Bridgestone India introduces new range of Ecopia tyres

Tyres play a significant role in any vehicle’s performance as they form the crucial contact between the vehicle and the road.

And depending on the type and quality of tyres, they are also important in how a vehicle responds to acceleration, steering, braking, handling and to some extent even impact fuel consumption figures of a car.

The engineers at Bridgestone R&D have been working on utilizing unique compounds and cutting-edge technology in tread design to strike a balance between fuel efficiency, low rolling resistance, safety and durability. And those efforts have resulted in the introduction of the new range of Ecopia tyres, available in two broad categories - the Ecopia EP150 for passenger cars and Ecopia EP850 for SUVs.

Focussing on Bridgestone’s eco activities, the Ecopia range is named after the combination of the words “Ecology” and “Utopia”, making this range one of Bridgestone’s flagship brands.

“Bridgestone’s Environmental Mission Statement of 'To help ensure a healthy environment for current and future generations' is the driving force behind our launch of Ecopia in India. Through Ecopia’s fuel-efficiency, Bridgestone can contribute towards the reduction of CO2 emissions in India, while enabling Indian drivers to achieve fuel-savings. Apart from increased fuel-efficiency and being environment-friendly, Ecopia EP150 and EP850 are also designed to provide durability and excellent road handling performance,” said Kazuhiko Mimura, Managing Director, Bridgestone India Pvt Ltd.

And to showcase the superior performance of the Ecopia range of tyres, we were invited to a product test drive at Bridgestone’s Thailand Proving Ground on the outskirts of Bangkok.

The tests included rolling resistance, wet braking, performance over different types of surfaces and wet handling. Bridgestone India says in the rolling resistance test, the Ecopia tyres perform 23 per cent better than the competition and in wet braking test, they perform 9 per cent better.

Rolling resistance is a form of energy loss, and accounts for 90 per cent of energy loss in tyres, much more than ground friction and air resistance. And what this energy loss translates into over a period of time is better fuel efficiency of the vehicle.

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Bridgestone demonstrated the less rolling resistance of the Ecopia tyres with two different tests – one with tri-cylces shod with car tyres and another with actual vehicles shod with three different types of tyres – Bridgestone’s own S322 range, an unnamed competition brand and the new Ecopia range.

The results were evident – in the rolling resistance test, the Ecopia tyres outshone the competition as well as Bridgestone’s own S322 range of tyres. The Ecopia-shod test car out-rolled the competition by a whopping 108.6m in the rolling resistance test.

In the wet braking test too, the Ecopia tyres outperformed the competition brand by over 4 metres, and again outperforming its own S322 range of tyres. In the wet handling test too, the test cars shod with Ecopia tyres offered better grip and confidence.

So, what does this mean to the consumer? Apart from demonstrating superior performance of the Ecopia tyres, Bridgestone says the EP150 series for passenger cars are 7 per cent more fuel efficient than conventional tyres and it translates to about 80 litres of fuel savings per year, which will be roughly over Rs 21,000 in savings over a four year period. The EP850 range for SUVs are said to offer 10 per cent more fuel efficiency than the competition.

The Ecopia tyres will be available in 26 sizes initially, ranging from 13" to 18" rim diameters, and are designed to fit many popular compact vehicles.

What’s also of significance, Bridgestone officials say, is the environment friendly development process of these tyres. Committed to promoting green technology, Bridgestone says the Ecopia tyre line also moves Bridgestone closer to its long-term environmental vision of achieving a 50 percent reduction in CO2 emissions by the year 2050.