POINTE-CLAIRE, Quebec—Truck tires manufactured by Continental A.G. and Double Coin Holdings Ltd. ranked first and second, respectively, in fuel-efficiency tests conducted by a Canadian non-profit that conducts research and technology transfer for the Canadian forest industry.
The tests were conducted recently by PIT Group, a third-party research organization that is a division of FPInnovations, the Canadian-non-profit.
Tires manufactured by Michelin came in third.
"Continental is proud to demonstrate the best fuel efficiency in both long haul and regional applications in this test," Paul Williams, Continental's executive vice president of commercial vehicle tires for the Americas, said in a statement. "More than 3 million of our truck tires are manufactured here in the U.S. every year, helping us deliver the Lowest Overall Driving Cost to fleets across North America."
PIT Group ran two comparison tests on steer, drive and trailer tires run on three identical tractors and trailers for what it called the Energotest Tire Challenge. The tests, one a line-haul test and the other a regional-haul test, were conducted according to Technology & Maintenance Council Fuel Consumption Test Procedure, Type III, RP 1103A.
A tractor-trailer combination was mounted with a set of steer, drive and trailer tires from each manufacturer in each test.
In the line-haul test, vehicles equipped with Continental tires achieved 7.35 miles per gallon (MPG), versus Double Coin at 7.23 and Michelin at 7.20, Double Coin said.
Conti tires used for the test were the EcoPlus HS3 on steer, HDL2 on drives and the HT3 on the trailer position. Double Coin tires used were the RR680, FD405 and the IM105 patterns, while Michelin tires tested were the X-Line Energy Z steer tires, the X-Line Energy D drive tires and the X-Line Energy T trailer tires.
The tires were put through a series of test runs on the track, and then tires and tractors, trailers and drivers were switched so any vehicle difference or driver difference would not influence test results, according to Double Coin.
The same method was in the regional-haul test, but with tires designed for regional applications from each manufacturer.
In the line-haul test, Continental-equipped vehicles achieved 7.26 MPG versus Double Coin at 6.86 and Michelin at 6.8, Double Coin said.
The Michelin tires used in the regional test were the XZE2, XDN2 and the XZE2. The Double Coin tires tested were the RT606+, RLB1 and RR150; the Conti tires were the Hybrid HS3, HDR2 Eco Plus and HT3.
Helmut Keller, Continental's head of brand and product management for commercial vehicle tires in the Americas region noted that the one of the tires tested soon will be rebranded.
"This year," he said in a news release, "the steer tire will be renamed from Conti Hybrid HS3 to Conti HSL 3, but the tire characteristics will remain unchanged. The (Hybrid) line features advanced tread compounding that delivers long removal mileage and low rolling resistance in regional applications."
Tim Phillips, vice president of marketing and operations for Double Coin, said his company is pleased with the results.
"We wanted to go head-to-head with top-tier brands in order to prove that Double Coin tires are quality-engineered tire products that also deliver superior performance and exceptional value—more than is sometimes perceived in the marketplace.
These test results, plus Double Coin's seven-year, three-retread warranty on the tires tested, "means that our customers can be confident in quality tires that deliver an ongoing lower cost per mile throughout the life of the tire," Phillips said.
"These results validate what we have known for some time and what the rest of the transportation industry now knows as well."
Double Coin, whose portfolio includes TBR and OTR tires, are distributed in North America by Monrovia, Calif.-based CMA L.L.C., a subsidiary of China's Shanghai Huayi Group Corp. Ltd.