93.5% of Cars in Europe Have Under-Inflated Tires, Wasting 2.14 Billion Gallons of Fuel Each Year
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 05. 1.08
We just wrote about hypermiling and mentioned that one of the tips to improve gas mileage was making sure your tires are properly inflated. Well, we weren't kidding. A study done by Bridgestone Europe found that 93.5% of cars in the European Union have under-inflated tires. "Softer tires increase rolling resistance, forcing the engine to work harder - and burn more fuel. The U.S. Department of Transportation says being down just 5 to 7 pounds per square inch can decrease fuel economy by two to three miles per gallon."
It all adds up to quite a big waste. Pretty disgusting, in fact, considering that inflating tires is the closest thing you can get to a free lunch. Bridgestone calculated the extra fuel burned to amount to 2.14 billion gallons per year, and 18.4 million tons of extra CO2. Just for Europe. Wired did some back of the envelope math and found that the numbers for the whole planet are "42.32 million tons of carbon dioxide generated by under-inflated tires, or slightly less than Connecticut emitted in 2005." So check your tire pressure, and tell your friends about it! It's also important for your safety (better handling). ::Bridgestone Europe, ::We Can Cut Global CO2 By 42M Tons For Free
I've been running 50+ PSI for well over a year w/o a single problem.
I think a factor that contributes to this is the availability of easy compressed air. There used to be a free air pump at my local gas station, however, so many discourteous types would just run over the hose and valve and they had to repair it often. Even when the garage is open, they look at you funny if you ask them for the air hose.
Many bicycle shops keep an air hose out.
I have a compressor hose out the front of my porch for eay access.. I hat paying 50c for air!!
vsk
I think this is way overstated. I read a report by Consumer Reports where they underinflated tires by 10 and 15 psi and measured no difference in fuel economy but stated that safety in the form of handling and stopping became a factor way before fuel economy. I tested thier results with 2 tanks of gas at 30 psi and 2 tanks at 41 psi and had no measurable decrease in economy at 30 psi.
If you want to do a street action to stop climate change, you could do energy efficiency checks on passing cars - check tire pressure, oil and air filters, simple things like that which can make a difference in how any car runs.
I sent this idea to http://www.350.org too.