CCJ

February 2015

Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal

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30 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | FEBRUARY 2015 in focus: FUEL-EFFICIENT TIRES T ruck tires have undergone tremen- dous changes in the past decade, and the driving force behind many of their new features and capabilities is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's SmartWay Tire Program. SmartWay's overall philosophy is to increase energy efficiency while reducing greenhouse gases and air pollution. "SmartWay verification tells a fleet manager that the tire is environmentally friendly and has a low rolling resistance," says Rick Phillips, Yokohama Tire's senior director of commercial tire and OTR sales. "Tires that are SmartWay-verified run cooler, which cuts fuel consumption, which cuts costs and benefits the environment." If a tire is on SmartWay's list, it indicates to a fleet that the tire was verified to meet or exceed SmartWay's rolling resistance coefficient maximum limits. "This means the tire is considered to be a low-rolling-re- sistance tire and will generally help reduce a tractor-trailer's fuel consumption by at least 3 percent compared to non-Smart- Way-certified tires," says Brian Buckham, Goodyear's general manager of commercial product marketing. Qualifying OEM partners for all Smart- Way-verified products meet or exceed rigorous environmental and fuel efficiency performance criteria. The largest contrib- uting factor for tires to provide fuel savings is to engineer a product that demonstrates a coefficient of rolling resistance that can achieve target values for each axle position. Factors impacting a tire's rolling resis- tance include tread compounding, tread pattern design and casing structure. "In developing tires for SmartWay verification, manufacturers focus particular attention on the tread and belt package areas, as more than 50 percent of the rolling resis- tance of a tire originates there," says Patrick Gunn, Giti Tire USA's director of commer- cial tire sales and marketing. When applied specifically to commercial truck tires, SmartWay certifies products that provide a reduction in emissions and an estimated fuel savings of 3 percent or greater relative to the best-selling new tires for line-haul trucks when used on all five axles on long-haul Class 8 trucks. Design differences also must be con- sidered, says Reuben DeBolt, commercial technical services manager for Cooper's Roadmaster line. "When some tire makers formulate tread compounds to achieve SmartWay tells fleets which tires can save them dough BY JACK ROBERTS Smarter rolling Goodyear describes its SmartWay-verified Fuel Max LHD G505D truck tire as North America's most fuel-efficient long-haul tire. Yokohama Tire says its SmartWay-verified TY517 wide-based tire offers added traction and long even wear with an advanced profile for increased durability and retreadability.

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