The European Union is studying green label for tires
The EU is readying legislation that will label tires according to their impact on the environment. The idea is to create a label that would spot three values, two of them inspired by current energy efficiency ratings of domestic appliances:- The first value, using letters from A to G will refer to rolling resistance. It would spot a gas pump symbol, indicating that the most fuel-efficient tire is the one with letter A. The difference between each level will be a meager 0.1 l/100 km in fuel consumption.
- The second value, also graduated using letters A to G will inform the consumer on wet weather road grip, being A the best performer under the rain. It will spot a tire and raindrops. It will be measure as how many times 8 meters (24ft) the tire takes to brake the car from 80km/h (50mph) to 0.
- The third value will refer to noise pollution will mark the noise level (in dB) of the tire.
[Source: Le Figaro]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
paulwesterberg 6:32PM (5/15/2009)
Michelin and Goodyear already have the best tires in many of these categories, hopefully they will use this system on the tires they sell in the US also. It may be worth it to spend an $10 extra per tire for a set that will save you 1mpg.
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Matt 7:41PM (5/15/2009)
I could have used these ratings about... TWO DAYS AGO!!! I just purchased the Goodyear "assurance fuel max" tires. Hopefully they'll be as good as advertised.
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why not the LS2LS7? 11:50AM (5/16/2009)
How is wet weather braking a measure of greenness? Also, it says how many multiples of 8 meters it takes to stop the car... Which car? This varies by car by a lot, especially with weight. Would small tires be tested on small cars and large tires tested on large cars?
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Dave 12:55AM (5/17/2009)
Because stopping distances tend to get higher as rolling resistance gets lower, especially in wet conditions, by mandating that both performance numbers are printed, the consumer can make an educated choice on what tire fits their needs the best.
Some will want the most efficient tire, some will want the fastest stopping tire and most others will want some combination of the two.
MikeW 2:18PM (5/16/2009)
Hopefully the EU will dissociate before 2012.
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mark 9:15AM (5/17/2009)
why?