Würzburg/Germany, 8 May 2007

The road resistance of a car's tires makes a big difference to its fuel consumption. In fact, tires' road resistance accounts for between 20 to 25 percent of the car's total fuel consumption. In other words, every time it is refilled, a car will use up practically a whole quarter of its tank just through the road resistance of its tires! These are facts given in a report in the latest issue (no. 19) of "kfz-betrieb" the specialist magazine for Germany's car trade, which will be going on sale on 10 May.

This means that tires with lower road resistance could significantly reduce fuel consumption. Thanks to modern technology, car drivers no longer need fear that such "eco-tyres" mean diminished driving safety and a slower braking rate. In place of carbon black, it is now silica which is used as an additive in the manufacture of most of today's premium tires, which ensures a good grip even on wet roads while, at the same time, reducing the tire's road resistance.

Meanwhile, conventional carbon black compounds which are still frequently found in the manufacture of cheap tires can lead to road resistance being up to 30 percent higher than for tires made with silica. In other words, they increase a car's fuel consumption by five to six percent.

A whole range of tire manufacturers now offer what they call "eco-tyres" or "energy tyres" with reduced road resistance. Under identical driving conditions, the resistance factor for such tires is 10 to 15 percent below that of average silica tires. The savings potential for fuel (and thus also for carbon dioxide, CO2) is around the three percent mark. For a car which is driven 20,000 kilometers per year on an average fuel consumption of eight liters, this corresponds to some 50 liters of fuel - in other words, one whole tankful.

"kfz-betrieb" is published by Vogel Auto Media, Würzburg/Germany and is the most widely read specialist magazine in the German car trade, celebrating its 95th anniversary in 2005 and fulfilling the role of official publication of the German vehicle trade association (ZDK), which represents the interests of over 40,000 car dealer businesses and repair garages.

If you have any queries, please feel free to contact:

Jan Rosenow

Editor of "Services and Technology"

Editorial office of "kfz-betrieb" weekly journal & website

Vogel Auto Media

97064 Würzburg

Germany

Phone +49 (0)931 418-2179

Fax +49 (0)931 418-2050

Email: jan_rosenow@vogel-automedien.de