance tires. That idea also stalled, and regulators never resolved the question of what truck drivers would do upon crossing the state line from outside California.

    J.D. Power's Gruber is interested in learning whether consumers might be slowly warming to the technology as more new vehicles tout the tires.

    Last year, Power published the results of an owner-satisfaction survey that found "many consumers are concerned that equipping low-rolling-resistance tires on their vehicle means compromising traction and durability in exchange for better gas mileage."

    Power plans to repeat the survey again in 2015 to see whether attitudes have improved and publish the results next spring.

    “I think the industry is realizing that it hasn't done a particularly good job of messaging what these tires are all about,” Gruber says. “That will change as the tires become

    Related Articles
    Tire execs: Market changing
    The challenges of compliance; Tire manufacturers, NHTSA working to improve safe…
    Goodyear touts fuel efficiency of latest drive tire
    TRAC study shows low winter tire use in Canada
    New tire technologies target distance, air pressure
    Consumer Reports names top tire in 2015
    EPA issues updated fuel economy procedures
    J.D. Power: Customers not satisfied with run-flat tires
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Rubber & Plastics News wants to hear from its readers. If you want to express your opinion on a story or issue, email your letter to Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].

    SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Rubber & Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe Today

    Subscribe to Rubber & Plastics News to get the best coverage and leading insights in the industry.

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    MISSION

    To serve companies in the global rubber product industry by delivering news, industry insights, opinions and technical information.

    web
    Contact Us

    2291 Riverfront Pkwy, Suite 1000
    Cuyahoga Falls,
    OH 44221

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1726

    Resources
    • About Us
    • Digital Edition
    • Contact the Staff
    • Advertise
    • Order Reprints
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    • Terms of Service
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Partner Sites
    • Tire Business
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Automotive News
    • Crain Brands
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • ITEC
      • Automotive
      • Tire
      • Non-Tire
      • Suppliers
      • Silicone
      • Latex
      • Coronavirus
      • Executive Action
      • Government/Legal
      • Opinion
      • Technical Notebooks
      • International Elastomer Show
      • Women in Tire & Rubber
      • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Blogs
      • Products
      • Wacky World of Rubber
    • Newsletters
      • Rubber in Automotive
      • Silicone News
      • Latex News
      • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • Multimedia
      • Videos
      • Photo Galleries
    • Directory
    • Resources
      • Classifieds & Mold Mart
      • Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
    • Data
    • Events
      • RPN Events
      • RPN Livestreams/Webinars
      • Industry Events
      • Past Events
      • ITEC Library
      • International Silicone Conference Library
    • Advertise
    • DIGITAL EDITION