June 2012: Goodyear Gets Top Grades For Fuel

Among the numerous items that Goodyear will present this year at Reifen it seems that we will have the pleasure of seeing the Marathon LHT II long haul trailer tyre.

The main reason why this new tyre has attracted so much attention is because it comes with a new design that offers significant fuel economy. In fact, the tyres have been graded A in terms of fuel economy. Also, the tyres have achieved good grades in terms of traction and handling on wet asphalt and noise.

Goodyear tyres representatives have declared that the Marathon Long Haul tyres have been designed especially to decrease fuel consumption and that the company is thankful for the new European Tyre Labelling regulations as these will systemise tyre quality and allow operators and consumers to better compare products in terms of fuel efficiency. The company representative also expressed a slight disappointment regarding the fact that currently there is no labelling system regarding tyre life and mileage capabilities.

According to the company, currently, the best combination of tyres that the company has to offer in terms of fuel economy, low noise and good handling in wet driving conditions is that of Goodyear Marathon LHS II with LHT II and LHD II.

The Goodyear Long Haul Tyres achieved the A grade in terms of fuel economy for the 385/55R22.5 and 435/50R19.5 sizes. The series also achieved a C rating for handling in wet and decreased noise conditions for four of its sizes. The following sizes: 275/70R22.5 and 385/65R22.5 were able to achieve a B and respectively a C rating and all 4 sizes that we have mentioned above have been rated with C for handling in wet driving conditions.

It is quite important to understand the importance of tyre resistance in terms of overall performance. The six tyres on an average semitrailer are responsible for 50% of the resistance that the truck and the trailer combined achieve.

The Goodyear Marathon LHD II tyres and LHS tyres have been tested in comparison with the LHT II tyres manufactured by TÜV Süd Automotive of the following sizes: 315/70R22.5 for driving and steering and 385/65R22.5 for trailers. The Goodyear tyres had achieved better markings than those of the TÜV Süd Automotive in terms of rolling resistance. The Goodyear tyres achieved the following general results:

· LHS II+ had achieved better results by 3 to 19%,

· the LHD+ tyre achieved results that were either comparable with those of the competitor or higher by even up to 16%,

· LHT II achieved results which were in average between 12 and 28% higher than that of the competitor.

The Goodyear tyres achieved the following grades in terms on European Tyre Labelling:

· LHS+ achieved a B rating for fuel economy features and wet braking and had a tested noise level of 70-71dBA

· LHD II+ had the following results: 3 sizes achieved a C rating for wet braking as well as fuel economy and had a noise level of 73-75dBA

According to Goodyear, the tyres are rated M+S which means that the tyres can be used in all driving conditions.