Tires affect fuel consumption! (unfinished)
Surprised? NOT! This is actually not a surprise to most people. There are numerous private, public, profit, non-profit, agencies, companies and individuals that have already proven that air pressure has a direct impact on fuel consumption.There are also numerous vehicle add-on gadgets, parts, different fuel compounds, different tire tread designs, casing structure and compounds, best maintenance practices and studies out there to reduce fuel consumption.
For this article we'll focus on one "apparently easy" method of reducing fuel consumption: Correct Air Pressure
The conclusion many have arrived at is quite simple: Correct pressure saves fuel. Incorrect pressure results in higher fuel consumption.
Sounds like music! You can just fix the pressure, save money, save the environment and save lives!
Yet, to our amazement, not many have taken proactive action to resolve it!
WHY? Doesn't everyone wish to save lots of money? Help the environment? Save lives?
Unfortunately we have to bring up the "E" word again... yes... EFFORT.
And as we all know, many things that require real effort don't get done; Many are looking for a quick pill solution; but unfortunately air pressure is one of those things that requires effort.
Filling a tire with air requires a someone to connect a compressed air hose to the tire's valve stem and deliver the right amount of air. In this process, depending on the tools available they may have to check and re-check many times until the right pressure is achieved. Also, in many circumstances this can be a very unpleasant job. Unpleasant enough for any boss or supervisor not to verify if the work was done.
Truth be said: The only way for you to know if the right amount of air was delivered is to actually check it yourself!
Nowadays some fleets use a TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) installed in their vehicles. These are great safety devices. Some provide pressure and others temperature information as well. But in a global scale, there are many more tires than TPMS systems installed out there, and even with the TPMS the original problem continues... SOMEONE needs to put the right amount of air in EVERY tire... AND MAINTAIN IT THAT WAY... which leads to another very important and widely known fact:
Tires naturally bleed air!
Lets not kid ourselves, we know its not that simple to correct air pressure given the operational logistics of some fleets. To others, it could very well be a simple solution. But here are some basic assumptions why many don't:
- It is a tedious, unpleasant job with very little perspective of a career.
- It requires you to be in an uncomfortable position, and sometimes in harsh weather conditions.
- Less than likely your work will be re-checked by anyone.
- Nobody really seems to notice, to be monitoring, or care if this job gets done.
Our only guess why every fleet doesn't manage their air pressure like they manage their bank account is that they are unable to quantify the potential savings.
It is certainly easier to ask for a 2% or 3% discount than make the effort to drop fuel consumption by 10% or more.
Not many have actually gone all the way to see these results. And guess what? The ones that know about it, don't want anyone else to. It is a tremendous competitive advantage!
The industry term that describes the waste of energy a tire causes as Rolling Resistance. The less resistance, the easier it is for a tire to roll. Is there any other use for a tire other than rolling?... OK, ok, I'm not talking about a swing on a tree, a recycled asphalt or some artificial coral reef. I'm talking about YOUR tires. Is there any use for your tires other than rolling?
There are two ways to reduce rolling resistance in a tire:
1. Use an appropriate tire that has less rolling resistance (several tire manufacturers market this type of tire)
2. Properly maintain the tire with the correct pressure.
Of course, there are other things you can do to reduce rolling resistance in the vehicle, such as spoilers, alignment, balancing, and so on, but for this article we'll focus directly on tires.
Now lets get down to the practical level... can you ride a bike without air in the tires?... If you think you could, you have to admit at least that it would be pretty hard and waste allot of your energy. Can you ride a bike with half inflated tires? You could, once again, wasting less, but still wasting much energy. When your bike has a fully and properly inflated tire does it roll easier? Well, so does your vehicle.
The million dollar question is: how much more fuel does your vehicle consume if it is running under-inflated? Well, that depends on a great variety of things, but guess what, it doesn't matter, just inflate ALL the tires and see the fuel consumption drop!
The real problem here is not that no one believes that you can save fuel by properly inflating tires. The real problem is to get someone to inflate tires properly ALL THE TIME.
Although there have been some product studies out there about tires that require no air, the fact stands today that the only reason for a tire to exist is to hold the right amount of air between the road and the vehicle; and roll!
There is another important piece of information here... You must try it! Measure it!
The great thing about fuel savings is that it has immediate results! Fix the pressure and get results! Keep the pressure fixed and maintain the results! With the savings from these results re-invest in ways to get more results! There is so much waste going on in this industry and the pot of gold is there for the taken, for those whom are willing to make the EFFORT.
Once you have the tire problem fixed, there are other unmeasured tire related maintenance that may also affect fuel and safety:
- Vehicle Alignment
- Operational Tread Depth. There is a big study by Goodyear about this.
- Casing Structure
- Tread Design
- Balancing
- Matching
Don't take our word for it, there are hundreds of resources on the web about the same thing: We're just trying to shed some light on the subject, and provide tools that can help you measure, quantify and manage this situation. There are many ways Budini can help and for this matter specifically there is no tool like the Budini Air-UP Management Solution and AUDIT Tools.
Some resources on the web about this exact subject
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/auto/wheels-and-tires-affect-car-s-gas-mileage.aspx
http://hostproduction.com/projects/2009/michelin/r2/
http://www.goodyear.com/truck/support/fuel_econ.html
http://www.grounds-mag.com/mag/grounds_maintenance_daily_tread/