Bolt 27% decrease in efficiency w/ performance tires

[jtpassat]

Interesting finding by M/T when they swapped out the OEM tires on the Bolt with BFGoodrich G-Force Sport Comp 2 ultra-high performance summer tire.

"The Bolt handled much better and stopped 16 feet shorter from 60 mph, but its efficiency dropped by 27 percent, the distance we drove between charges dropped by 23 miles on average, energy consumption during charging increased, and the car suffered diminished ride quality and far more interior noise."

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/chev...5CB4D79144F8744A2F56AAF6179393379E90647FB34DE

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

Interesting... maybe... but I'll continue to power slide my S often enough to need rear tires 2x a year anyway

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

I think the other takeaway here is that if tire tech leaned towards efficiency, we could drastically reduce fuel consumption...
most people don't push their rubber to the limit often, if ever...

Also I have a theory if people learned to COAST in their gas cars we'd also use a metric crap ton less fuel...

 

[RobStark]

I

"The Bolt handled much better and stopped 16 feet shorter from 60 mph"

In 2008 I switched the tires on my 2003 Honda Accord from factory to summer high performance tires.

About 6 months later I slammed the brakes in an emergency and missed a 10 year old boy skating across my path by about 3 feet.

F green energy saver tires.

 

[ggr]

energy consumption during charging increased

Really? That makes no sense at all, unless they mean that they had to replace more total energy. Tires can't affect a stationary car.

 

[Cirrus MS100D]

They had it on a treadmill facing downhill.

 

[WannabeOwner]

think the other takeaway here is that if tire tech leaned towards efficiency, we could drastically reduce fuel consumption

First VW Golf "Blue Motion" (Eco model) we had came with low rolling resistance tyres; I could get 60 MPG easy, and 70 MPG with a bit of effort. Bought a replacement 3 years later, quite a lot of the Eco stuff had gone, it came with racey wheels and tyres, and consequently was hard to get any more than 50 MPG

More the fool me for thinking that buying a straight-replacement from VW would be like-for-like, although the salesman in the dealership clearly saw it as an opportunity to stuff the least eco wheels on it to make more money, even though he knew my purchase was specifically to be eco.

of course I was then stitched up by VW over emissions, so both the dealership and VW will never get my business again.

Actually VW did me a favour, because instead of just saying "I'll have another VW" I looked at the market and ... bought a Tesla

But based on my sample-size=one you are right about low rolling resistance tires being a dramatic improvement on economy. When buying winter tyres, particularly, I am heavily influenced by rolling resistance. Over here in the UK we have an A,B,C, ...F rating for fuel-consumption, wet-grip and noise (in dB) on tyres, so easy to compare them. The fuel saving (EV or ICE) by choosing a better fuel-consumption rating on the tyre will easily pay for some difference in purchase price over the total-cost-of-ownership period.

if people learned to COAST in their gas cars we'd also use a metric crap ton less fuel

I started doing that sort of Hypermiling more than 15 years ago on the school run. Back then I don't suppose the fuel injection the car has was as sophisticated as now (with shut off when lifting off the gas etc.), and nowadays I can't get as good an improvement with a modern ICE, but back then with stick-shift and coast-in-neutral instead of accelerate-hard followed by jump-on-brakes I was able to improve my fuel performance on that run by 1/3rd - very significant indeed. It did require that I taught myself to "Be at 50MPH and lift off, for the next bend, at THAT TREE" , but that was good fun on a boring, repetitive, daily school run (on rural roads with little traffic)

 

[bxr140]

In 2008 I switched the tires on my 2003 Honda Accord from factory to summer high performance tires.

About 6 months later I slammed the brakes in an emergency and missed a 10 year old boy skating across my path by about 3 feet.

F green energy saver tires.

Of course, foul weather, where a driver is far more likely to make a mistake, is where summer high performance tires are less effective.

Few things in this world are binary; tires are definitely not one of them.

 

[RobStark]

Of course, foul weather, where a driver is far more likely to make a mistake, is where summer high performance tires are less effective.

