Rolling Resistance – Choosing Tyres Carefully To Drive Faster

An important element in achieving a swift driving experience in rolling resistance. It is the force that opposes you as the automobile is driven forward. It is basically a change in energy. As you drive the car, there’s rolling resistance and aerodynamic drag that can hold you back. Therefore, choosing the right tyres carefully with the perfect rolling resistance can help you drive faster and smoother.

 

Rolling resistance reduces the vehicle’s energy by around 20% to 50%. It reduces the fuel economy as the car takes more power to move ahead, which results in higher fuel consumption. When the tyre touches the ground, the material deforms. When the molecules contact each other, they create heat. In such situations, the automobile is losing precious energy, which is known as rolling resistance.

 

In this article, we will discuss the following points – 

 

• How rolling resistance affects the driving experience
• The importance of rolling resistance 
• Factors that impact rolling resistance
• How to reduce the rolling resistance 

 

By understanding rolling resistance in detail, you’ll know how they affect faster driving. Since there’s a lot of energy loss, you need to know how you can reduce it so that your vehicle can perform swiftly at high speeds.

 

How Rolling Resistance Affects the Driving Experience

Different tyres have different rolling resistance. Tyre manufacturers fine-tune each tyre to ensure that there is low rolling resistance, leading to a better drive. As you speed up, the rolling resistance also increases. This results in a higher energy loss. 

 

Rolling resistance comprises a large part of force acting against the motion of your vehicle. High resistance requires more fuel to drive energy to the car or bike. Recovering the energy loss is an additional cost, that might be in the form of fuel cost or engine maintenance. You might also need to replace the tyres with high rolling resistance more often than not.

 

The Importance of Rolling Resistance

For the most part, the rolling resistance of a tyre is on an average of 25%. The other major contributor to energy loss is aerodynamic drag. Chain rubbing and bearings are only 10% responsible for hindering faster driving. After about 40kmph, aerodynamic drag is the biggest factor working to stop you from reaching your top speeds.

 

In essence, no tyre has zero rolling resistance. However, theoretically speaking, if a tyre didn’t have internal friction and didn’t heat up, the force on the front and back section of the contact with the road would be the same. It means that there would be zero rolling resistance.

 

Lower rolling resistance means there is no energy loss due to the compression of the tyre with the road. The main reason for rolling resistance is that the force pushing the tyre backwards is much higher than the force pushing it forwards. You can say that any kind of rolling resistance is bad, but you cannot get rid of it.

 

High rolling resistance means a poor performing tyre. It will slow down your automobile, require more energy as the tyre will heat up more, and lead to using more engine power as well. It also increases fuel consumption, which eventually contributes to the high-levels of CO2 in the environment. So from a greener point of view, rolling resistance is a curse than anything else.

 

However, every tyre has some rolling resistance, as right now, there are no tyres with zero value. Heavy vehicles never have tyres with high rolling resistance. It would require more rolling effort and would impact the overall performance of the automobile. Therefore, rolling resistance is a significant indicator of how smoothly you can drive the vehicle and reach its top speed. 

 

Factors That Impact Rolling Resistance

There are multiple key factors that affect rolling resistance. Let’s have a detailed look at them – 

 

• Aerodynamic resistance
  Around 15% of the total resistance comes from aerodynamic resistance. It is also known as the resistance of the surrounding air. As you increase the speed of the car, the aerodynamic resistance also increases. It is an important factor as decreasing will maximize your car speed without any problem. 

• Weight
  Another key factor is the weight of the vehicle with the tyres. A low-weight vehicle generally has less rolling resistance because it takes less energy to move it forward. It means that there is a less downward force that stops the vehicle from moving. Low-profile and narrow tyres are lighter than high-profile tyres. It is also impacted by the height of the tyre.  

• Construction type
  Believe it or not, the tread pattern and grooves on the tyre can reduce the rolling resistance by up to 60%. It is a crucial factor that ensures the tyre doesn’t require more energy to move the vehicle. The rubber compound and optimized tread pattern allow swift driving with low rolling resistance. 

• Micro-skidding
  It only contributes to about 5% of the rolling resistance. It is the loss of grip that happens due to the deformation of the tyres when it touches the road. It’s value increases when there is sudden braking or acceleration. Generally, on straight roads, it’s not more than 5%. 

• Tyre pressure
  Another significant contributor to high rolling resistance is tyre pressure. When the tyre pressure is low, it takes more energy for the tyre to drive the vehicle. Abnormal tyre pressure increases the tyre contact with the road surface. It generates more heat and leads to a high loss of energy. Insufficient tyre pressure can cause about 30% of the rolling resistance. 

 

Apart from these, there are other factors like a car’s cornering capabilities, the road surface, etc., that define the rolling resistance of the tyre. It is essential to understand all these factors before replacing your tyres. 

 

How to Reduce the Rolling Resistance

Now that you understand in detail the importance of rolling resistance and the factors that impact it, the ultimate question arises – “How to reduce the rolling resistance?” It is important because a low rolling resistance is crucial for driving at high speed. Here’s what can be done – 

 

• Tyre Width
  The most important factor is probably the tyre width. A thicker tyre would add to the rolling resistance and cause more loss of energy. You should narrow tyres that are recommended for your vehicle to ensure low rolling resistance. Avoid big or knobbly tyres that have higher contact with the road and generate more heat. 

• Tyre Pressure
  One way to reduce the rolling resistance for driving faster is to keep the tyres inflated to the recommended tyre pressure. Regularly check the tyre pressure, and if it’s anything less than necessary, inflate it to the original level. While off-roading, getting the tyre pressure is crucial for reducing the chances of jumping up and down while driving. 

• Tread Pattern
  An excellent tread pattern is an essential aspect of reducing rolling resistance. If you want fast tyres, then there will be fewer treads than slow tyres. Compromising on the best tread design will offer more swift driving, but it will offer you less grip. So you have to carefully maintain the balance between the tread pattern while selecting a tyre.

 

Apart from these, there are other factors like the tyre compound layers, vehicle body, puncture breaker, and more that can be used to reduce the rolling resistance. However, these are not in your control, and you have to depend on the manufacturer to do so. 

 

Rolling resistance is now a hot topic of debate, along with high and low-profile tyres. The best tyres are the ones that reduce the resistance while maintaining a firm grip while driving. That’s when you can achieve the smoothest and fastest driving experience. 

Also Read – Low Rolling Resistance Tyres – What Are They and Their Benefits?