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X One tyres in Europe KENwoRTri
Page 51
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X One on the other side of the Atlantic is slightly different to the model British operators can specify: the US uses 445/50 R22.5, while Europe favours 495/45 R22.5. The slightly wider aspect ratio is undoubtedly down to higher ground pressures.
At present, UK legislation prevents the use of X One-type tyres above 40 tonnes GVW Michelin (and the other tyre manufacturers) are working hard to change the position taken by the Department for Transport (DfT), They point to the benefits such as fuel and weight savings, which would in turn reduce 002 emissions. Compared to a standard set of 315/70 R22.5 drive-axle tyres, the weight saving would be 120kg.
A number of pan-European operators are already running X One, including one haulier in the UK. On the Continent, Vos Logistics bought the tyre as part of a TGA supply deal done with MAN, while Hamburg bulk liquid specialist Hoyer is running X One on its German BP distribution contract. also on MAN tractors.
Michelin thinks the DfT's reluctance to approve X One fitment above 40 tonnes could be historic. There was, as it rightly points out, a great deal of controversy surrounding super-single tyres when the industry started to replace duals on trailers. "We've started talking to a lot of UK operators about X One too," says Paul Kendrick, Michelin's truck product technical manager. "The interest is there, but at 44 rather than 40 tonnes. As a major manufacturer, we just want to give operators a choice."
If an operator did decide to ditch twin drive axle tyres in favour of something like the X One tomorrow, then speccing it as an optional extra at the time of ordering a new vehicle is the only route. Michelin says that for many reasons, safety being the biggest of them, retrofitting is completely out of the question. At the time of writing , MAN and Renault are the only two manufacturers to have homologated X One, although others are in the process of doing so.
As a rough guide, Michelin say the cost of fitting X One is slightly more than conventional twin tyres (1% or 2% more) — and as part of the homologation, European vehicles fitted with single driveaxle tyres must be fitted with tyre pressure monitoring (TPM) and electronic stability program (ESP).
As Europe is already efficient (by US standards), the fuel savings experienced here will be a lot less than those quoted by CFI. Nevertheless, the reduction in sidewalls could equate to a fuel saving of roughly 2% along with the stated increase in tyre wear.