Few things in this world are binary; tires are definitely not one of them.

Summer tires are rated for rain not snow.

I never drive in snow. And very little rain in Los Angeles, at least in my area.

If I ever found myself with the need to drive in areas prone to snow in snow season I would rent/acquire an appropriate vehicle with appropriate tires.

 

[bxr140]

Summer tires are rated for rain...

Summer tires are rated for foul (rainy) weather just as A/S and Eco tires are rated for fair weather.

The point is that an extreme solution does not make a universal solution. Nor does one data point.

 

[RobStark]

Summer tires are rated for foul (rainy) weather just as A/S and Eco tires are rated for fair weather.

The point is that an extreme solution does not make a universal solution. Nor does one data point.

Never claimed a universal solution.

It is a solution for me for my driving.

 

[rudngo]

Summer tires are rated for foul (rainy) weather just as A/S and Eco tires are rated for fair weather.

The point is that an extreme solution does not make a universal solution. Nor does one data point.

Actually summer tires are superior to all-seasons in the wet. From Bridgestone:

Summer Tires vs. All Season Tires | Bridgestone Tires
"Surprising to some, summer tires provide better performance in wet driving conditions, thanks to unique tread patterns that help evacuate water and resist hydroplaning."

From Tire Rack:
https://blog.tirerack.com/blog/bens-blog/best-tires-for-rain
"Summer tires are the ultimate wet weather performers."

If you gave me the choice between a Michelin Pilot SuperSport or PS4 in heavy rain vs. any all-season, I'd take the PSS/PS4 every time. Now, if you gave me the choice between a DOT-R tire and all-seasons in standing water conditions or temperatures under 40 deg. F... I've driven on track a number of times during torrential rain and the performance of modern summer tires in those conditions is amazing.

 

[WannabeOwner]

Actually summer tires are superior to all-seasons in the wet

is this still true for cold & wet? e.g. between 4C and, say, 10C?

In UK I need get-me-home ability on Snow, as we get very little, but icy and cold wet we get all winter long - pretty much never above 10C here during the Winter. I've struggled to find good information about performance in cold-wet - I'm not convinced that Winter tyres would be best, because their wet stopping distance is not great

 

[jerjozwik]

hmmm... must be something with the bolt. when i put federal 595 rs-r tires on my fiat 500e there was little to no range change.
some say i was crazy for putting 140 treadware tires on an ev...

 

[rudngo]

is this still true for cold & wet? e.g. between 4C and, say, 10C?

In UK I need get-me-home ability on Snow, as we get very little, but icy and cold wet we get all winter long - pretty much never above 10C here during the Winter. I've struggled to find good information about performance in cold-wet - I'm not convinced that Winter tyres would be best, because their wet stopping distance is not great

Summer tires are good down to about 4-5C, below that they lose grip and the manufacturer’s recommendation is not to use them. I personally switch to a performance winter tire here (like a Pirelli Sottozero) where most of our winters are wet and cold with occaisonal snow. Our temperatures typically range from between -7C and about 4C.

You may also be happy with an ultra high performance all-season tire like a Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ if they come in the right sizes for your car. Sounds like a perfect match for what you need as long as you really watch yourself if there’s ice as these will definitely give up ice performance vs a dedicated winter tire.

 

[SSedan]

A decade or so ago when we bought the first set of replacement tires for my wife's purchased new 2003 Impala she saw an immediate 10% fuel economy hit, and vastly improved wet weather and snow performance. The originals were a LRR Uniroyal TigerPaw, the replacement s GoodYear Assurance that was not LRR.

LRR are great for reducing fuel/battery consumption but they do make tradeoffs to accomplish that. The traction under various conditions is generally adequate, but other tires not optimized for that one aspect will offer advantages for what they were optimized for.

There is a huge variety of tires from each manufacturer because there are a a lot of different characteristics that can be optimized. , fuel economy, Straight traction, lateral traction, noise, traction at different temperatures, snow or ice traction, wet or dry traction, tread life, ride quality and some combination of the those.