A 383-page report made available last week by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory confirms that wide single tires are more fuel efficient than duals on heavy trucks.
More than 700,000 real-world miles were driven by six instrumented tractors and 10 trailers over the course of the four-year test.

"If fleets and owner-operators needed more proof that wide singles can save fuel costs, look no further," said David Stafford, chief operating officer of Michelin Americas Research Company (MARC). "This real-world field testing confirms what our engineers and designers have said since we launched the Michelin X One nine years ago - that replacing duals with wide single tires not only reduces rolling resistance and saves energy, but also reduces the amount of CO2 we put into the atmosphere."

Primary data collected during the tests includes instantaneous fuel consumption, speed, acceleration, gear, location, time of day and grade. A total of 60 channels of data at 5Hz for one year were collected and analyzed. Half of the tractors were outfitted with Michelin X One wide single tires, and half with standard dual tires. Half of the trailers were outfitted with Michelin X One wide single tires, two with standard dual tires, and three with dual retread tires. Oak Ridge researchers found significant fuel efficiency improvement over dual tires when wide singles were in use - 6 percent overall and 10 percent with fully-loaded tractor-trailers.

"Our tests have found wide single tire technology to be more fuel efficient in a variety of real-world conditions," said Bill Knee, director of vehicle safety research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. "As we continue the national and global discussion of conserving energy, fossil fuels and other natural resources, this technology is a solution that is making a difference today."
To obtain a copy of the report, please contact Bill Knee at kneehe@ornl.gov.