Low Rolling Resistance Tyres to become compulsory
"As part of the European Union’s commitment to improving road safety, Low Rolling Resistance Tyres (LRRT) are to become obligatory from 2012. The fuel saving potential of using such rubber is 3%, the lower level of fuel consumption resulting from the reduction in the resistance to motion when a tyre rolls." Taken from tyre safe.Lets see what happens to grip levels with the new breed of ultra hard tyres. It's great to know you'll be saving 3% of your fuel as you're sliding into a ditch...
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They are going to have to be very certain that safety isn't compromised before introducing this. Of course, when it all goes wrong, Government will shirk responsibility as usual, saying that it's up to Tyre manufacturers to produce a safe tyre that is fit for purpose!
I do not see this ever happening ahead of safety. There are better ways of saving fuel than this.
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So...all the existing tyre ranges are going to be reformulated in 3 years to be low rolling resistance without impacting grip? Or are we going to be limited to a tiny subset of the existing tyres? There's no way that you can make an Eagle F1 low rolling resistance: it depends on the soft rubber to cling to the road. The same for other high performance tyres.
How does "low rolling resistance" equate to "improving road safety"? More likely to slip so everyone will drive slower because they are scared? I don't think so.
I'm all for producing economical tyres - I'd like an extra column in the overall grid for "economy", but it has to be appropriate to the car and driver. Unbelievable. (I wish it was.)