Reducing environmental impact has long been one of Michelin’s priorities. I think that back in 1992 the company released its first “green” tire, characterized by very low rolling resistance (obviously by the standards of those years), aimed at reducing consumption and emissions of the cars on which it was installed. And if this seems completely normal to us today, we must think that more than twenty years ago, attention to the issue of emissions and environmental impact was exponential.
Well we could say that Michelin e.Primacy is an evolution of this concept. summer tire which provides class A rolling resistance, that is, the minimum possible on the scale currently available in terms of energy efficiency. At the same time, such low rolling resistance did not lead to a deterioration in another very important aspect, such as wet grip. In the second category, e.Primacy is a Class B tire that combines Class A rolling resistance and grip, which is found in only 1% of tires on the market. And sorry if it’s not much!
Thanks to this lower rolling resistance, Michelin technicians calculate that cars can reduce fuel consumption by approximately 0.21 liters per 100 km, with a saving of about 80 euros on fuel, taking into account the average service life of a set of these tires.
But not only that, because lower consumption also means reduced CO2 emissions, and that is why in our name we defined this tire as environmentally responsible. The emissions reduction was calculated as a reduction in CO2 emissions of 174 kg over the life of the tire set. Michelin developed e.Primacy with electric cars. Its rolling resistance characteristics improve the energy efficiency of the electric vehicle, thereby increasing its autonomy by approximately 7%almost 30 km of increased mileage for a car with a mileage of 400 km.
We installed a set of Michelin ePrimacy tires in size 205-60-16 on a Kia Niro Hybrid and we will use them as summer tires for 6 months. During these 6 months, we will measure tread wear and monitor the vehicle’s fuel consumption. Therefore, from month to month we will update this article with the data collected and any reports regarding the performance of the tires in terms of noise, grip and specific events that can lead to more or less deterioration.
UPDATE 1 – 06/20/2024
The tires were installed on May 18th, so we can give you an update after the first month of use. First of all, a few words about the driving experience after installing ePrimacy; The first thing that catches your eye, or rather your ear, is their silence. In some cases, the noise caused by rolling is truly unnoticeable, to the point that when mounted on a hybrid vehicle, when it is driven by the electric motor, it appears as if it is traveling suspended in the air. Even regarding the clutch I have nothing to report at the moment, during these first weeks of use I was caught in heavy rain several times and never once experienced the feeling of loss of grip, even when cornering at quite high speeds. This month I’ve used the car mainly for commuting home and to work, driving a total of about 2000 km with a fairly balanced mix of city, country and motorway driving.
- The km was covered from 18.05 to 20.06.: 1967
- Average gasoline consumption: 25.9 km/l
- Tread wear: Asx -0.14 mm / Adx -0.15 mm / Psx -0.07 mm / Pdx -0.01 mm (6 mm – new tire)
- Pressure detected: 2.4 bar
- Other reports: nobody
At the end of this first month, I rebooted the on-board computer again to get accurate data on the kilometers traveled and, above all, the average consumption of 30 days over 30 days. After six months of use, by taking a weighted average, we will know the overall average consumption in the total kilometers traveled.
Source: HD Motori
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.