What is more friendly to the environment (Gas vs. Tires)

[VetteOwner]

Originally Posted by trollbait

After about 6 years, you have to worry about tires failing do to oxidation of the rubber.

ive wondered this...weve never replaced tires due to age...my chevette had bald tires (past the wear bars) and they were from the early 90's that i just replaced 2 years ago.(only because i punctured ones sidewall) prolly still be drivin on em if it werent for that

my truck still has 2 factory tires from 95

geez our 4X8 trailer has its tires from 1982!

i think its partially a scam...

[palemelanesian]

Originally Posted by theholycow

How would slowing for a turn save gas? I save gas by not discarding my momentum; I carry it through the turn and avoid having to re-accelerate.

Ah, I wasn't clear. Start coasting earlier, so when you get to the turn you are already going slowly. That way you don't have to make the choice between gas and tires. You just take the turn at a reasonable speed, having already used up your momentum in a valuable way - actually moving down the road.

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

Ah, I wasn't clear. Start coasting earlier, so when you get to the turn you are already going slowly. That way you don't have to make the choice between gas and tires. You just take the turn at a reasonable speed, having already used up your momentum in a valuable way - actually moving down the road.

[trollbait]

The original tires on the Ranger went 6 to 7 years before one got a flat. All of them had crackling along tread/sidewall border. I wasn't going to replace them before getting the flat. However, the Ranger wasn't a daily driver at the time either.

6 years seems to be the average warranty length on tires. Will the tire compound last longer than this? Most likely they will. A set of 60k mile tires might also go longer than that. I'm just saying that if you only put 10k miles on a year, don't pay extra for 80k mile tires.

Returning to this:
{So I have to wonder which tire is overall better for the environment; the one having a "nicer" tread pattern (one of the benefits of LRR) and therefore better fuel economy but wears out quicker or the tire with an aggressive tread pattern but worse fuel economy and takes longer to wear down?}

I don't think the question applies to the real world. LRR tires are rated at or near the same tread life of comparable regular tires. It isn't an either or situation.