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Michelin Energy Saver+ - Launched

Jonathan Benson
Written by Jonathan Benson
3 min read Updated
Contents
  1. Introduction
  2. The Proof
  3. The Result
  4. Further Reading
With petrol prices forever on the increase, and the demand for better MPG and lower emissions on vehicle manufacturers higher than it has ever ever been, it's no surprise all the premium tire manufacturers are working constantly to reduce the rolling resistance of their tires, without sacrificing other areas of performance such as wet grip, tread life and noise. A tire contributes 20% of the overall rolling resistance to a vehicle, meaning one fuel tank in 5 is used purely moving the tires.

Michelin first started developing low rolling resistance tires over 20 years ago with the Michelin Energy MXT in 1992, and their latest tire, the Michelin Energy Saver+ is the 5th generation of low rolling resistance tires to be developed by Michelin.

Continuing from the award winning Michelin Energy Saver, the Michelin Energy Saver+ introduces a new compound, a new optimised footprint for a 10% larger contact patch and a new internal layer to control heat generation and further improve rolling resistance. These new technologies, when combined with the excellent base of the Energy Saver should mean a tire with excellent rolling resistance, wet and dry grip and as with every Michelin tire, class leading longevity

The Proof

While new tire technologies are always nice to read about, the real proof is in real world tests. To prove the new Energy Saver+ Michelin contracted the independent body Dekra to run a unique real world test, driving 30,000km across Europe in identical cars with the new tire, and competitors tires fitted to highlight tread wear, wet braking and overall fuel consumption. Here's a short video showing the extremely thorough testing methodology.


The Result

The test used a number of identical VW Golf 1.6 TFI wearing 195/65 R15 tires, and compared the new Energy Saver+ to the Continental Eco Contact 3, Bridgestone Ectopica EP150, Goodyear EfficientGrip and Pirelli P1 Cinturato.

The test found the Michelin had the best wear, the best fuel consumption and the best wet braking after 18,000kms. While other tires could get close to the Michelin Energy Saver+ in a single test, the new tire offered an all round performance no other tire could match.
Tire Wet Braking Tread life Extra fuel
Continental Eco Contact 3 +1.6m -11,700 miles 7l
Goodyear EfficientGrip +2.3m -9,200km 24l
Bridgestone Ectopica EP150 +0.6m -8,300km 39l
Pirelli P1 Cinturato +0.1m -8,200km 14l
*All figures compared to the Michelin Energy Saver+ over 47,108km of tread life.

Further Reading


Discussion

4 comments
  1. Jacque archived

    This is not a test this is a fake for those they do not understand about Tires.
    Michelin launches its fifth generation of energy tire and they compare it with Conti Eco 3. And not only that they use a tire which was an Extra Load tire 95T comparing it with Tires with load index 91. Why Michelin didn't compare energy saver plus with the new Conti Premium Contact 5 ??? You know the answer of course.

    #688
    1. TireReviews Jacque archived

      As below, the official answer was market availability at the time of the test!

      #689
  2. Mark Bace archived

    They should of compared them to the newer Continental Eco Contact 5 and the old Michelin Energy savers to prove the new tires worth.
    http://www.tirereviews.co.u...

    #647
    1. TireReviews Mark Bace archived

      We did question that, they claimed these were the best tires available in the replacement market at the time of the test!

      #650