Energy saving tyres.

[Fitzwilliam]

Being an owner of a Citigo Greentech my car came as standard fitted with low rolling resistance energy saving tyres, my cars tyres being Bridgestone. Although they are not due for imminent replacement I would like to know if there are these type of tyres available from any other manufacturers and are they any more expensive than standard tyres. Also if “normal” tyres are fitted what would be the likely detriment to the fuel economy. I believe energy saving tyres reduce rolling resistance by having stiffer sidewalls which probably means a standard tyre would probably improve the already good ride quality.

I would be interested to hear what effects changing from ES to standard tyres has had on fuel economy, ride quality, road noise etc.

Cheers

Steve

[LightRain]

I think nearly every company offers low rolling resistance tyres. I know I've seen Michelin, Continental and Nokian advertising their green ranges. The ones I've seen tend to be a little pricier, but not that much. I think I read one report showing between 4 and 8% improvement in fuel economy. There's a lot of reports and studies out there, so it shouldn't be too hard to make an educated decision.

[Rooted]

Low rolling resistant energy saving / Eco tyres, usually means not so much grip come winter time, maybe use 1 mpg more and fit good wet weather / cold weather tyres.

[oxonboxn]

My Greentech came with Continental tyres....and I'd have them again. Personally, I wouldn't be interested in changing to "standard" tyres..I don't think I'd notice any minor differences in economy or ride comfort. And, after all, the changes to the car that make it a Greentech, were made with "eco" tyres in the equation.

[rum4mo]

2 hours ago, Headinawayoffski said:

Low rolling resistant energy saving / Eco tyres, usually means not so much grip come winter time, maybe use 1 mpg more and fit good wet weather / cold weather tyres.

 

I agree, that is what drove me in the direction of having two sets of wheel/tyres - in fact, the tyre guy at my local Costco  (when buying Michelin tyres from Costco especially when it coincided with Michelin giving money back as fuel cards, was a good bet)      told me, when I first bought Pilots to replace equivalent Dunlop Sports tyres for my wife's 9N 2002 Polo, "I hope that you only plan to use these tyres in summer" - he was right, a set of steelies and Alpins sorted out that problem!

 

It is a shame that having two sets of wheels means binning or off loading for pennies the winter wheels when you sell the car 8 or 10 years down the line as "no one uses winter tyres" it seems, and your next car uses different tyre sizes, so one saving partially offsets another spend, though being able to move with a bit of safety in winter is wonderful to have!

[Fitzwilliam]

2 hours ago, oxonboxn said:

My Greentech came with Continental tyres....and I'd have them again. Personally, I wouldn't be interested in changing to "standard" tyres..I don't think I'd notice any minor differences in economy or ride comfort. And, after all, the changes to the car that make it a Greentech, were made with "eco" tyres in the equation.

Of the ones I’ve looked at online the Continentals look the best bet. When checking the economy and wet grip ratings I was surprised that the Bridgestone EP25s that were fitted from new are rated “C” for both, not too impressive. The Continental Conti eContact are “B” rated for both. Could not find any “A” ratings for economy at all, not in 175/65x14s at any rate. Tbh unless you’re as meticulous about checking tyre pressures regularly, as I do, all the benefits of Energy Saving Tyres will be negated by tyres being run under inflated by a few psi.

[ronime]

8 hours ago, Fitzwilliam said:

I believe energy saving tyres reduce rolling resistance by having stiffer sidewalls which probably means a standard tyre would probably improve the already good ride quality.

 

It's actually the opposite. The flexing of the leading edge of the tyre as the wheel rotates requires an energy input. The less energy required to deform the tyre in this manner the lower the rolling resistance. RFTs have very stiff sidewalls and consequently poor energy efficiency ratings.

 

The Bridgestone EP25s have a notoriously weak sidewall and are prone to damage, not to mention horrible response when cornering. Needless to say I won't be having them again. All-seasons tyres for me next on the Citigo, probably Michelin Cross-Climates.

Edited 26 October, 2017 by ronime