California looking to classify tires by rolling resistance?
Low rolling resistance tires have been increasingly used to help manufacturers improve EPA efficiency ratings. While the specialty rubber used to be found mostly on hybrids, it is starting to find its way onto other vehicles as well, like gas-engined Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner SUVs.
According to Modern Tire Dealer, California is looking to capitalize on advances in the tire industry to increase fuel economy and reduce CO2 emissions with a new proposal from the California Energy Commissions (CEC). The CEC has assembled a draft proposal to rate tires based on Rolling Resistance Force (RRF) efficiency. All tires that rank within 15% of the lowest combined tire size designation and load rating will be designated a fuel efficient tire.
Under the CEC's proposal, tire manufacturers would have to test their product to the same ISO 28580 test protocol. The CEC is hoping that the tire ranking system will be easy for consumers to understand so they can make an informed decision when it comes time to purchase new shoes for their car or truck.
Not surprisingly, the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) isn't exactly keen on the idea of additional oversight. According to Modern Tire Dealer, the RMA says the CEC's proposal would cost the industry up to $20 million, while forcing tire companies to hire additional workers for testing and data analysis (great, new jobs!). The RMA also points out that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is also working on its own tire standards system, seemingly rendering the California initiative redundant.
[Source: Modern Tire Dealer]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
adam1drift 5:48PM (6/12/2009)
could california just leave people alone with their crap....
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Luis 5:53PM (6/12/2009)
States rights, adam, states rights. Unless you live in CA keep out!
I bet you don't live there and espouse to be "conservative".
paul34 6:27PM (6/12/2009)
Ehh, it's California. If they want to do more and more, let them. We're not the ones going bankrupt.
adam1drift 6:31PM (6/12/2009)
@paul34
but we are going bankrupt... and what they do affects what we pay for products...
tuxchown 6:31PM (6/12/2009)
The People's Republic of Californa. Dah, comrade!
Randy915 8:37PM (6/12/2009)
Be happy we have a state like California to push the envelope on these issues, if we don't do it who will? It's this same kind of stagnant mentality is what drove the American car industry into the ground.
some1 10:04PM (6/12/2009)
@Randy915
Yes, let cali (a bankrupt state) decide whats good for a bankrupt automaker... Cali sure knows a thing or 2 about driving crap into the ground on its own...
James 5:58PM (6/12/2009)
I live in California, and can honestly say @#%* THIS STATE. Seriously... the birth place of the hot rod is the same place driving every last nail in the coffin for killing the enjoyment of driving.
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xspeedy 5:59PM (6/12/2009)
Hey Cali, just ban cars altogether. Can we just do that and call it done?
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weather_expert 6:04PM (6/12/2009)
seriously, it's not a bad idea at all.
weather_expert 6:08PM (6/12/2009)
not a bad idea at all--seriously. getting rid of private cars is gonna be like banning smoking. it's ultimately good but there's gonna be a lot of whiners who'd rather have it their way.
adam1drift 6:11PM (6/12/2009)
@weather_expert
how is banning car good ?
getting rid of private cars takes peoples freedom of mobility away... IMO
weather_expert 6:14PM (6/12/2009)
@adam
public transportation and taxi. private cars in their current form are a HUGE waste of resources.
Yaroukh 6:18PM (6/12/2009)
@weather_expert: bull$hit^2
neither public transportation nor taxi gives what private vehicle does in terms of personal freedom
...or... were you sarcastic?
J 6:33PM (6/12/2009)
Hell, why not just move back into caves and all become hunters or gatherers. This increasingly popular notion that anything that uses resources is bad is getting ridiculous.
We need to do everything in our power to reduce waste and improve efficiency, but if you really think we'd be better off banning private cars, you are seriously out of touch with reality. It MIGHT work in the top 5 major city centers, but that's about it.
TigerMil 7:34PM (6/12/2009)
Get rid of effing cell phones in cars first. Seriously, we're all to stupid and uncoordinated to use a cell phone in any form or fashion while the car is moving. Period.
bbourgeois87 12:36AM (6/13/2009)
If they banned cars, I'd be unable to function. I don't live in a fracking megopolis crapfest like NY or Chicago. I prefer to live somewhere less busy... In NY, you don't need a car. But there is no public transport where I live and not likely to be any soon either... (If the city gets big enough for it to be worth it, I wouldn't be there anymore.) Being able to see stars and sit in your backyard without hearing traffic is nice. Driving on roads with little traffic is also nice...
lococrzy 6:00PM (6/12/2009)
I totally agree with Adam, the CEC needs to bud out!!! they cause to many problems, why make a redundant initiative. The NHTSA is taking care of they don't need your help CEC!!!
And BTW I live in SoCal, and i am not "Conservative"
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MM 6:03PM (6/12/2009)
Another way California adds cost to the lives of the rest of America; as if its not enough that the tax dollars of the Midwest supports their bankrupt state.
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Luis 6:20PM (6/12/2009)
Oh how false. California is a donor state, meaning their Federal tax dollars go to support red-ass states like South Dakota, Montana and Alaska. Same as my state of MA. We pay Federal taxes only to get back less.