Quote:
Originally Posted by kaisen
The actual tires make a big difference too. Not just the PSI they run.
I bought low rolling resistance Kumho 'Eco Solus' KR22 tires for my wife's Camry and picked up 2-3 mpg over the Michelins that were on there, running at the same PSI. And the KR22s have a 100,000 mile warranty. And they're half the price of the Michelins.
Some tires take more energy to push along.
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I haven't yet had the opportunity to read your three long posts. I suspect that in most tires designed for fuel economy and with high mileage warranties, they will be running a VERY hard compound rubber.
It's been my experience that hard compound rubber gives up a lot in grip.
So, you've got eco tires, you hit the brakes and the brakes lock up and you slide forever, or, you've got ABS and they keep the brakes from locking up but it takes much, much longer to stop the car than it would have with softer grippier tires.
Even worse if you try to swerve around something with the eco tires.
If I have to sacrifice safety for eco, I'm going to go with safety every time.
Even if this is a wife that drives like a little old lady, other people don't drive like that. When the circumstances are under her control, it may be fine, but when things go bad, that's when you really need to rely on tires for grip. Fuel economy and tire life be damned.
I would think that it would be possible to build a tire with a hard carcass and small footprint but grippy rubber that would still provide decent grip.