The tire experts at GITI have compiled the following list of facts and tips:
• Tire air pressure: For every 10% of underinflation in the tires on a vehicle, a 1% reduction in fuel economy will occur, which although small in appearance is actually big when you multiply by tire positions, trucks in your fleet and miles run per year. By running a tire constantly underinflated by 20%, its tread life will be reduced by 30%, while 40% underinflation will reduce the tire life by 50%.
• Tire rotation: The periodical rotation of the tire will not only prevent or reduce the inevitable irregular wear (camber, river wear, toe-in the front axle; heel & toe, step-down in the drive axle), it also extends the life of the tires and provides smoother, more fuel-efficient performance.
• Vehicle alignment: This is one of the top contributors to fast wear, irregular wear and fuel economy in all the tires in the vehicle and is associated with other physical effects like the entire aerodynamics of the trailer with subsequent additional impact in fuel economy (2% or more).
• Vehicle speed: Rolling resistance increases with speed, so for every mile per hour increase above 55 MPH, there is a 2% reduction in miles per gallon. Therefore, a change from 55 MPH to 65 MPH results in a 22% increase in fuel consumption while reducing only 18% of travel time, it is estimated.
• Tire supply challenge: GITI’s John Thomas offers some words of wisdom on today’s tire supply chain issues. “There is a huge supply issue right now in truck tires that is hitting the smaller fleet operations especially hard,” he said. “Fleet managers are having a very difficult time finding tires, and they are giving new brands a try out of necessity. There are a lot of brands out there—some with established operations in the U.S. and some that are just brought in by the container load. Also, when shopping for tires and even different brands, fleet managers should ask their tire dealers about fill rates for that particular brand.”