Maintaining correct tire inflation pressure is one of the surest ways to stretch your fleet’s fuel economy and maximize your tire investment. But just how important is tire inflation pressure to fuel economy? We caught up with Ralph Dimenna, chief commercial officer of Aperia Technologies, to find out.

The inflation pressure of your tires affects a lot of things. It can affect fuel economy because having the right inflation pressure means you’re having the correct rolling resistance — or the most efficient rolling resistance. And so, you’re getting the best fuel economy possible out of your truck.

Every 10 psi below optimum tire pressure is going to be about a 1% fuel economy hit. So, if you’re not maintaining those tires at the proper inflation, you’re gonna get that fuel economy hit. Likewise, if you can keep that pressure where it needs to be, you’re gonna get the optimum fuel economy out the truck.

Of course, fuel economy isn’t the only way a good tire management program can contribute to a fleet’s sustainability objectives. Maintaining the right tire pressure also can extend tire life and protect the casing for multiple retreads. Ralph explains more.

Flexibility also just with the overall tire wear. So again, maintaining that optimal pressure is gonna make sure you get the maximum life cycle out of that tire. It’s gonna keep that tire health where it needs to be. So, you’re gonna get the maximum number of retreads.

You’re not gonna have to replace tires as often. And as everybody knows, tires consume a lot of energy, both in terms of their production and their raw materials. So getting the maximum amount of life out of each and every tire and then the maximum number of lives out of the carcasses that you’re producing for retreading gives you that really, really good sustainability, getting the best you can get out of those important assets that you’re purchasing.

While tire inflation pressure’s contribution to mpg and retreadability may be well understood, Ralph surprised me with this next insight. Tire pressure can also reduce the amount of debris — or in racing talk, marbles — produced by the tires, which can also be harmful for the environment.

All of those little tiny particles come off the tire as that tire wears. So obviously getting the maximum amount of tire wear out of the same amount of material reduces the amount of particles that you’re putting into the environment, whether those go onto the roadway or runoff or anything like that.

So, you’re just reducing the total number of tire particulate that you’re putting out there in addition to reducing the amount of rubber that you are scrapping or having to reuse at the end when that tire no longer has any more useful life.

So overall, maintaining that tire pressure is gonna get you the maximum life out of your tire, and it’s also gonna reduce the amount of environmental footprint that you really have because of the way that you’re maintaining the tire and keeping that tire tire life at its, at its optimal point.