Rolling resistance to take centre stage

21st June 2012

As fuel prices keep increasing, the rolling resistance of tyres will become more important to commercial vehicle operators than mileage.

That’s according to the commercial sales and marketing director of Continental Tyre, Arthur Gregg.

Quoted in Motor Transport, he said:  “Low rolling resistance has been a key feature of Continental products for the last seven or eight years and the market is moving our way.  For long distance operators, the priority will become fuel efficiency rather than mileage as diesel prices rise.”

The requirement to label tyres with performance ratings on rolling resistance, noise and wet grip will also focus attention on fuel economy, though Gregg says it is unlikely any tyre will achieve the highest rating for rolling resistance at first.

Arthur also warned operators to be cautious about the labels on cheaper importer tyres, because there is no system of independent checks to ensure the tyres are performing as they should:  “Labelling is self-regulated, so there is nothing to stop a Chinese brand putting on a label and then waiting to see how long it is before it gets caught out.  We would prefer auditing by an outside body.”