Your tyre choice matters

Every one of us can make choices that help protect the environment and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The tyres you put on your car and the pressure you put on the gas pedal make a big difference. A tyre with a low rolling resistance reduces emissions, and a non-toxic tyre reduces the burden to the environment throughout its life cycle.

Nokian Tyres is a tyre industry forerunner when it comes to environmental affairs. This reflects on its choice of materials and business partners, product characteristics, and tyre recycling – in short, the entire process.

“We have always taken for granted that environmental matters are a major factor in our development work. We can proudly say that we have been very conscious of environmental considerations and have taken continued efforts to improve our operations in that respect. It shows in our products, too: We are currently the forerunner in the market,” Development Manager Kai Hauvala points out.

The importance of rolling resistance

Rolling resistance has been a much-discussed topic for a few years now, and the most enlightened magazines now measure rolling resistance in their tyre tests. Rolling resistance refers to the energy consumed in the deformation that takes place when the tyre comes in contact with the road.

“If you choose a tyre with a low rolling resistance, the measured value can be as much as 30 per cent smaller. If your car uses 10 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres, the consumption drops by about half a litre. This means you save money, not to mention saving the environment,” Hauvala explains.

If you use the tyre with the lowest rolling resistance in the market – the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R friction tyre – you can save up to 0.5 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres, and reduce CO2 emissions by 12 g/km.

Simply reducing the tyre’s rolling resistance would be easy, but the tyre must also feature other important characteristics, such as good driving properties and grip on wet and dry surface, and, where winter tyres are concerned, all of the above in winter conditions. No flaws in the tyre are allowed, and developing just one feature is not an option. A safe and environmentally sound tyre is the result of advanced product development and hard work.

“Every spring and autumn we receive feedback on our work when we read the results of tyre tests conducted by different magazines. The most rewarding thing is to rank high in these tests. That’s when you know you’ve done things right,” Hauvala concludes.