Effect of Tires on Fuel Efficiency

Yes, but the difference may not be significant. Usually properly inflated highway tires provide slightly better gas mileage. Read here for more info:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=29

It is all about rolling resistance

Soft flat tires can make a difference in using more fuel, just like also the weight of the rims does. IMO the harder and smoother the tire, the better fuel mileage. Think of a wheel of a train. And the terrain is also important.

Yes, the type of tire does make a difference. The smoother the tread, the lower the rolling resistance. The narrower the tire, the lower the rolling resistance.

But, these same things will also give you better better traction in the rain. How badly do you want that gas mileage? There is a lot of information on that Tire Rack site.

My apologies for not proof reading my post. What it should have read is: The same things that give you lower rolling resistance, will give you LESS traction in the wet weather.

Tyres will make a difference but not much.

Slightly over inflated tires will have less rolling resistance, but also if overinflated less grip when wet.

michelein tyres are good in wet and dry i have found.

But the Automobile association in the UK have removed all there mich tyres on the vans and replaced them with continels,

Which are rubbish in the wet, they deny it but take it from one who has used these tyres they are rubbish in the wet

The following is taken from their site....

The reduction in rolling resistance has long since been one of the main objectives in the development of modern winter tyres. The tire engineers at Continental have focused their attention on the products in the ContiEcoContact range. After all, the Hanover-based company has sold 160 million of them as original equipment and replacements over the past 15 years. They have managed to reduce rolling resistance successively from one model to the next, so that it is now some 20 per cent lower than in the tyres prior to the launch of the Eco range. Development has now moved on to the third generation model, and the previous virtually irreconcilable development conflicts between "low rolling resistance" and "grip on a wet road surface" have been resolved to a much higher degree.

"As a result of our continued development work, there is no longer any difference between summer and winter tyres in terms of rolling resistance," points out Dr. Burkhard Wies, Vice-President, Tire Line Development Worldwide at Continental. "In some of our models, the rolling resistance coefficient of around 1.0 cr in winter tyres is even slightly lower than in their summer counterparts." Therefore, Dr. Wies has a simple explanation for the higher fuel consumption that many cars experience in winter; by necessity, it takes the engine longer to warm up in winter than in the summer. As a result, higher fuel consumption in unavoidable. His advice is that if you want to do something good for the environment, you should definitely have winter tyres fitted and, if at all possible, walk occasionally, despite the poor weather.

Modern winter tyres have fine tread structures in order to interlink well with the road surface on snow which has become compacted by cars or on icy surfaces. A huge number of grip edges form. This is thanks to the large number of fine, angled incisions, so-called lamellae, on their tread blocks. At the same time, the spacing between the profile blocks still has to be big enough to disperse water quickly when driving in the rain, but not so coarse as to compromise on flexibility. Treads designed in this way, such as the tread on the new ContiWinterContact TS 830, experience barely any more deformation in contact with the ground than modern summer tyres.

The tire divisions are an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2010™ in South Africa. For further details, please go towww.ContiSoccerWorld.de.

the link for the above

http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/com/en/continental/portal/themes/hidden/press_services/press_releases/products/tires/passenger_tires/goto_pr_2008_10_07_rowi_winterreifen_en.html

Ah yes the mich are wonderful in the dry but without comfort in the wet.

Add sipes to the Continentals for better grasp...

A gross over inflation will limit traction but 5-10lbs not too bad; you have to keep them hot.

Bridgestone tires recently won some type of award from the Greenies, and has been selected for use on their little Hybrid boxes. Supposedly, they have ultra low rolling resistance. As for wet weather handling, I would defer to Mr. Schumacher. HE seems to do alright in the wet stuff!

-A-

Consumer Reports Magazine, in their July 2010 issue has a report on Fuel Saving tires.

They rated, "All Season Tires," with Michelin having two highly rated models, although with not so hot performance in Snow on one model.

For some reason, no Continental Tires were tested.

Might be able to find this on their web page. www. consumerreports.com

"New low-rolling resistance models offer better performace."