Tyre economy

jimjames

I need to get new tyres for my Passat.

This is the first time I've bought tyres since the new ratings were listed for them all.

Has anyone bought new tyres and noticed any difference in fuel economy as a result of getting A or B rated tyres or equally noticed loss of economy from lower rated ones?

Probably about £30 difference between them so wondering if it's worth it.

neilmcl

All a bit of marketing hype imho. I've not noticed any difference since the new ratings came into force. Just get a tyre you know and trust and forget about the ratings. I very much doubt any fuel saving will give you back the extra you're paying for them and if you shop around you may find them cheaper anyway.

BeenThroughItAll

Having just put 'B' rated Cinturatos on the car after four months of 'F' rated Quatrac 3 use, economy has improved by...




Wait for it...


0%.


And no, I'm not driving any differently.

stator

Personally I buy tyres based on the wet stopping distance. The difference in stopping distances between an A and an F is quite scary.

fishybusiness

Last time around put C rated Goodyears on all four corners.

My fuel economy changes depending on the weather, how I drive, how far I drive......

Add in those factors, and I do wonder just how I could tell if any set of tyres were really any better than others in terms of fuel efficiency.

More interested in noise, wear rate and stopping distance than 'theoretical' fuel efficiency.

jimjames

Interestingly the A rated tyres for economy are also the quietest too.

Westmead_Fan

i do tend to find tyres like dunlop & uniroyals in the rain that have A rated do wear quicker but you cannot get better in wet conditions

bod1467

jimjames wrote: »

Interestingly the A rated tyres for economy are also the quietest too.

That's not unsurprising - the road noise generated is likely to be due to rolling friction with the road. Rolling friction equals loss, which means more "push" (hence power, hence fuel) needed to overcome it.

jase1

I have noticed a small (less than 5%) difference in fuel economy between summer and winter tyres.

But between brands of the same type of tyre? Not really.

forgotmyname

jimjames wrote: »

Interestingly the A rated tyres for economy are also the quietest too.

They probably have less grip also. Its a tradeoff. To get good economy you want a hard tyre with minimal contact with the road, when you come to a corner or drive in the wet you want the opposite.