Hankook's enfren low rolling-resistance tires deliver 5 percent fuel saving

[BigWarpGuy]

Could these low resistance tires increase the MPG of the Smart car?

[jwight]

Also, some tires trade-off key performance features like tread-life and wet-grip for low rolling resistance."

No thanks.

[Brabus]

Originally Posted by BigWarpGuy

Could these low resistance tires increase the MPG of the Smart car?

Yes, I think they could!

I have a feeling that in time we are going to go back to those Model T size tires like you see on these ultra high mpg vehicles and solar vehicles.

But I don't think most people are looking for a 5% savings until going to the grocery store starts costing more than the groceries. When gas got to nearly $5 a gallon, I started realizing going to Starbucks in the morning in my 2 1/2 ton vehicle was costing more than the coffee I started questioning my addiction.

People still want performance (pseudo safety) and big wheels (pop culture). I'm the perfect example of that sad fact.

[Godfather]

Take a good long look at the tiny meats a stock smart calls front tires. Then look up low rolling resistance in the dictionary. If there's not a picture of a smart's front tires, there's no justice.

[Brabus]

I need to contradict myself again.

One thing I've noticed is the small tires up front on my Passion locked up quite easily when I brake hard. I suspect bigger tires up front not only handle better but are safer in this regard, but a narrower tire likely handles better in the rain/snow. Which is a good reason for me to use my 15s for snow tires and 17s for the other 3 seasons.

[John_H]

I like the idea of low rolling resistance designs, at least for the non-driven tires.

While I understand low resistance tires *tend* to grip less well, there should be an ability to have the tire behave differently under torsion (braking) compared to the normal operation where the tire wants to provide the least resistance for best mileage.

Would low resistance tired provide problems handling in rain? Or would the need for improved rain performance only be during braking?

Deformable tires? Perhaps in our future.

[Brabus]

I just did a search on tirerack for run-flat tires ranging from 145/40-15 to 215/70-15 and there aren't any run flats for 15" within that range! However, I did found run-flats for my Brabus 17s, which I'll post on the Brabus wheels thread as I don't want to hijack this thread.

Just wanted to say tirerack doesn't have a 15" run-flat tire FWIW.

Oops, I posted this on the wrong thread. I mean to post this on the spare tire thread. Sorry

[Padawan]

Originally Posted by BigWarpGuy

Could these low resistance tires increase the MPG of the Smart car?

I'm sure they could, and I'd definitely be willing to try them out if Hankook releases them in proper sizes for the Fortwo (and they don't cost twice as much as the stock Conti's).