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Well-inflated tires save on gas
It may not be something we normally think about, but every year hundreds of unnecessary dollars in gasoline disappear into the air because we drive with poorly inflated tires. My research shows that this varies between $100 and $800, according to various sources.
This may seem trivial or exceptional, but according to U.S. government estimates, vehicles are under-inflated by an average of 26%. If you consider that fuel consumption increases by 2% to 3% in this case, you quickly realise that this means billions of dollars and tons of emissions at stake, as I pointed out in this previous post.
So during your next trip, make sure to check the pressure of your tires. If you are not sure how, the CAA gives an in-depth treatment of the art of maintaining your tires.
Have some advice to share? This is the place!
5 Comments
Comments
About the subject, while it is obvious that one must check the tire pressure more often than once by season, there is also another “free” gain to get : when replacement time comes, you can choose tires that are more efficient than average.
Almost every major tire manufacturer now offers an eco-friendly tire : Michelin has its Energy line, Pirelli has an ELRR label, etc.
Try a Google search with “low rolling resistance tires”, you’ll see that the subject is widely discussed on many forums.
Filling with nitrogen is becoming more popular with light duty vehicles. Trucks and airplanes have used N2 for decades.
N2 maintains correct tire pressure far longer than regular air and usually costs under $50 to install.
A 3% fuel savings equals over $60 PER YEAR, so the value is there.
@ Mike. Funny you mention this, my friend this week-end told me this too! Although he was referring to helium…(?) Where do you get this N2? a single 50 bucks to save 60 bucks each year seem to be one of the best and safest investment that one can do these days…
Take a deep breath, Normand. 78% of what you just inhaled was nitrogen. 21% was oxygen and 1% was other stuff.
Nitrogen available is increasing. Call your dealer or repair shop and ask for it!
October 24, 2008 by James
Hey I love your page. It is very informative.