Ultra Efficient Tyres Are The Future
As the date for the introduction of the new tyre labels draws closer, tyre manufacturers have been racing to produce tyres that earn the highest grades. Now consumers will be able to see at a glance how different tyres match up to each other across three key areas: rolling resistance, wet grip and external noise. It was anticipated that this level of consumer knowledge would encourage tyre manufacturers to up their game, and it seems to be working! Goodyear Dunlop has already presented its first concept passenger car tyres that have achieved an A grade in both wet grip and rolling resistance, while Pirelli have released the first double A grade tyre to reach the European markets.
Pirelli’s new Cinturato P7 Blue achieved the AA rating for its tyres sized 235/45 R17. The company said that the tyre received its A ratings in both wet grip and rolling resistance due to a new and improved tread pattern as well as using a new compound to create the tyre.
Goodyear Dunlop’s contributions are just in the concept stage, but the Goodyear EfficientGrip AA edition and the Dunlop Sport BluResponse AA both achieved A grades for both rolling resistance and wet grip. What’s more, the Goodyear tyre will also show only one sound wave on the external noise part of the label. This means it will be in the group of quietest tyres. The Dunlop concept tyre has two sound waves as it was originally based on a sportier tyre than the Goodyear.
Goodyear have said that it is not an easy task to design and develop high graded car tyres in all three aspects of the new EU tyre labels, particularly as it is important to most tyre manufacturers that they continue to achieve high levels of other performance and safety indicators. While the three aspects of the EU label are important, so is dry braking and stability.