After having invested in a hybrid or electric car you might think that you have done all that is needed for the environment. This however is not the case. In addition to choosing an environmentally friendly car you also need to select tyres that are equally friendly to the environment. There are a few things to ensure when you select car tyres, that is that they have low rolling resistance, as tyres with low resistance that can further the distance the car travels on a single charge thereby lowering the environmental impact. The tyre wear will also be lower, so that they last longer making the replacement less frequently, which lowers the amount of tyre waste created.
The rolling resistance can be found on the EU tyre label, which makes comparison of tyres easy. This is a great way to compare summer tyres between different brands. In addition to finding out how the tyres rank on fuel efficiency you can also compare on wet grip and tyre noise. As good as this is for summer tyres and to certain degree also for all-weather tyres, it is not really a good indicator for winter tyres as the performance tests are performed outside the tyres normal operating conditions. A proper test would be to do it at sub-zero temperatures and instead of measuring wet grip instead look at snow and or ice grip.
It is also important to know what the tyres are made of and how the manufacturing process is carried out. Try to make sure that the tyres are environmentally friendly and that the tyre companies use only purified low aromatic oils in their tyre production and that no toxic or carcinogenic chemicals are used at all. The manufacturing process should be as environmentally friendly as possible and also the recycling of tyres after their use. This requires that a high extent of the tyres can be recycled and reused.
They have environmentally friendly tyres especially recommended for hybrid or electrical cars. Originally the low rolling resistance tyres were made especially for hybrid and electrical cars however now a days the consumer is getting more ecological and most tyre companies try to reduce rolling resistance in their tyres. This is done by manufacturing tyres that optimize tread design that reduce the tyres rolling resistance.
One thing to keep in mind is to always keep your tyres properly inflated as this also saves on fuel by lowering the rolling resistance. Low tyre pressure increases the rolling resistance, so you don’t want to buy tyres with low rolling resistance and then increase it just because you didn’t check the tyre pressure. You should therefore check the tyre pressure on a regular basis and also check the tread depth so that you know when the tyres are worn out and needs to be replaced with a new set. Tyre rotation prolongs the tyre life and should be done when the difference in wear is more than 2-3 mm.
For more information on choosing tyres for a hybrid or electric car, visit www.nokiantyres.com
