AKRON, Ohio - U.S. motorists may be wasting more than $10.3 billion at the gas pump annually, because they spend too little time at the air pump, according to Dunlop tire officials. According to statistics from Dunlop engineering, tires under-inflated by only 4 to 5 pounds per square inch cause a vehicle to gulp - and waste - an extra 10 percent of fuel. And because studies show that about 28 percent of tires are under-inflated, that’s $10,344,111,911 in wasted fuel.
In addition, due to this waste, motorists must visit gas pumps an additional 328 million times. Dunlop data is based on cars that travel 20,000 miles per year, require 15 gallons per fill-up, average 20 miles per gallon for the U.S. fleet of vehicles and pay record $2.10-per-gallon gas prices.
Since tires account for 4 to 7 percent of a car’s fuel consumption, keeping tires properly inflated has a huge effect on America’s pocketbooks, according to Bill Egan, chief engineer of advanced product design for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Ten years ago, the U.S. Energy Department said under-inflated tires wasted 4 million gallons of gasoline daily - or nearly 1.5 billion gallons annually - in America. Egan calls the country’s rising gasoline bills “tire-fuelish,” a money-wasting malady that could be cured by spending five minutes a month with vehicle tires at the air pump.
Motorists must check tire inflation monthly or before a long trip. Tires should be inflated to the vehicle manufacturer’s recommendation printed on the vehicle’s door placard or in the owner’s manual.
“An under-inflated tire consumes more energy and increases rolling resistance, which robs the vehicle of fuel efficiency,” Egan said. “Tire-fuelishness is a double-edged sword. It wastes gasoline, whic causes demand to increase.”
Some organizations are calling for more fuel-efficient tires to help save fuel costs, but Egan said these proposals are merely stop-gap measures. “As long as motorists continue to neglect their tires, America will continue to waste gasoline and money at the pumps."
“Even the most fuel-stingy Dunlop tires on the road would be ineffective without the correct inflation pressures,” he added.
Drivers in Hawaii with under-inflated tires have the most to lose - with gas prices averaging $2.43 per gallon. New Jersey motorists lose the least, at $1.94 a gallon.
