Are you sure you are not talking about weight of the tire? ALL-Terrain tires are usually heavier than ALL-Seasons and Mud-Terrains are definitely heavier than All-Terrains.
Yes but rolling resistance matters too.
You are correct but an ALL-Terrain amd a Mud Terrain dont have more rolling resistance compared to All-Season tires. All-Seasom tires are designed to stick to the Road. Mud-Terrains and All-Terrain tires dont stick near as well to the pavement. With that said its usually the weight that causes the MPG loss more.
We’re gonna have to disagree on that.
All terrain and mud terrain tires generally have more rolling resistance than an all season because of the deeper open tread design, stiffer side walls and extra weight. A tire that can confirm to the road surface better such as an all season will have lower rolling resistance.
Except an All-Season tire will have a more sticky tread compound compared to ALL-Terrain and Mud-Terrain tires. Yes there are All-Seaons that are classified as Low Rolling Resistance but they also have a no so sticky tread compound.
The tread is not sticky, it is softer so it more readily conforms to the irregularities in the road surface and this actually reduces rolling resistance compared to a compound that is hard and can't confirm to the surface. That is why the rolling resistance of a tire goes up in the winter, the tread compound gets stiffer in the cold and can't confirm to the road surface.
Correct. The open tread design leads to more resistance. It causes the larger blocks to have more deflection as the tire goes down the road which increases the resistance. That's why the "eco" style tires have very little gaps between the blocks.
Soft compound treads are sticky compunds. They also tend to wear out quicker
If you were to take a cross section of the road surface and looked at it at high magnification it would look the rocky mountains. Soft compound tires have the ability to conform to those irregularities verse riding on the peaks that a harder compound does. It is the added surface area of the tread that is actually in contact with the road surface that improves traction.
Wrong.
I worked with a production supervisor that had no brain or imagination. Whenever trying to make improvements on the floor she would complain about "you engineers". I said " without us engineers you would not have your cell phone, car, appliances, computers, or anything else you need and enjoy!" She just gave me a dirty and ignorant look.
My best friend has a 6-speed Cadillac CTS-V. He says the tires are hard so as to tolerate high speed high temperature driving. Between that and the 580 hp, he says it's nearly impossible to drive when the temperature is less than 40 degrees. Tires won't stick to the road even if the road is dry. I've driven it, hit the gas and it's like the Millennium Falcon hitting Ludicrous Speed.
In PA we don't usually get deep snow but it's very hilly and I've always run just fine with A/T's on my 4x4 trucks. My wife's and daughter's cars get Bridgestone Blizzaks in the winters. Wife is sold on them, she won't roll on anything else.
My focus st had z-rated tires (up to 168mph) and at 40f they were like driving an old school big wheel on ice. The tires are hard like that so they can take the extreme heat generated at those speeds. I will tell you now though when they have some heat in them, they will break your neck on acceleration and stopping.
