Fuel Saving App from LANXESS Helps to Select Summer Tires

-Time to exchange snow tires for their summer equivalents

- “Green Tires” improve safety and help drivers to be kind on both their wallets and the environment

-Fuel saving app from LANXESS shows economic benefits and environmental effect of fuel-efficient tires

-Calculator now also compares the braking distances of car tires on wet roads

-Available for smartphones, tablets and web-enabled PCs

-LANXESS fuel savings calculator already used by about 160,000 consumers

Leverkusen - - Easter is coming up and it’s high time for car owners to switch to summer tires, because as soon as temperatures climb above seven degrees Celsius, snow tires consume an unnecessary amount of fuel on account of their higher rolling resistance. In addition, their braking distance on a dry road is significantly greater in some cases. And high-quality summer tires known as “green tires” make it possible to make even more savings.

The fuel saving app from specialty chemicals company LANXESS can help select the right ones. The software provides quick and simple answers to important questions about changing to summer tires. First, how many euros can you save with fuel-efficient green tires? Second, how many months does it take to recoup the cost of their purchase? And third, by how many kilograms can the vehicle’s CO2 emissions be reduced? For the start of the summer tire season, LANXESS now has added a braking distance calculator to the software. Users can calculate by how many meters green tires shorten the braking distance on wet roads – provided they decide to purchase high-performance tires with a good wet grip rating on the EU label at their tire store. In some difficult traffic situations, green tires of this quality can even save lives. For example, a vehicle traveling 80 kilometers/hour with tires given an “A” in the wet grip category comes to stop 18 meters sooner than a car with tires having an “F” rating. In other words, when the car with “A” tires has already come to a halt, the car with “F” tires still has a residual speed of some 50 kilometers/hour.

The software can be downloaded free of charge from the app store. The application is also available for free in mobile and web versions at: http://app.green-mobility.com/. LANXESS developed the program together with Technische Universität München. TÜV Rheinland tested and certified it. To date, drivers have used the fuel saving calculator more than 150,000 times.

EU label helps to select the best tires

The fuel savings app comes against the backdrop of the new EU tire label. The distinctive label has been compulsory since November 2012 for all new tires rolling off the production line. The principle is similar to the energy efficiency stickers consumers are already familiar with on washing machines and refrigerators. The label rates the wet grip (safety) on a scale from A (best) to F, and the rolling resistance (fuel consumption) on a scale from A to G. It also indicates the rolling noise volume. Above all, this means greater transparency for consumers when they are looking to buy a new set of tires, because even though they may look similar on the tire dealer’s shelves, there are significant differences between them – for example in terms of fuel consumption and safety. “Green tires“ score particularly well.

The cost of purchasing green tires is offset in less than two years by what they save

Even if green tires can be somewhat more expensive, the investment is worth it, and that goes for both drivers and the environment. The new fuel savings app from LANXESS can quickly show users the actual figures. Only a few inputs are required to calculate your personal savings potential: annual mileage, the type of driving (percentage of highway, road and city driving), the fuel price and of course the car’s consumption. Drivers who do not know their exact fuel consumption can look it up in the updated vehicle database.

The following example from the LANXESS program illustrates how quickly the extra cost of “green tires“ is recouped: At a gasoline price of EUR 1.60 per liter, a car that travels 15,000 kilometers a year and uses seven liters of fuel per 100 kilometers will, with tires of fuel consumption category “B”, save EUR 135 compared with class “F” tires. The extra cost of EUR 20-50 per “green tire“ is thus canceled out in less than two years. And the environment benefits, too: switching to “green tires“ means a reduction in CO2 output of 197 kg – for one car in one year.

Other useful services for car drivers

Apart from braking distance calculator and the fuel savings calculator, the LANXESS app offers a number of additional services for drivers. The parking time alarm warns the driver that the parking meter is about to run out and thus helps to avoid annoying parking violation tickets. The servicing reminder shows when the next service is due. The program also provides additional background information on the subject of “green tires“ and the EU tire labeling legislation.

LANXESS makes green tires possible

Specialty chemicals company LANXESS, the leading global manufacturer of synthetic rubber, produces high-tech performance rubber products that already enable the tire industry to comply with the European Union’s strict new requirements on safer, more environmentally friendly tires, and to achieve good ratings in the new tire labeling program, both for rolling resistance and wet grip. Already in September of last year, the company presented a concept tire that was given an “A” in both categories by TÜV Süd. With this step, the company underlines not only its innovative force in the area of synthetic rubber, but also its leading position as a supplier of solutions for more sustainable “green mobility.”

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 8.8 billion in 2011 and currently around 17,100 employees in 31 countries. The company is currently represented at 48 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals. LANXESS is a member of the leading sustainable indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) World and FTSE4Good as well as the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI).