Bridgestone launches new Eco tyre

Bridgestone launches new eco tyre February 27 2012 at 03:25pm By IOL Motoring staff

Bridgestone has launched a new fuel-saving tyre called Ecopia.

Reducing fuel consumption in today's more ecologically aware world boils down to a lot more than just smarter engines, reduced weight and slippery aerodynamics.

If you've read up on some of the more modern, fuel-saving cars then you'd also be familiar with low-rolling-resistance tyres that are being used as a small but effective way of reducing carbon footprints.

Of course, such tyres are also available to the general tyre-buying public and the latest release is from Bridgestone.

Its new Ecopia claims to reduce fuel consumption through lower rolling resistance while also providing a quieter ride and improving road holding.

Bridgestone South Africa's marketing manager Tony Burns also claims that braking distance and tyre life have not been sacrificed by the new design.

The heart of the Ecopia formula, according to Bridgestone, is a specially-designed silica compound combined with a coupling agent that limits friction between the carbon compounds of the tyre, giving lower rolling resistance.

With less energy being channelled into heat build-up, the Ecopia runs cooler and more economically - in controlled tests, the Ecopia showed itself to be 3.1 percent more fuel-efficient than an equivalent conventional tyre.

The company further claims that the Ecopia managed to shave almost six percent off the wet braking distance of its conventional counterpart during testing. This improvement is mainly due to rib linking technology that braces the tread blocks against longitudinal displacement under heavy braking.

The Ecopia tyre is available in a variety of sizes to fit almost any vehicle on the roads.