How do Goodyear Fuel Max Tires work? This is a pretty common question these days with the commercials Goodyear is running advertising greater fuel efficiency without compromise. Well the basic premise behind them is that reducing the amount of friction created between tire and road when the car is rolling reduces the amount of energy needed to overcome that friction. Less friction, less energy, less gas. People have been building tires designed for fuel economy for quite some time by mixing silica into the tread compound which serves to reduce the friction between tire and road. These Silica based tires do dramatically reduced rolling resistance, which leads to better fuel economy, but they suffer from decreased tread life as compared to traditional carbon black tires. This means that fuel economy tires made with a high amount of silica in them will wear out more quickly than traditional tires. Like these other fuel efficiency tires, the Goodyear Fuel Max tires use silica filler, but this is where the similarities end.
In Goodyear Fuel Max tires the silica is blended into a different compound then what is used in normal fuel efficiency tires. Goodyear specially engineered this new tire compound to interact with the Silica in such a way as to increase overall tread strength. Goodyear does not make it clear exactly how this is achieved, not wanting the competition to copy their ideas, but they do hint that it has something to do with improving the overall dispersion of the silica in the tread of the Fuel Max tires. This compound maintains the reductions in rolling resistance typically achieved with silica filler but avoids the downside of shortened tread life. This allows the Fuel Max tires to have equal tread life to traditional carbon black tires while still increasing your fuel economy, thus the advertisements for better fuel economy without a sacrifice.
In addition to the material characteristics of the tires, the Goodyear Fuel Max tires also use a dual tread zone design to improve tread wear. This design allows for the deep grooves and micro-grooves that give good wet-weather traction to be placed in the center of the tires where they are not subject to the harsh treatment the edges of the tires receive during cornering. The edges of the tires, meanwhile, are designed for dry traction and performance with stronger shoulders that stand up to wear and tear. The special material in the Goodyear Fuel Max tires and the wear resistant design make them a great way to increase fuel efficiency without sacrificing comfort or tread life. Also, recent studies have found that the fuel savings seen over the life of a set of Goodyear Fuel Max tires off sets the Co2 produced from the manufacture of the tires, making them the most environmentally friendly tire on the road.
