Bridgestone’s Ecopia line grows to 29 sizes

June 30, 2011

Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC (BATO) is expanding its Ecopia EP422 tire line from five to 29 sizes. Engineered for the environment- and cost-conscious driver, the Ecopia EP422 is expanding to a full power line.

New sizes range from 15- to 18-inch tires. They will fit vehicles from the Toyota Prius to the Lexus ES, Chevy Malibu, Nissan Altima and Honda Odyssey minivan.

“With gas prices continuing to climb and the busy summer travel season upon us, we know consumers are concerned about fuel economy and getting the most out of their tires,” says Larry Magee, president, Consumer Tire U.S. & Canada, BATO. “The Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 is a great option for consumers looking for an all-season tire that offers low rolling resistance without sacrificing the performance people have come to expect from a Bridgestone tire.”

The line features several, fuel-efficient technologies and designs, including:

• Fuel Saver Sidewall Compound that helps lower rolling resistance by both returning more energy back to the tire and reducing heat generation compared to normal sidewalls;

• Silica to improve traction in wet conditions by increasing flexibility of the tread compound;

• NanoPro-Tech (Nanostructure-Oriented Properties Control technology) improves rolling resistance and helps contribute to fuel-efficiency and CO2 reduction by controlling the interaction between polymers, filler materials and other rubber chemicals at the molecular level;

• Circumferential grooves to help channel water out of the footprint area to improve resistance to hydroplaning.

• Tread compound is constructed using 5% post-consumer recycled tires.

The company says the Ecopia EP422 is a critical product offering in helping BATO support its parent company, Bridgestone Corp., in reaching the global goal to improve tire rolling resistance by 25% in all of its products, resulting in less fuel use and CO2 emissions while driving, by the year 2020 (based on a 2005 benchmark). The company also strives to reduce CO2 from its entire product lifecycle by 35% per sales by the same year.

To help consumers understand the cost savings benefits of the Ecopia product, BATO also recently launched a fuel calculator that can help consumers discover how much money they can save in fuel over the life of their tires.

The company made announced the expansion earlier this year (see Bridgestone strives to create a utopia with Ecopia).