May 09, 2011
Low-rollers, high road
From Bridgestone to Yokohama, manufacturers market their 'green' tires
By: Bob Ulrich
Bridgestone recently tested its Ecopia EP422 against the tire it is replacing, the Turanza EL400. The 2011 Honda Civic fitted with Ecopia EP422s (right) rolled 98 feet longer. The test compared size 195/65R15 tires at 30 psi. The vehicles were in neutral.
"It’s the right thing to do, but it’s also good business,” says Bridgestone Americas Inc. spokesman Dan MacDonald. In one sentence, he summed up the “green movement” in the tire industry.
MacDonald, vice president of community and corporate relations, says there are many ways to embrace both goals. Reducing the weight in a tire not only saves on raw material costs and usage, but also can reduce rolling resistance. With gas prices climbing toward the $4.50 a gallon mark, that is a selling point.
Community involvement also is part of the movement, he adds. Bridgestone is one of many manufacturers with environmentally friendly programs that also promote their brands locally and nationally (see also "Taking the green initiative).
Will gas prices stay above $4 a gallon? Not according to the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The EIA projects that the retail price of regular-grade motor gasoline will average $3.86 per gallon between April 1 and Sept. 30, up 40% from $2.76 per gallon last summer.
However, we may not see sub-$3-per-gallon pricing again in the foreseeable future. The EIA forecasts an average price of $3.70 per gallon in 2011 and $3.80 per gallon in 2012.
In addition, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is close to finalizing a new tire labeling law that requires a fuel efficiency (i.e., low-rolling resistance) rating.
The end result will be tires with lower rolling resistance in addition to more traditional performance characteristics. Here is a listing of the latest fuel efficient passenger and light truck tires manufacturers have to offer.
Bridgestone Ecopia
Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC is dramatically expanding the number of replacement sizes for two of its Ecopia tire lines.
The company introduced its latest eco-friendly Ecopia products in limited sizes at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show. The Ecopia EP422 is an all-season tire; the Dueler H/L 422 Ecopia is an SUV, CUV and light truck tire with an all-season tread pattern.
Bridgestone will add 24 sizes to the Ecopia EP422 line by mid-year, according to Julie Porter, consumer tire product manager for the U.S. and Canada. That will increase the number of sizes to 29, broken out as follows:
• 15- to 18-inch sizes;
• 45 to 65 series aspect ratios;
• 480 UTQG (Uniform Tire Quality Grading) tread wear rating.
The Dueler H/L 422 Ecopia size lineup will increase from six to 19 sizes, ranging from 16 through 20 inches. The tire has a UTQG tread wear rating of 640.
Bridgestone’s Ecopia technology features two types of compounding that reduce rolling resistance. NanoPro-Tech controls the interaction between polymer filler materials (such as carbon black and silica) and other rubber chemicals at the molecular level.
The “Fuel Saver Sidewall” compounding lowers rolling resistance by returning more energy to the tire than a normal sidewall. The result is less heat generation.
Porter says Bridgestone’s goal is taking Ecopia technology and “applying it across all of our tires.”
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