Having your own vehicle is great because they are very convenient but, as the owner, we have to pay lots of attention to the maintenance including gas spending and it is just better if we can improve the mileage. One of the alternatives is by using fuel efficient tires such as Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max Vs Michelin Energy Saver to let you drive further with the same amount of gas. For those who wonder what these tires can offer, let’s see the comparison below.
In this comparison, we are going to talk about:
- How Tire Affects Fuel Economy
- What are Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max and Michelin Energy Saver
- What are the Features of Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max
- What are the Features of Michelin Energy Saver
- How are the Dry Performance of Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max and Michelin Energy Saver
- How are the Wet Performance of Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max and Michelin Energy Saver
- How are the Fuel Economy of Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max and Michelin Energy Saver
- Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max Vs Michelin Energy Saver
Tire and Fuel Economy
While electric cars are starting to emerge in developed countries, the engine that runs on fossil fuel is still dominating the earth. Not only about our concern for the environment but fossil fuel costs quite some as well and this is subject to change from time to time depending on the supply, especially for those living in countries that import most of their fuels. As a motor vehicle owner, it is always an interesting topic to improve fuel economy, moreover if you are using the vehicle everyday too.
In general there are several factors that can affect your fuel economy and the most common are air pressure, tire tread, tire size and wheel type. All of them are part of your car’s wheels and while the engine used in your car itself plays a huge role as well, it is much easier to change the tire rather than buying a new car. However, if fuel economy is always a concern, it is wise for owners to choose the type of vehicle with desired level of fuel economy.
The first point or tire pressure is very important and the reason is because lowering the pressure can cause the vehicle to spend more energy to turn the wheel and this results in lower efficiency as well. NHTSA even made a study about this factor and it seems that every 1% decrease in tire pressure will result in a 0.3% decrease in fuel economy. Besides the loss of air from time to time, the temperature will also affect your tire pressure.
Next is tire tread and as we all know, all tires come with the tread at a certain height or depth and typically those made for off-road application will also have the deeper thread due to the type of terrain they are made for. While this is great for traction in those conditions, due to the design deeper thread is worse for gas mileage which is why unless it is necessary to have the feature, tread depth for road tires are usually not as deep in comparison.
Tire size and wheel type are very similar because smaller tires on smaller wheels will be easier to move with low friction and low rolling resistance than larger wheels but they do put more work on the engine. In case you are customizing the vehicle, the choice for wheel type will vary and if possible choosing lighter material like alloy is better for fuel economy but the overall concern should involve the weight or load of your vehicle too.
About Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max and Michelin Energy Saver
There are lots of methods to improve fuel efficiency but it is always a trade off from the feature that you can enjoy by spending more fuel and it is more important to find the balance instead of just focusing on one area only. Besides the factors above, your tire can be designed to be more fuel efficient and this is why there are so many fuel economy tires out there coming from lots of different brands and models.
Popular brands almost always carry fuel-efficient tires or have certain technology that they can embed on the range of tires they have to improve fuel consumption but just like any products, it is a subject to vary when you think about their overall performance. Brands like Goodyear and Michelin are both leaders with long histories and impressive lines of tires. Their tires are the option of many and it is a combination of good product quality, performance as well as competitive price.
As expected they also carry the fuel-efficient tire, mostly made for road application such as Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max and Michelin Energy Saver. These tires are perfect for city cars and usually users who are driving their car all year long often choose to use all-season tires for the convenience. These are an A/S tire as well so both are designed to be used in moderate condition but still able to gain traction under low temperature even though they won’t be the best here.
In comparison, both tires seem to work really well as an all-season and ideal for everyday driving applications including for the cold days but they are not as impressive here compared to some all-season available out there such as Michelin Agilis Vs CrossClimate. But, when it comes to fuel efficiency, it seems that many have experienced that Energy Saver is actually the better all-season for the purpose even though the overall road performance is not very far from each other.
Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max Features
Before getting into what these tires can offer, let’s see why they can achieve a certain performance level starting from Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max. This tire is designed to drive confidently all year around and it is made of all-season compound molded into a tread design with distinct zones. It has both inboard and outboard Dry Tread Zones with strong shoulder blocks for enhanced handling in dry conditions. It has Wet Tread Zones with dual aquachannel grooves to evacuate water and promote traction in wet weather.
As you can see this tire is featured with a visible continuous notched rib combined with circumferential shoulder grooves to mix road stability and even treadwear as well as snow traction. On the internal structure this tire has twin steel belts while for the H-rated variant there is spirally wrapped nylon belt edge strips located on top of a polyester casing for enhanced riding quality.
Michelin Energy Saver Features
Moving to the Michelin Energy Saver, this tire has been around since 2009 following the step of Michelins release in Europe two years earlier for the same tire. It is boasting low resistance to improve fuel consumption and just like most tires, it is made of silica-based construction but the rubber is designed for this application as it runs cooler. The material is molded into a symmetric design with sipes and independent tread blocks to combine predictable handling and braking as an all-season tire.
It is featured with circumferential and lateral grooves for directing water through the tread design and helps by resisting hydroplaning as well as enhancing wet traction. It seems that they put vibration dampening technology to limit road noise too and keeping it comfortable while on the internal structure the tire has twin steel belts which are reinforced by spirally wrapped polyamide on top of a polyester cord casing in order to mix strength, efficiency, and comfort.
Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max and Michelin Energy Saver Dry Performance
Now for the most important part, let’s see what the Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max and Michelin Energy Saver can offer starting from their road performance because this is necessary for every tire to deliver. Personally we have no issue with their dry traction and it is just good but we feel like Energy Saver is more responsive on the steering while pretty stable too while you corner. Other noticeable differences are it gives better riding experience including less road noise.
Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max and Michelin Energy Saver Wet Performance
As for the wet performance, we don’t really have a high expectation because many all-season tires are not very impressive in this part yet, none of Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max and Michelin Energy Saver is disappointing either. In fact, they are pretty much the same here by being hydroplaning resistance and maintaining traction on wet surfaces but, as you move into the colder season, we do think Fuel Max is just slightly more reliable here because it still gives traction, surprisingly on light snow too.
Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max and Michelin Energy Saver Fuel Economy
Lastly we want to talk about fuel efficiency because this is almost like the reason why many of us are interested in installing the set of tires for. Do note that this can be highly subjective to the type of vehicle you are driving and the habit itself so it is not always the same case for everyone. In comparison, Energy Saver is noticeably running on the same amount of fuel longer compared to the Fuel Max while the latter being some of the most efficient options among market leaders.
Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max and Michelin Energy Saver
Both Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max and Michelin Energy Saver are good tires if what you are aiming for is only their overall traction and how they work on the daily but in comparison, the Energy Saver is typically better on the dry road condition while also being noticeably better for the fuel consumption for typical driving application. However, when it comes to wet and snow traction, the Fuel Max is showing to be slightly more grippy.
| Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max | Michelin Energy Saver |
|---|---|
| - Good dry traction | - Better dry traction |
| - Not as quiet and comfortable | - Quiet and comfortable |
| - Better wet traction | - Decent wet traction |
| - Better snow traction | - Not reliable for winter application |
| - Less fuel-efficient | - Much better fuel economy |
Conclusion
The choice is all yours because we may don’t have the same focus but for those who are shopping to optimize fuel consumption, we will recommend getting the Energy Saver instead because it is more effective in this specific quality.
