Testing Results Linking On Road Fuel Consumption to Changes in Tire Rolling Resistance

Tire rolling resistance is one of the primary forces opposing motion on passenger vehicles. New regulations appearing around the world will provide consumers information on tire rolling resistance.  The linear relationship between fuel savings and coefficient of rolling resistance has been previously demonstrated. Extensive testing in real world driving conditions has validated previous models. The result is a measured sensitivity coefficient for North American usage. This coefficient relates the changes in vehicle fuel consumption of E10 gasoline to changes in the coefficient of rolling resistance multiplied by vehicle weight.  This sensitivity coefficient is shown to not be significantly different between a compact car, a medium sized sedan and a full sized pickup truck.  Results provide a simple and robust way for end consumers to predict the impact of tire choice on their fuel consumption and C02 emissions using tire label information.