Continental Tire the Americas introduced the HSR2 Eco Plus which the company said is a more fuel-efficient version of its top selling medium-duty steer tire.
The HSR2 Eco Plus, when tested with typical loads for this application, showed a 15 percent improvement in rolling resistance over the current HSR2 regional steer tire, according to the company, resulting in approximately 3 percent better fuel economy.
The HSR2 Eco Plus uses a fuel-efficient compound and has a four rib tread design versus previous five rib tread designs, resulting in less rolling resistance.
“The ideal fuel-efficient tire would have no ribs at all,” said Roger Stansbie, director of radial truck tire technology. “The tire’s groove patterns and movement in the footprint offer up disruptions to the tire’s smooth rotation on the road. So the least number of grooves that we can use will give you better rolling resistance. But when driving on regional roads, you need more mutual contact between the rubber and the road surface. Grooves give you the ability to get traction, especially wet traction, and Continental also included a crucial element for regional driving – our stone ejection technologies.”
