We will admit that our main concern when buying tires is performance. That performance usually relates to maximum grip to get the lowest possible lap times. In street tires we prefer predictable behavior at the limit but still expect loads of grip. Ride, noise and tire life are all things we are willing to look past in the name of performance. We do however realize that some people have different measures of performance than we do. The average person looks at tires and just sees another consumable product on their car. They aren’t concerned with maximum grip or if it works well sliding around at the limit. Believe it or not, some people care about things like tread life, ride quality and even efficiency.

All kidding aside, we don’t all need the fastest street tires we can buy for driving back and forth to work and the store. We need a tire with good grip, a nice quiet ride and if it can deliver better fuel economy, that’s even better. Goodyear has recently launched a new tire in its Assurance line that fits the bill. The mid-tier Assurance Fuel Max isn’t a wholly new tire, but rather an update of their previously successful Assurance.

On the outside, it is tough to differentiate between the two. The tread pattern is the same, the sidewall shape is the same, everything is the same except the Fuel Max logo molded into the sidewall. The big difference is in Goodyear’s new tread compound. Those of you who have been keeping up with the tire world in the last few years know that silica is all the rage in tires. Goodyear has developed a new blend of polymers that increases the selective reactivity of the silica for better dispersion in the compound. That means the little silica molecules are better mixed up with the rubber molecules, that don’t naturally mix, think oil and water.

This new low hysteresis compound allows more energy from deformation to be returned to the road instead of lost in heat. A good example is bouncing two rubber balls on a hard surface. A high hysteresis ball would hit the table and barely bounce at all. The energy of the falling ball would be absorbed and dissipated as heat, or basically wasted. Bouncing a low hysteresis ball on a table would result in a bounce almost as high as it was dropped from. This is because the energy was returned instead of wasted. Tires work the same way. A large portion of the energy used to propel the car can be wasted in the form of heat.

While low hysteresis tires usually don’t make for great race tires, the new Assurance Fuel Max actually performed as well as like competitors in grip in testing. These aren’t going to win you any autocrosses, but according to Goodyear, they can save you 2600* miles worth of fuel over the life of the tire. The life of the tire is also something you won’t sacrifice for fuel savings. Goodyear is backing the Fuel Max with a 65,000 mile warranty. Something you won’t often find on an “efficiency tire”. The Assurance Fuel Max should be available by the time you read this and is available in 27 sizes from 15 to 17 inch fitments.

Don’t worry we haven’t gone completely soft on you guys. Goodyear also told us about a couple exciting new performance products in the mix. A new high-end performance tire that will fill a void at the very top end of the tire market, and maybe even more exciting, a DOT legal race tire is just around the corner. Check back here for updates as we get more information on those.

www.goodyeartires.com/

* 2600 miles worth of gas savings based on calculation below:

25mpg+4% improvement in efficiency =26mpg

65,000 mile tread life / 25mpg = 2600 gallons over tires life

65,000 mile tread life / 26mpg = 2500 gallons over tires life

Savings of 100 gallons x 26mpg = 2600 miles of gas