Tires question (2009, traction, fuel, braking)

[sailordave]

I've been noticing more tires being advertised as low rolling resistance and increasing fuel economy. Has anyone ever tested these tires compared to same size regular tires to see if and how much of a loss of stopping distance, wet weather performance, and handling? I'm all for increasing fuel economy but not at the expense of public safety.

Another question, this time for car salespeople. If you push a high fuel efficient vehicle, do you inform the customer that when they need to replace the tires, if they don't replace them with LRR tires then they'll loose some of their mpg numbers?

[JBMallory]

Those tires are generally a harder compound, so what you gain in MPG, you lose in ride comfort. Properly inflated tires in factory size and configuration are your best bet.

[NJGOAT]

LRR tires are generally just a harder compound. You definitely give up a little comfort as well as handling, traction and braking performance. I personally don't like them and have swapped them out for standard tires on fleets I have managed.

For the most apples to apples comparison of the affect they have on a car, check out the 2009 Chevy Cobalt. The XFE model is designed for better fuel economy and is essentially a base Cobalt with a manual trans, different gearing and LRR tires. Compare the braking, skid pad, etc. numbers of the XFE with a standard base Cobalt and you'll get an idea of what you are losing performance wise. Given, the standard Cobalt comes only as an automatic as all manuals in 2009 were XFE's, but the overall comparison is valid. Most things I've read pretty much state that they attribute about 1 MPG to the manual and the rest of the improvement to the tires on the XFE.

As for sales people at a dealership all of them would always advise you to bring your car to the dealer to purchase OEM replacement tires.

[cdelena]

Good for higher mileage and lower wear at the expense of comfort, handling, and braking. I don't buy them.