Tires are the second-highest expense for fleets after fuel. Choosing the right tires for a fleet can save an operation thousands of dollars in reduced fuel consumption and maintenance.

However, no two fleets are similar, and each operation will need to find the optimum tire model and brand. A tire test needs to be performed to find the best possible tire, but is it worth it?

Continue reading below to find out if tire testing is worth it for large fleets in the long run.

Why Perform a Tire Test?

Every fleet has different routes, loads, and vehicle specifications. All of these elements play a role in the type of tire best suited to its operation.

Finding the optimal tire setup will benefit fleets because of decreased maintenance costs and better fuel economy. However, most fleet managers will say that fuel mileage is the most crucial factor in saving money.

For example, let’s consider a fleet of 100 trucks, and each truck gets about 7 miles to the gallon. If a new model of tire is found to have just 2% better fuel economy than the old ones, then each truck will now get 7.14 mpg.

If one truck drives 100,000 miles in a year, it will consume 14,286 gallons of fuel on the old tires. Across the same distance, the fuel-efficient tires will use 14,005 gallons per year.

The fuel-efficient tires use 281 gallons less, and at an average of $3 per gallon of diesel, they will save $843. When you use these savings over the whole fleet of 100 trucks, the savings are a massive $84,300.

A Tire Test Requires Commitment and Patience

The reason why many operations fear a tire test is because of how rigorous the process is. It isn’t as easy as buying a few sets of tires and then seeing which one lasts the longest.

It will take commitment and determination from many different people in the company to run a tire test.

How to Run a Tire Test

First, you’ll need to identify similar trucks in the fleet, but if your fleet is large enough, you might need to bring in different types of trucks. If that’s the case, try to keep the variables similar.

Loads should be similar for all test trucks, and they should run along a similar route. Keep track of whether the tires are on aluminum or steel wheels.

One group should be the controlgroup that doesn’t change anything and drives as usual. The other group is the test group, which receives the tires that need to be tested.

Both groups of drivers will need to maintain strict tire maintenance and record tread depth, mileage, and tread wear at specific intervals.

After the tread is worn by 50%, you’ll have enough data to start crunching the numbers between the control and test groups.

Once the data comes out, you can find out if a tested tire will be better for your fleet or not.

Is It Worth It?

It’s easy to see that running a tire test is difficult and requires a lot from drivers. It’s also costly to test tires, but in the end, the savings are worth it.

It may be a headache to set up the test and have your drivers take extra responsibilities. However, the vast savings that end up going to the fleet’s bottom line is too good to pass up.