The benefits of properly inflated tires? Well, the measure is even included in the climate agreement because it saves you a lot of CO2 emissions, but there are more benefits:
Lower costs
Properly inflated tires can save you up to 5% in fuel consumption. In addition, your tires wear out less quickly. So you can quickly save more than a hundred euros per year.
- Safer on the road
Properly inflated tires improve your braking distance and road holding. This means you are less likely to be involved in an accident.
- CSR
Correctly inflated tires fit perfectly into the picture of Corporate Social Responsibility. It is cost-effective, takes little effort and is a great way to make a difference.
- Sustainable and climate-oriented
You immediately reduce CO2 and NOx emissions. You also emit less particulate matter, which immediately contributes to a better environment. You drive more quietly and also stop contributing to the plastic soup (tire grinding).
Saving fuel with correctly inflated tires?
You bet. Tires that are too soft experience more rolling resistance. To overcome this, you need extra energy. Your engine has to work harder and therefore consumes more. To reach the same speed, more energy is needed.
In the graph below you can immediately see what we mean. With only 15% less tire pressure than necessary, you are already using 2% more fuel. Often, however, the lack of tire pressure rises to 35%, which means 5% more fuel consumption. Driving with under-inflated tires costs the average driver about 50 euros extra per year.
Less Tire Wear
The greater the underinflation, the faster your tires wear out. Not only do you have to replace your tires more quickly, but you also create more tire wear. This particulate matter is incredibly harmful to the environment. An under-inflation of 20% shortens the life of your tire by a quarter. While an under-pressure of 30%, shortens the life by 50%.
Tires cost a lot of money, so driving with the right tire pressure can save you a lot. Suppose you drive 20,000 km per year, this would normally cost you 160 euros in wear and tear. With 20% under-inflation, however, it will cost you 215 euros. That’s 55 euros in extra cost!
Safer Driving
The “Stichting Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Verkeersveiligheid (SWOV)” mo recently studied the effect of under-tension on the number of car accidents. About 0.5% of the accidents are caused by this.
Its own research shows that at least 1 in 7 drivers drives around with a tire with far too little pressure. About half have a flat tire. There can be many reasons for this.
As of May 1, 2009, tire pressure is a fixed part of the MOT inspection.
The negative consequences of insufficient tire pressure for driving safety and comfort:
- Under-pressure results in less grip on the road, which means a longer braking distance and faster skidding.
- The risk of a blowout increases significantly. The extra heat generated by underinflation can cause the tire to blow out more quickly.
- You experience less road holding and have less control over the car. Steering behavior is not optimal, especially in sharp turns.
- You drive quieter with properly inflated tires
What a lot of people don’t know is that the sound of a passing car is for more than 95% determined by the rolling of the tire on the road surface. Rarely does the engine noise dominate. The less rolling noise, the less traffic noise.
Most rolling noise from a tire comes from two mechanisms:
- Mechanical noise coming from the tire’s vibrating tread.
- Flow noise in and around the tire/road contact patch due to the compression and expansion of air in the tread, the grooves in the tire.
The vibrating tread of the tire and the flow noise cause the noise production.
Research by CROW shows that of all environmental factors in the Netherlands, traffic noise plays the most important role in people’s satisfaction with their living environment. In the Netherlands, 640,000 people are seriously annoyed by traffic noise every day. It leads to health problems such as annoyance, sleep disturbance and cardiovascular disease. Dozens or even hundreds of deaths can be attributed to this every year.
Although the possibilities for reducing tire noise are minimal, driving with soft tires does create extra noise. Correctly inflated tires easily reduce noise by 2 decibels. This may not seem much, but the scale of decibels is logarithmic, so it makes a big difference.
In short, driving with proper tire pressure results in less traffic congestion and that can prevent a lot of inconvenience, misery and even deaths!
Read more about the benefits of proper tire pressure on Climate or Sustainability.
